Makena

For the first time in almost three weeks, I wake up alone in bed. I heard Shane sneak out before the sun had risen. He’ll be gone a few days. Headed back to Dublin with Owen and Bree to deal with some issue with the recording label.

He’d asked me to go with him, and I’d thought about it. I still haven’t seen much of Ireland, and I’ve been here for close to a month now. But we’ve been spending so much time together that I think it’s best we put a bit of space between us, even if it’s just for a few days.

“You need to get out,” Quinn says when I answer her Facetime call. “Use Colleen’s car and go explore the country. You’ll be home soon enough.”

A sliver of anxiety races through me at her words. Six months had seemed like an unsurmountable amount of time when I first got here, but now it just isn’t long enough. And it’s not just Shane who I’m going to miss when I’m gone. Emer, Delaney, and Bree have made it their mission to include me in every family activity and dinner they have. They’ve become easy friends. Even Agnus, while always quick to give her opinion, has grown on me.

But this isn’t reality.

At least, not mine.

“I have been getting out,” I tell Quinn, who arches a brow at me and purses her lips through the screen. “In fact, Emer is picking me up in a few minutes and we’re going shopping in Sligo.”

“Emer?”

“Shane’s sister. I told you about her.”

“You’re spending time with his family, now?”

“They’re good people.”

“I don’t doubt that.” She frowns, but I can tell she’s holding back.

“What?”

“I just worry about you. I don’t want to see you getting involved with another Chad.”

“Shane is nothing like Chad.” The words are defensive.

She sighs. “You’ve fallen for him.”

“No.” Yes. Harder than I want to admit.

“Just be careful. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he’s still…Shane Hayes.”

Even the mention of his name makes butterflies dance in my stomach.

“And you think someone like him could never fall for someone like me?”

“Makena Fraser,” Quinn says, narrowing her eyes at me. “Any man in this world would be lucky to have you. But you know better than anyone that men like him are never satisfied. They always want more. I just don’t want to see you have your heart broken again.”

“It won’t.” Even I don’t believe me.

Not long after I end the call with Quinn, there’s a knock on the door, and Emer comes barreling into the cottage, a huge grin on her face. “Pack an overnight bag, I am officially baby free for forty-eight hours.”

Her enthusiasm is contagious, even though I have no idea what she has planned.

“An overnight bag?”

“Shane is gone. Aiden is watching Cadence. And I just booked a suite at the Shelbourne in Dublin, and a full day of spa treatments. And ye’re going with me.” Emer doesn’t wait for my reaction, she just starts toward the bedroom, and I have no doubt she’ll have my bag packed in two minutes if I don’t stop her.

“I’d love to, but…” I chew on my bottom lip when I watch her open the closet door and pull out my carry-on luggage, before admitting, “I really can’t afford that.”

“It’s my treat.” She gives me a grin that reminds me of Shane, and says, “And ye’ll be doing me a favor. Delaney is due any day now, Bree is busy with her album, and I really don’t want to go alone. I can show ye around Dublin if ye’d like, and we can go to the Brazen Head.”

“The what?”

“Ireland’s oldest pub. It’s almost a thousand years old.” She opens one of my drawers, then cocks a brow and says, “Are ye really going to make me pack for ye?”

I can’t help but laugh. The woman is relentless and stubborn, just like her brother, and I love her for it.

“Okay,” I say, earning me a huge smile and one of Emer’s signature hugs.

I start to grab a few items and put them in my bag when I see Emer glancing at the sketches laid out on the dresser.

“Wow.” She picks one up, her eyes widening in appreciation. “These are incredible. I didn’t know ye were an artist.”

“I’m not. They’re just sketches of designs.”

“Ye’re a fashion designer?” She keeps flipping through the papers. I feel my cheeks grow warm, because next to the designer clothes she can afford, I know mine are just mediocre.

“It’s just a hobby.”

“It’s more than that. Ye’re really good.” She sounds genuinely impressed.

I shrug, but a small tickle of pride stirs in my chest. I know these designs are better than any I’ve done before. And I know I have Shane to thank for it.

We’ve gotten into a habit of spending the afternoons side by side, him with his guitar and me with my sketchbooks. Maybe it’s the music, or his presence, but I’ve been inspired lately, the pictures in my head coming into focus, and my fingers have itched to get the designs down on paper.

After packing my bag, I’m surprised to find a Hummer limousine waiting for us outside.

Emer shrugs when she sees my expression. “Aiden insisted I take a driver. He doesn’t like me driving on the highway by myself. Plus, it means we can have a few glasses of champagne on the way there.”

“I think you may just be my new favorite person,” I say when we’re in the limo, and she pops open one of the champagne bottles.

She laughs and hands me a flute. “I really hope my brother doesn’t screw this up. Because I really like ye, too.”

I frown at her comment. “We’re not…together. Shane and I are just-”

“Friends?” She raises one brow at me, then shakes her head. “He’s practically moved in with ye. I think we can clearly say ye’re more than that.”

I reach for the flute she offers, and take a long sip.

“I’ve never seen my brother the way he is with ye. He cares about ye, that’s obvious.”

Her words cause my stomach to flutter with hope, but I quickly push the feeling away.

“I care about him, too. But you know him better than I do, and we both know he’s not the settling down type.”

“No one is until they meet the right person.” She winks at me, and I see in her expression that she really thinks I am that person for Shane.

And damn if I don’t wish she was right. But I know the truth. Five months from now, I’ll be back home, and I’ll probably never see any of them again.

But it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my time while I’m here. That’s one lesson Shane has taught me. You have to live in the moment, because you never know what the next second will bring.

An hour into the drive and one bottle of Dom Perignon finished, Emer has me laughing so hard with stories about Shane as a boy, that I’ve got a stitch in my stomach.

“He really was wild,” I say, wiping the tears from my eyes.

“All four of them were.” Emer lifts up another bottle of champagne and raises her brows in question.

I nod, and she starts to tear the foil away.

“I guess the name Wild Irish suits them.”

“It was my mom who named them that. Even though they won’t admit it.”

“I can’t imagine Aiden and Owen being like that. Cillian, yes. He still has that whole brooding bad boy thing going on. But, Owen seems so serious. And Aiden, well he looks at you like you hung the stars.”

“They’ve all created and had their own share of trouble over the years. But ye’re right. Shane has definitely taken the longest to tame.”

I chuckle at that, and add, “I don’t think he’ll ever be tamed.”

She grins at me. “I think he already has.”

I shake my head, knowing she’s wrong. He has a restlessness to him. And the more time I spend with him, the more I think he’s struggling with more than just not being able to play his music.