Lucky This Isn't Real: MacBride Brothers Series St. Patrick's Day Fake Fiance Romance by Jamie Knight (digital e reader .TXT) 📕

me know that he had eaten contaminated meat from our shop. He has severe food poisoning. I have to return to Belfast sooner than I hoped, to help run things since he can’t. Tonight actually, right after the reception, is when I have to go. I was hoping to spend a lot more time with you, but I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”

Her pretty face fell into a disappointed look. I wished I could do something to make her happy, but instead, I was causing her to be sad.

“Oh. I too had hoped…”

I would have taken it as a joke in almost any other situation, but Darcy looked so sad I had to take it seriously.

“I promise I will get back here as soon as I can.” I took her hand in mine. “I’m not playing around here. I really like you, probably more than I should, and I’m pissed that work has gotten in the way.”

“Me too,” she confessed.

“I’m going to kiss you, Darcy. I can’t wait any longer.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Me neither.”

We came together naturally, the kiss as wonderful as I could have imagined. And I had imagined it plenty.

I held her close, feeling her soft warmth against me as Darcy stroked my face, our tongues tenderly caressing and exploring each other.

It was just my luck, really, meeting such a sexy woman on my first trip to America, only to have to leave her. I was determined to keep my promise and come back to her as soon as I could.

Chapter Four - Darcy

The haze of the morning after hung in my head like a mist. I hadn’t had much to drink at the reception and was still recovering from the bachelorette party. To my shame, the alcohol only flowed after Sean had left. I had needed some way to dull the pain and it hadn’t been my finest hour.

The banshee in a box shrieked on the nightstand by my bed, alerting me to the new day. It was still the weekend, so at least I didn’t have work to worry about. I would have preferred to wake up next to Sean, both of us exhausted in the aftermath, disheveled and maybe a bit sore, but blissfully satisfied. Sadly, though, that wasn’t an option.

Food was not a happy thought, my belly still in a low-key rebellion. I settled for some toast and coffee, satisfied with meeting the minimum requirements. Given a choice, I’d prefer not to have to eat at all, or at least to have one of those little pills that had the equivalent of a full meal compressed into a single swallow, like they showed in sci-fi shows.

My food issues could still be lingering trauma from being shown off like an accessory at my father’s dinner parties when I was younger. Even the sight of a place setting still filled me with a low but persistent dread. I was usually able to push it down, but it was always there, nonetheless.

My phone chimed as I downed the last few swallows of coffee. It was a reminder to help Maggie pack for her honeymoon. She was to have a whole week in Ireland with her new husband and she wanted enough options in the way of clothing to cover any weather scenario. That was a two-person job if there ever was one.

At one o’clock, I made my way over to the penthouse apartment where she and Gavin now lived in married bliss.

The half-empty suitcase lay open on the bed, neatly rolled clothes filling it strategically like a life-sized game of Tetris. It was a bit of a job getting everything Darcy would need for a week into one suitcase, but she liked to pack light. It caused fewer headaches at the airport, which she didn’t like at the best of times.

She always said that in her mind, airports were a lot like hospitals, dreadful to visit but regrettably necessary in given situations. Hence her campaign to get the state legislators to extend the rail service.

Alas, there were no trains to Ireland. It was either a plane or a boat. And since Gavin suffered from seasickness, a plane was the only option.

“Have you decided if you’ll be staying with the MacBrides?” I asked.

“We’ve decided to stay at a hotel,” she said. “He wants to show me a few houses while we’re there. I think he still wants to go back. Not immediately, of course, since his career is going really well here, but he wants to have the option. Goodness knows when, but he seems sure it will happen one day.”

“Will you go with him when he does?”

“Hell yeah. His film career is mostly keeping us here, but he’s getting to the stage where he can live where he wants, and the work will follow. He can fly to wherever he’s filming. I’ll go wherever he does. That doesn’t sound too submissive, does it?”

I grinned.

“A bit subby, but not too bad. It mostly sounds like you are really devoted to the man you loved enough to marry. Enough so that you would be willing to give up part of your happiness for him. There’s nothing wrong with that. Particularly if he would do the same for you. Then it’s just reciprocity, which is a good thing.”

“You know I think I would like it, too. It was actually my idea to go to Belfast, partly because I thought he would like to, but also because it’s beautiful. It would be a great place to raise kids.”

“Kids, huh? You have something to tell me?”

She laughed out loud.

“Not yet, but maybe after the honeymoon.”

“The MacBride genes are strong, so I’m sure the baby will look like Gavin’s side of the family. All of the brothers are very handsome.”

“You’ve got that right. Especially Gavin and