Mr. O'Grady's Magic Box (9 page)

At the door she whirled to face him. He
stood so close her feet brought her up short and she backed herself
against the wall. He matched her steps until they were as close as
two people could be without embracing.

"Ian, I had—"

"Aubrey, I'd like—"

They spoke at the same time then chuckled as
their gazes met.

"You first," he told her as his fingers
tucked a lose tendril of hair behind her ear.

"I enjoyed the evening, thank you." Those
beautiful Atlantic blues stared at her, caressing her features. His
gaze lingered on her lips, his own parting as he leaned near her.
Her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat faster in her
chest, but instead of a kiss, his lips grazed near her ear, sending
shivers down her body. Her eyes fluttered closed and her hand
gripped his arm, wanting him closer, wanting so much more.

"I had a lovely time, too." His warm breath
tickled. Then his lips pressed against her cheek before he moved
back.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. He kissed
her on the cheek. Her gaze wavered to his. His lips curved into a
smile as if he knew she wanted him to
really
kiss her.
Get a grip. Ian isn't a mind reader.
Then his lips widened
further. He did know.

"May I call on you tomorrow?" he asked.

Her mouth fell open. "Call—" She shook her
head to clear her thoughts. She wanted kisses and sweet caresses
and he wanted to call. Maybe she made something more out of the
night than there really was. She met his gaze again ready to say,
"Don't bother to fit me into your schedule; I will be busy;" but
his expression shifted with unease and she realized the attraction
wasn't one sided after all.

"I would like to see you again," his voice
lowered, the thick resonance touching her. What sparked between
them could never be casual.

I want to see you, too.
"Of course,
you'll see me. I still need to interview your grandfather." For her
own well-being she would force herself to keep their new-found
friendship at arms' length. She was only going to be here for a
short time, not enough time to rekindle the romance. After she went
home, she'd probably never see him again.

He nodded. "Pinning my granddad down might
prove a challenge with the Spring Enchantment in the next few
days."

She already knew this. "I'll manage."

She used the key card and pushed her door
open. Inside her room, she turned to look back at him. His dark
hair windblown from their walk on the pier, and cheeks a rose color
beneath his dark beard stubble, made him look darn right kissable
standing there in the hall. The urge to throw her arms around Ian
almost had her feet flying toward him. Only the grip on the
doorframe kept her still. She had a hunch, saying goodbye to Ian
Quinn for a second time would prove more difficult than she
thought.

Chapter Sixteen

Ian stood in the hall staring at the closed
door, torn between walking down the stairs and knocking on her door
until she let him in. Every fiber in his being told him to take her
in his arms and show her how much he wanted her.

He ran a hand through his hair. He must be
losing it. He hadn't seen Aubrey in forever and he already decided
he didn't want to let her go. "I lost her once," he murmured. Their
time together in Ireland haunted him, intruded on every
relationship he forged after her. No one measured up to the way he
felt when he'd been with her.
Soul mate.
The word whispered
in his ear as if the faeries spoke to him, reminding him of his
wish to find happiness like his parents had found.

Aubrey hadn't realized how close she came to
being ravished when he had her cornered against the wall. Her body
was so close he could all but taste her, but he knew if he kissed
her, he wouldn't want to stop there. He would have taken her key
card, invited himself in, and showed her just how much he wanted
her—all of her. He turned away with an exasperated sigh and headed
downstairs.

Thoughts of Aubrey stayed with him on his
drive back to the house. As he let himself in, Morris greeted him
at the door, his tail wagging—well actually, his whole body
wagging, as if he were saying, '
Soooo, how did it go?'

He dropped his keys on the entryway table
and headed to the patio door in the living room. "She let me
explain what happened, Morris. I think she might have even forgiven
me." He wasn't sure she would hear him out, and there had been no
guarantee she'd forgive him even with all the facts. He slid the
sliding glass door open and Morris darted out, heading for the
grass lining the brick-wall, fencing in the backyard.

