Jeff chuckled. “I think we’re meant to be glad about that. We want her to be happy, don’t we?”
“Yes, of course,” Mick said, disgruntled just the same.
“Mick, I don’t think she’s going to pack up and move to Ireland,” Jeff consoled him. “If anything, I think this visit is the first step toward Dillon spending more time here.”
Mick wasn’t entirely reassured. “You don’t think she wants to marry him, do you?”
“Would that be so awful?”
Mick thought it might be, especially if it meant she walked out on the family to live in Ireland. He thought Jeff was wrong in ruling out that possibility. She’d been happier there over Christmas than he’d seen her in years. How much of that had to do with Dillon and how much with being back in the country where she’d spent so many happy summers with her grandparents? Sometimes people reached a certain age and grew nostalgic about the past. Nell could be all caught up in those old memories and wind up making choices she’d regret.
“You know Ma is going to do whatever she wants to do,” Jeff said quietly.
“I know,” Mick said grimly. “But I don’t have to like it.”
“Maybe not, but you do have to respect it.”
Mick sighed. “I know that, too.”
Jeff studied him, then asked, “Feeling better?”
Mick put aside his worries for now and forced a grin. “Busting your chops always improves my mood,” he told his brother.
Jeff laughed. “Glad to be of service.”
“I suppose I’ll wander around and check on the progress at Luke’s now,” he said, already heading for the door.
“No meddling,” Jeff called after him.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” Mick responded, chuckling. Next to building great little communities, meddling was what he lived for. Thank goodness for a large family that gave him so many opportunities. If he was careful, it usually meant there was only one person at a time annoyed with him.
Jet lag had caught up with Moira. She’d left Luke’s to get out from underfoot and crossed the street to sit by the bay, but the warmth of the sun had her seriously close to nodding off right out there in public. Rather than giving in, she went back to the pub to let Luke know she intended to walk back to Nell’s cottage.
He frowned when she told him. “Of course you’re exhausted,” he said. “What was I thinking to keep you down here all day? I should have sent you home with Dillon and Gram.”
“I wasn’t ready then,” she said. “But just now across the street, I could barely keep my eyes open.”
“And by the time you’ve walked to Gram’s, you’ll be wide-awake, when what you really need is a nap.” He took her arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“You don’t have time to walk me there and then come back,” she protested.
“No, but I do have time to walk you around the corner to my place and see you settled in my bed.”
Despite her exhaustion, she felt a little frisson of excitement at his words. “Really?” she said suggestively. “Now?”
He laughed. “There’ll be none of that this afternoon, Moira. You need to rest. I need to work. This is a perfectly innocent offer.”
“More’s the pity,” she teased.
“You told me I was going to have to work to get you back into my bed again,” he reminded her. “Have you changed your mind already? If so, I suppose I could spare some time this afternoon if the right offer came along.”
There was an undeniable gleam in his eyes that told her he was more than eager to do just that. She decided that as attractive as the broad hint was, it was wise to pass on it for now.
“I think I’ll hold out for the time when there’s more opportunity for real romance,” she said. “But I won’t say no to a nap at your place if it’s close by.”
“Just around the corner,” he told her. “It’s above the real estate office. It was Susie’s apartment before she and Mack married. I took it over from her. It’s tiny and not very fancy, but you’ll be comfortable, I think.”
He led her into an alley behind the shops, then up the stairs to an apartment that overlooked the town green. It had an open living room, dining room and kitchen, and a single bedroom and bath, but it was just right for a bachelor, she thought. Some of the touches were feminine, a dried-flower arrangement here, a collection of photos there, along with some plump, fluffy pillows and a soft throw tossed on the sofa.
“Were these left behind by Susie? Or has someone helped you decorate?”
Luke held her gaze, clearly aware of what she was really asking. “Kristen was never here,” he told her. “She has her own place. We spent our time together there.”
“Your choice or hers?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“Mine, if you must know. I knew we were never meant to last, and I didn’t want this apartment crowded with memories of her wherever I looked. You’re the only woman I’ve had up here, Moira, and that’s the truth.”
She wanted desperately to believe him, to revel in being the first to share this space with him, even briefly. She walked to the window and looked out. There were mums strolling on the green with their children. A few kids were kicking around a soccer ball. It reminded her so much of home that she couldn’t help smiling. Luke, standing behind her, obviously noticed her reflection in the glass.
“What?” he asked. “Are you pleased by what
