Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

It’s a minute to seven,and I’m waiting for Kieran.

I’m leaning against the little white-painted gate by the road. Every minute or so, I duck down to squint through the orchard toward the beach entrance, in case Kieran’s coming that way.

Footsteps crunch against gravel, and my heart jumps into my throat.

Okay, come on. Cool, confident, and in charge.

Then I smooth a hand down my front and grimace. I’m already sweating through my nice date night shirt, but two out of three ain’t bad, I guess.

There he is, coming around the corner. I couldn’t possibly miss the bright pink hair, or the shirt he’s wearing—almost the same colour.

“Hi!” Kieran calls out, fluttering his fingers as he speeds up his already quick walk to a trot.

“Hey.” I tuck my hands into my pockets, stepping up onto the road as I smile.

As he gets closer, it becomes obvious that his fuchsia pink shirt is soft and drapey—I think it’s silk. He’s paired it with tight black shorts and white high-tops.

Whoa. I thought my nerves would get better when I saw him—not worse. But Kieran looks stunning. Next to him, I’m suddenly regretting my choice of date night outfit: classic, crisp white button-up shirt and blue jeans.

“Hi,” Kieran says again as he stumbles to a halt, twisting his hands in front of himself as he sidles from foot to foot. His cheeks are flushed pink, and he sounds breathless.

I haven’t seen him like this before.

“Did you run the whole way?” I ask him, and when he sheepishly nods, I can’t help my grin. “Oh, jeez. Come on, let’s sit down,” I tell him, and then I offer him my arm. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”

“So do you. Who knew you clean up that nice?” Kieran teases me, slipping his hand around my bicep. I can feel the little shiver running down his spine, and the way he steps closer to me like he can’t help himself.

I swallow hard, pressing my other hand on top of his and walking him down the freshly-mown path.

“Oooh. This looks nice,” Kieran tells me.

“Thanks.” It doesn’t end there, though. We step off the path that leads between the road and the beach, and I lead him down another mown path all the way to the furthest corner of the orchard.

Kieran stumbles to a halt and stares, and I swallow nervously as I wait for his reaction.

Is it too much? God, I hope not.

I know how much Kieran wants to see the world, and I couldn’t bear it if I finally put my heart on the line only for him to drift away. So I can’t waste any time blowing him away—or straight into my port.

So to speak.

So, at the end of this newly-made path, I mowed a neat circle like a green carpet. Then I picked wildflowers and scattered the petals across the picnic blanket in the middle. I lit candles and put them around the edges—with buckets of water hidden in the long grass nearby for safety, of course—and set up my camp stove to cook dinner.

The rest of our provisions are in a picnic basket I borrowed from Berty and Doug: a second blanket to wrap around our shoulders, a couple of bottles of wine I’ve just finished chilling in the ocean, and snacks.

“I…” Kieran trails off, and he finally turns to stare at me. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Is it too much? Or not enough…?” I ask.

Kieran slides both of his soft hands into mine and smiles at me like he’s completely baffled. “Neither. It’s great. Come on, let’s go!”

I can’t help a laugh as Kieran trots off for the picnic blanket. He tows me along behind him by both my hands until we get there. Then he grins and lets go, pirouetting into a seated position on the blanket.

And he doesn’t even trip over a single candle, to my immense relief.

“Okay,” I breathe out, settling cross-legged onto the blanket. “Food. Let’s see. I made a frittata, and there’s also a salad. And potato chips. And wine, of course…”

“Let’s start with the wine,” Kieran grins at me. He’s glowing like I’ve never seen him before, but he’s still got that sweet little shy air about him as I pour us both glasses. “Seriously, though. This is incredible. Thank you, Gage.”

Phew.

Relief makes my shoulders sink as I hand over his glass. “I’m really glad you like it.” I lick my lips and hold up my glass. “So… here’s to us, huh?”

Kieran tilts his head, squinting up at me, and then he smiles and clinks his glass. “To us,” he says, and he takes a nice long sip. “Mmm. This is nice.”

“Mmhmm.” I take a few more sips myself, swirling the glass around and smiling as I finally get to enjoy the beautiful evening atmosphere. We can just about glimpse the ocean through the trees, but the beach is hidden behind the rocks.

“You pulled this off pretty quickly, considering you weren’t even planning on asking me out.”

I splutter, almost choking on a mouthful of wine.

