Page 121 of Broken Blood Ties

“Me!” Aoife says, hopping up to grab the marshmallows off the tray. “Can you tell me a story, Daddy?”

“Sure.” Kieran pokes a marshmallow onto the stick and hands it to Aoife. She sits, one hand holding on to it, the other propping her chin up as she rests her elbow on her thigh.

I lean back, tucking my legs up under the curved-back chair I’m seated in. I have to admit the idea of listening to Kieran’s voice tell a story has me giddy.

“Once upon a time,” he starts, and Aoife giggles. “There was a king who’d been happy with a girl, but she left him. The king thought he’d never be happy again until one day he began to have dreams. Dreams of a faceless woman who made him feel hope. He thought he was crazy at first; for how could a king hold out hope for a shadowy woman in his mind? But still he sought her out. He fell asleep whenever he could just to see her.

“Months and months later, the king received a letter from a woman telling him he’d been neglecting his kingdom. See, the king was so driven by his need to see the woman of his dreams, he’d let some of his responsibilities go.”

Unease prickles in my gut, and I pull my legs up to wrap my arms around them. Aoife pulls back her marshmallow and Kieran helps her slide it off onto her graham cracker square and chocolate.

Then he continues. “The townswoman confronted him. And through that, they got to know each other. The king began to forget more and more about the woman he so desperately tried to see in his dreams. In fact, his dreams began to morph. Instead of seeing the mystery woman every night, he dreamed of the woman from town. The king had fallen in love with her. But he was scared.”

Aoife gasps. “Scared? He’s a king!”

Kieran chuckles, glancing at me nervously. Pressure builds in my chest and prickles behind my eyelids, and I’m not sure when it happens, but a tear falls.

“Even kings get scared, Aoife. Ye see, the king was scared to love because he had tried once before, and it didn’t end well. He was worried that the woman, who’d helped him see what he was neglecting, would run and not want to be with him.”

I swallow the strangling emotion in my throat, resting my chin on my knee.

“What did he do?” Aoife asks.

“He pulled away from her. Even though that was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t know how to tell her he was in love with her.”

“That’s dumb,” Aoife says, and Kieran lets out one of his unencumbered laughs. I smile into my knees.

“Aye. The king was being dumb.” I glance up to see Kieran looking at me, and another tear falls down my cheek before I let out a disbelieving chuckle. My stomach roils in the best way, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.

Aoife bites into her s’more, and the marshmallow bursts out from the sides and sticks into the corners of her mouth. The chocolate squishes out next, and I giggle, getting up to hand Aoife a napkin.

After she’s wiped her mouth, I move to return to my seat, but Kieran’s calloused hand shoots out and grabs mine, hauling me toward his lap. My jeans meet his and I sit propped on one of his meaty legs. He’s sturdy and warm, and with the mesmerizing fire, I fold into him, head resting on his chest.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so dumb,” he confides into my ear.

Thethump, thump, thumpof his heart grows faster as he strokes a tantalizing line up my back with a single digit.

I smile, nuzzling farther into him.

Another thirty minutes roll by as Aoife tells some stories of her own; about a troll princess who lives in a world of candy. With Skittle roads and a castle made of Twizzlers. Her imagination takes off, and by the time she’s done, she’s yawning and ready for bed.

I take her upstairs to give her a long bath and get her ready for bed before we readGoodnight Moon, twice, before she dozes off to sleep. Shutting her door, I go back down to the kitchen. Kieran cleans up the snack tray and then, grabbing a crystal tumbler from the cabinet, he pours himself a glass of whiskey.

“I left the s’more stuff out in case ye wanted one.”

I smile. “Thanks, I think I’ll go make one. What about you?”

He shakes his head and follows me back outside into the brisk night. The fire is lower now and the dark pours in over the patio. With the blazing stars visible, I sit back down and tilt my head back to stare.

“It’s such a great night for a fire.”

Kieran sits down next to me, poking a fluffy marshmallow onto the roasting stick. He hands it to me. “It is. Makes me excited for the summer.”

I can’t help the cheesy tease that comes out of my mouth. “You excited for me, Kieran?”

His head snaps to mine, and I laugh nervously. I’m not sure why I’m anxious. I can joke with Kieran, talk openly about Aoife and my past with him, but when it comes to my desire for him, I’m tongue-tied.

He licks his lips, and warmth sweeps through me. I focus on putting my stick near the coals of the fire and try not to flinch when he stands to stroll behind me. The callouses on his knuckles brush against the back of my neck and I gasp as he brushes my hair to the side to bring his mouth to my neck. With a soft press, he kisses me, dragging his lips up to nip my ear.