He'd been foolish at nineteen to let her go
without telling her why. "And you've paid for the mistake, too." At
the time, he believed he was doing what was best for Aubrey, but in
truth, he'd been afraid. In the short time they spent in Ireland,
he knew she was the one, but he didn't trust what they had. "She
was so young." He laughed, a short snorting kind of laugh. "I was
young."

He loved her and knew she loved him, but
would it have been enough to make a commitment to spend the rest of
their lives together? He let out a long tired sigh. He would never
know.

She's here now,
the voice in his head
reminded him. He only had days to convince her what they felt in
Ireland was real.

His gaze wavered to the clear star-filled
sky above. The breeze was cool, but he wasn't chilled. He could
hear the crashing waves from here and the scent of the ocean always
reminded him he was home.

"Aubrey." He said her name like a caress.
His parents had a true love. The way they would look at each other
sometimes would make him blush, but he wanted what they had.
"Follow your heart, Ian."
He could still hear his mother's
sweet voice when he called home to tell both his parents about
Aubrey. His parents had him on speakerphone so they could both talk
to him.

"And your mother doesn't mean the one
beating in your pants," his father added for good measure.
"Ouch."

His mother must have smacked him and he was
feigning injury from the offense.

"You're a brawny man, I didn't hurt you,"
his mother said.

His father's deep chuckle reached his ears.
"You're speaking to a guy, honey. We don't always recognize the
difference. You gotta be clear on the matter, son. Make sure your
feelings for the girl are true."

It was his last conversation with his
parents. His meeting Aubrey could have been simply a coincidence.
"Or the fae folk were having a go at matchmaking." His lips curved.
Whatever the reason, he knew Aubrey was the one for him.

Morris finished his business and came
bounding back to him. Ian crouched down beside the dog to scratch
him behind the ears. "I could use a little fae magic right about
now."

Morris turned away from him, his ears
lifting as much as a Bassett Hound could lift floppy ears. He
whined and wagged his tail as if he spotted someone he knew. Ian
followed Morris' gaze toward the patio furniture. No one was
there.

He rose to his feet. His brows furrowed as
he watched Morris pad his way over to the chair nearest the
barbeque, plop his behind down, and stared up at the imaginary
person.

The breeze picked up. The tinkling of chimes
joined in on the chorus. His eyes landed on the moon-and-stars wind
chimes hanging off the patio cover. Reece had given it to him for
his birthday last year. For a moment, he almost believed the fae
folk were answering him.

Morris barked and pranced around. He shook
his head at his nutty dog. "Come on, boy. Let's go inside." He
headed for the door. Morris hesitated for a moment before losing
interest in whatever he had seen, and came bounding for the comfort
of the indoors.

Chapter Seventeen

Rrrring
…
rrring
. The trill
startled Aubrey out of a deep sleep.
Rrring
... Somewhere in
the back of her subconscious, she recognized the sound. Her
blurry-eyed gaze searched for the archaic device. She opened one
eye, her gaze landing on the phone sitting on the end table next to
the bed. For such a non-threatening object, her first response was
to hurl it out the window.

Rrring…

"All right already." She scooted to the edge
of the bed, her fingers grabbing the receiver and bringing it to
her ear. "Hello." Her voice croaked out the word as if her throat
dislodged a frog. Her eyes closed, hoping to find sleep again.

"You better tell me you stayed up all night
writing the article because I can't think of any other reason why
your cell is turned off—except maybe if you're busy for other
reasons. Is there a cabana boy with you?"

"Loretta?" She knew it was her editor, but
her fog-filled brain took a second to catch up. She peeked one eye
at the clock radio. Okay, maybe it wasn't that early.

"Don't try to be cute," Loretta warned.
"Spill it and don't leave out any of the details."

"Uh..." What did she tell her? When Aubrey
hesitated, she came up with her own scenario.

"I was right. There is a cabana boy with
you. Is he your soul mate?" she squealed in delight.

Aubrey forced her limbs to move and sat up
in bed. Leaning against the headboard, she hugged her knees close
to her chest. "I hate to burst your little bubble, but I'm sleeping
alone."

Loretta's sigh was long and
over-exaggerated. "Too bad."