He’s right. But nobody apart from me should know that.

Once I’ve shaken the spilled wine off my hand, I lift my gaze to meet his knowing little smile. Out of a hundred things I want to say, there’s one thing I have to ask first.

“How the hell did you know?”

Kieran laughs at the dumbfounded look on my face. “When I finished your sentence. There was a funny look on your face, and I just knew.”

I slowly shake my head. “Wow. Okay. Well, you’re right.” Then I squint at him. “But I thought…”

“That I’d be mad about it?” Kieran shakes his head. “Me too, for about half a second. But then you just looked so much more excited all of a sudden. I knew you weren’t just sparing my feelings.”

I breathe out a shaky laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s about right.”

“So… now that the secret’s out, what were you actually about to ask me?” Kieran tilts his head, sliding his knee over until it touches mine.

I clear my throat sheepishly. “Whether you wanted to work… with me, or for me… help me with the festival.”

Kieran’s eyes slowly widen as he stares into space. “Ohhhh.” Then he looks back at me and starts to giggle. “Seriously? You were gonna try to be my boss before fucking me? How did you think that would work out?”

There it is again—the sizzle in the air, the tip of his tongue darting across his lips, the flutter in my throat, the tingle sinking into my belly and racing along my skin…

I raise my eyebrow right back at him. “Maybe that’s what you need. You tell me.”

Gotcha.

Kieran stares at me like he’s forgotten how to breathe. His lips slowly part as a blush creeps up his cheekbones, right to the tip of his nose.

Suddenly, it’s my turn to grin at him.

Kieran gulps hard, and then he finally shoves me with his elbow and giggles. “Shut up,” he giggles… but he doesn’t sit upright again, either.

Kieran sprawls against my shoulder, his chest pressing into my arm, his face just inches away as he beams up at me. So I turn my face toward his, reaching up slowly to cup his cheek in my palm.

A smile still plays around my lips as I watch him. “Oh, I won’t. That’s not what you need, is it?”

Kieran swallows, clears his throat, and then swipes a hand across his cheeks. “Yeah. Maybe not. I guess I’m… what they call a strong personality.” He glances up at me with just a touch of anxious nerves in his face.

So I let my thumb stroke gently along his jaw. When I breathe in his scent, I feel like there’s a part of my lungs I’ve just never found before, and it’s filling up with the purest oxygen I’ve ever felt.

I didn’t plan for any of this… but I know how to recognise a good thing, and I’m not going to let it pass me by.

“Come here,” I whisper.

Kieran closes his eyes, tips his chin up, and—at last—he sinks into my arms.

I lean down and press my lips against Kieran’s soft, full mouth. He tastes exactly like I imagined: warm and sweet and full of light. As our mouths and souls collide, the dance between us starts out light and gentle—but it doesn’t stay that way for long.

As Kieran folds into me, moans against my mouth, he lets me have everything I’m seeking. His vulnerability, his softness, his joy… all of it is right there, and he’s offering it to me with both hands.

I can’t believe how fucking lucky I am.

When I finally pull back, I can barely breathe. Nothing else seems to matter except Kieran—holding him, touching him, stroking the tiny hairs away from his forehead, kissing his sensitive lips with all I have…

At last, we open our eyes, watching each other through the darkening trees with the orange-streaked sky overhead.

Kieran softly giggles, reaching up to rest his palm against my chest. “Wow,” he whispers. “That’s the best first kiss I ever had.”

“Worth the wait?”

Kieran doesn’t even answer with words. He just rolls his eyes skywards and moans enthusiastically, collapsing against my arm and spilling his wine glass everywhere.

Even right into the frittata, as the camp stove sizzles and goes out.

“Shit—”

“Whoa!” I laugh, catching Kieran’s glass in one hand. I can see him about to grab the hot frittata pan without thinking, but I just manage to grab his wrist in time with the other.

Kieran squeaks and collapses into me again.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” I grin at him.

Kieran beams up at me, looking so sweet and so happy that I just can’t help smiling back at him. “No,” he corrects me. “Take it as a hell yes.”

“Noted,” I wink at him. “Now, before dinner gets too cold, and the wine gets too warm… let’s eat. The special tonight is white wine frittata.”

“Perfect,” Kieran breathes out. “That sounds perfect.”

And, honestly, I have to agree. It’s not the first date I expected. But this is Kieran, so… of course it isn’t.

It’s so much better.