ran her finger over the smooth surface of the rock. “You’re right,” she whispered. “It is a very special rock.” She took it from his hand, closing it tightly in her palm. “I’ll always take care of it.”
He kissed her cheek. “I know you will. And maybe someday, you’ll tell our kids that rock’s story, along with all the others.”
Our kids.
Two words had never sounded so beautiful.
“I will,” she promised, her heart nearly bursting with happiness at the genuine joy on his face.
“And one day—when you’re ready, because I don’t want to rush this—I plan on giving you a different kind of rock. One I hope you’ll wear on this finger,” he said, pointing to the fourth finger on her left hand, “for the rest of your life.”
“I like the sound of that,” she confessed.
“Good.” Padraig lowered his head and kissed her again as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling that after a lifetime of searching and hoping, she’d finally found her hero, her alpha male, her happily ever after.
The two of them parted, smiling at each other.
“Can we come out and hug you both yet?”
Emmy turned at the sound of Riley’s voice coming from Sunday’s Side and laughed when she spied not just Padraig’s aunt but his father and a couple uncles standing in the opening between the restaurant and the pub.
“Were you eavesdropping on all of that?” Padraig asked exasperatedly.
“Not exactly,” Riley replied as she and—to Emmy’s shock—the rest of the Collins siblings walked over to them.
All seven of them were there. Even Teagan.
“Did you sell tickets?” Emmy teased Padraig, who was shaking his head, though she wasn’t sure if he was amused or resigned by his family’s appearance.
“Nosy bastards,” he muttered. “What does ‘not exactly’ mean, Riley?”
“It means we couldn’t hear a damn word you were saying,” Tris admitted. “You weren’t talking loud enough. Something you need to work on. So we had to make due with Riley’s play-by-play as she kept sneaking peeks through the opening. Thought Ewan and I were going to have to run interference and cut Emmy off at the pass when she started to leave.”
Emmy was touched that they would go to such lengths to help her and Padraig get back together. “That’s sweet,” she said, giving Tris a kiss on the cheek.
“I thought my boy got some of that sweetness from me,” Tris told her with a wink before looking at Padraig. “But we’re going to have to talk about your gift-giving skills, son, because a rock is a strange way to win a woman’s heart.”
Emmy laughed. “It’s the perfect gift. I love it.”
“Which proves that you’ve found the right woman for you,” Ewan said, slapping Padraig on the shoulder. “Don’t fuck it up.”
He gave his uncle a mock salute. “Duly noted.”
“You kids get out of here,” Tris said. “I’ll cover your shift today.”
Padraig clearly didn’t need to be asked twice as he reached for Emmy’s hand. “Your place or mine,” he asked, when they reached the sidewalk outside.
“Our place,” she replied.
Padraig frowned, confused. “Which is?”
“Whichever one we choose. Think you can borrow some of those moving boxes from Oliver?”
Padraig smiled, tugging her close enough to kiss the side of her head. “Damn, woman. Slow down. You’re always in such a hurry to get to the next part. You really need to stop and smell the roses.”
14
They walked into Padraig’s apartment hand in hand, Seamus jumping excitedly when he saw Emmy.
“Down,” Padraig commanded, the dog listening for all of three seconds before jumping up again in an attempt to lick Emmy’s face.
Emmy didn’t mind, laughing as she rubbed Seamus’s head and told the dog how much she’d missed him.
“Starting to wonder if you’re here for me or Seamus,” Padraig teased.
Emmy gave him a mischievous grin over her shoulder. “You’ll never know.”
Padraig laughed as he twisted her body away from his dog to press her against the closed door. He kissed her once more because he simply couldn’t wait another second. After spending the past few days genuinely believing he’d never be with her again, it felt as if he’d won the lottery after ten hungry years on the streets.
Emmy’s kiss proved she felt the same.
“Never again,” Padraig promised before resuming their kiss.
“Never again,” she whispered, repeating the vow. “Whatever comes our way,” she added, and Padraig realized she still needed his reassurance.
“I promise, Emmy.” And as he said the words, he vowed he would indeed walk the walk. There was no other choice. Without her, life wasn’t worth living.