It was too bad. Her night with Ian ended way
too soon in her opinion. If he had said the word, made one move,
she would have surrendered to the craving she witnessed smoldering
in his eyes. But in the light of day she was glad they kept the
evening casual. Smoldering looks didn't count when they weren't
acted upon. Or so she told herself. It troubled her that not once
did Nelson enter her thoughts last night.

Ian talked about his brother and the new
house he was renovating. She told him about work and places she'd
been; but not once did Nelson's name come up.

"Hey, are you there?" Loretta's voice
brought her out of her reverie.

"Sorry." She chewed on her lower lip. "I
met…an old friend yesterday."

"Friend?" She could hear the piqued interest
in Loretta's voice before she harrumphed. "What do you need with a
friend? You're on a job and your assignment is to see if the magic
box works or doesn't work. You don't have time for visiting old
friends. You need to be on the lookout for
Mr. Tall, Dark and
Handsome
. Start thinking soul mate."

"Who says my soul mate possesses any of
those attributes? He could be bald and overweight with a great
personality."

Loretta clicked her tongue. "If I'm
conjuring up a soul mate, I'm going with the cliché of the
mysterious man. He's tall, dark, and handsome. So who's the old
friend you ran into?"

Aubrey smiled. It didn't take Loretta long
to go back to being nosey. "I ran into Ian."

For several seconds silence took over, a
rare occurrence with Loretta. Then her keen senses took over,
jumping on it, her excitement barely contained. "Ian, as in your
Ian from Ireland? The guy whose kisses can start a bone-melting
fire spreading through your blood?"

She cleared her throat. Loretta would never
let her forget those words she spoke in her alcohol-induced state.
"Yes, but before you read into this, Ian works at the inn—well
actually co-owns the inn. Mr. O'Grady is his grandfather."

"Oh, isn't this simply scrumptious. I can
see it now. Reporter meets long lost love. Fae magic at its best,
bringing two star-crossed lovers back together. You're going to
work this into the article, right?"

Now she was taking this too far. "Loretta,
hold on."

"What? You're going to see Ian again, aren't
you? And I don't mean passing him in the halls."

It's not like they could pick up where they
ended all those years ago. She had a boyfriend.
Didn't cross
your mind last night when you held Ian's hand and fantasized about
kissing him.

"Aubreee…y," Loretta drew out her name. "Did
you hear me?"

"I'm with Nelson." Somehow her claim fell
short.

Loretta's rich laughter didn't help. "Honey,
we both
know
where Nelson is and he's not with you."

Aubrey pinched the bridge of her nose. "You
know, I really can't do this right now with you. I'll email my
pictures I have of the magic box."

"Don't be angry, Aubrey. I just—"

She didn't let her finished. "I'll get back
to you." She plopped the phone back on its receiver, ending the
call. She wasn't angry with Loretta for her snide remark about
Nelson; she was angry with herself. She never thought of herself as
a flighty person who didn't know what she wanted, but her trip down
memory lane with Ian had her contemplating
what if
the magic
box really worked. The soul mate theory crossed her mind more than
a few dozen times last night.

Ian played the perfect gentleman when he
could have taken advantage of the situation. The leisurely stroll
on the pier, the scent of the sea and seaweed wafted in the air,
putting her at ease. The music coming from a nearby pub was like
velvet seduction as Ian held her close. When his gaze met hers, the
blaze of desire lit his eyes, sending her spiraling down the path
of no return—but he didn't act on the impulse. He held back just
out of reach. He walked her back to her room, leaving her at the
door with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hmm… Not exactly a way a soul
mate claims his one and only." Thank goodness one of them kept a
clear head.

Mr. O'Grady's stories of fae magic and the
Victorian ambience of the Inn helped to set the scene for romance.
Real magic had nothing to do with it.

Chapter Eighteen

Ian clutched the magazine he purchased early
this morning as he strolled into the kitchen. His granddad and
Reece ceased all conversation. Their gazes locked on his every
move, anticipation so thick in the air it buzzed in his ears. His
lips twitched as he did his best to ignore them. He knew what they
wanted, but he wasn't about to discuss what Aubrey and he did last
night. Not that they did anything he couldn't share.