Page 101 of Awakened Desires

I turn and hold her stare. “No.” Not since I went to fix the dishwasher at the bar. Admittedly that wasn’t long ago, but there were extenuating circumstances. It had been impossible not to think about drinking when I’d been surrounded by alcohol.

“That’s good.”

Does she believe me? It’s hard to tell.

“I’ll take care of Aidan,” I say. “He’s the best reason in the world to avoid booze.”

“I know.”

“I’ll take care of Aidan while you take care of yourself,” I promise.

She smiles. “Thank you, Callan.”

The kettle bubbles as it boils, and then the switch clicks up.

"I should ring Rory to see if it’s okay for me to have Aidan there for a few days.”

“What if you can’t?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. But if not, I’ll go to a hotel or something. It’ll be fine.”

I pour the boiled water into a bottle to cool and then make myself comfortable in the chair while Niamh sits on the bed. Aidan seems happy enough to suckle on my finger, allowing me to call Rory. He answers almost immediately.

"Hi," I say.

"Is everything okay?" he asks.

It's hard to imagine that a couple of hours ago, we were asleep together in the same bed. I can still remember kissing him goodbye this morning. My heart felt so much lighter than it does now. Being around Rory is easy. I've gone from never kissing a man to not wanting to stop kissing him. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised, considering how close we were as kids. But looking back, I had no idea that Rory had feelings for me. And of course I can't recall that time and try to figure out if I might've had feelings for him because everything is shrouded in a dark cloud.

"Niamh needs a break for a few days."

"Do you want to bring Aidan here?" His answer is immediate and certain.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. I talked to everyone on Sunday just in case. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No. Of course not.” I have butterflies in my stomach.

“Stefan checked with the letting agency yesterday. They said our landlord is happy for you to stay. Both of you.”

"It'll only be for a few days," I reiterate. "Niamh just needs a break. She’s not giving Aidan to me permanently.”

"He can stay here for as long as Niamh needs.”

"Thanks, Rory. And thank everyone else for me."

"You can thank them yourself."

"Of course. I'm sorry."

Rory laughs. "Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know. I'm—"

"A little overwhelmed?"

"Yes. That."