Chapter Five

Eamon

Pat closes the pub early on Sundays. Last call is at ten o'clock and the doors are locked by eleven. Every other night of the week, the lights are off by one a.m. It's half past ten when Norah and I finally toss our aprons in the hamper by the back door. Norah groans as she stretches her arms over her head and arches her back, causing her shirt to lift slightly and exposing the skin of her stomach. She's completely unaware of the effect she has on me. I watch her surreptitiously as I dry my hands, then hang the towel back up on its hook. She lowers her arms and straightens her shirt. I'm still staring when she looks back up, but I don't bother hiding my interest. She looks away quickly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"If I would have known that dishes put a smile on your face, I would have asked you to do them a long time ago, lass," Pat says as he walks through the door.

She chuckles and says, "I can honestly say that dishes are the last thing to make me smile. I was thinking about one of the costumes I made last year and the girl that wore it."

"You make costumes?" I ask, leaning back against the counter and folding my arms over my chest.

Norah's eyes light up with pride, "Yes, I'm the Costume Designer for the Theatre Department on campus. I also do the costumes for some local dance studios."

"That's impressive," I tell her honestly. "Do you sew them yourself or just design them?"

"I do both. I have a team, of course, for the theater, but the dance studios and personal orders I do myself."

I raise my brows in surprise. "Are you a student too?"

"I am," she nods. "I'm in my senior year of business. Nothing special, just learning what I need to do to open my own design studio someday."

Pat interjects, "Did you see the performance they put on a couple of years ago? The one about Sleeping Beauty? She actually created the color-changing dress!"

Norah shakes her head, cheeks turning pink. "It wasn't actually color-changing. I just chose a reflective material for the skirt, and the lighting crew did the rest."

"I'm sad I missed that one," I say truthfully. "Guess I'll have to catch the next one to see just how amazing these costumes are."

I don't normally go to the plays the university puts on unless it's for class credit, but I might start making an exception.

"They're putting on a modern rendition of Beauty and The Beast in November. It's definitely been a stretch of the imagination, but I think it will be pretty great," she replies shyly, twisting her fingers together in front of her.

"Alright, you two," Pat starts. "I think you've spent enough time here. Go home and get some rest before classes tomorrow. Norah, I'll give you a lift, love, if you don't mind riding with me while I drop this deposit off at the bank."

"Oh, really, Pat. It's okay. I can just walk. It's not that far." She shrugs.

"I can take you," I say quickly. The thought of her walking alone at this time of night sets my teeth on edge. "I don't live too far away either, but I had practice today, so I took my car. It's parked out front."

"Now, there's an idea!" Pat exclaims with a little too much enthusiasm. "You won't have to wait on me, then! Eamon, you're a good lad. Norah, thank you again for your dishwashing services tonight. We'd be lost without you!"

"I suppose you'd have managed well enough without me, then, Paddy," I say begrudgingly.

He laughs and says, "Ach, Mr. Kennedy. I do thank you for your excellent cooking skills. From what I heard, those snowbirds all thought I changed my recipe and, believe it or not, like it better than the old one! I'm not sure I should really be thanking ya for that, though. You might put me out of business."

"I highly doubt that." I grin at him. "I can cook, but I'm not Paddy O'Nelly."

He beams at me and bids us farewell with the order to set the alarm on the way out. The trust this man places in us is something else.

I turn to Norah and gesture towards the door.

"Shall we?" I pause, taking in the nervous expression on her face. "Er, are you alright, lass?"

She blinks rapidly. "Uh, yeah. I just—um…well, if I'm being honest, it's that I don't really know you, and I don't make it a habit to accept rides from someone I don't know."

Nodding in understanding, I offer, "Well, I'll tell you what. I'll give you the keys to my car, and you can drive yourself home, and I'll walk. Easy as that."

"No!" she practically yells. "I couldn't possibly do that. It's really not that far. Just a fifteen-minute walk through the park. I can manage."

"I admire your bravery, Norah, but I won't be letting you walk through the dark alone. What kind of man would I be if I sent a pretty lass like yourself off on her own at night?" Honestly, my Mam would have my balls for that.

"I—" she starts, but I cut her off.

"No. I won't hear of it. I respect your decision completely to not ride in a car with someone you don't know, and I won't press that, but you will be driving my car home. You can bring it back to Paddy's tomorrow. I'll give you my number so you can let me know when it's here."

I hold my keys out in the palm of my hand. She cautiously takes them and meets my eyes. "Thank you, Eamon."

God, I love the sound of my name coming from her mouth. I glance at her perfect lips and am suddenly imagining what it would be like to place a soft kiss on them. She clears her throat, breaking the spell I'm under.

"Sorry, what?" I quickly ask, dragging my gaze back to her eyes.

"I asked which car is yours," she replies, an eyebrow cocked in question.

"Ah, I'll show you."

We exit through the back door, setting the alarm as Pat requested, and walk around the north side of the building to the parking lot out front. The pub is on the corner of an outdoor shopping center. There are parking spaces in front of the building, all the way down the street, and a small parking lot around the back. Most people show up early or pay for parking in the city lot a couple of blocks away. Thankfully, I had the good sense to show up early tonight. Why, I don't know. Maybe I was hoping to talk Paddy out of doing the dishes. I point to my black SUV sitting a few spaces down from the entrance to the pub. It's the only vehicle on the block.

"Sorry, there aren't heated seats or remote start," I say, grinning at her.

"Not a problem at all. At least you have a car! I sold mine once I got here. I figured I'd just walk everywhere or use public transportation," she explains.

"I'm sure you fit right in when you were in Ireland, then. That's all I did growing up."

"It just seems so simple. But I felt safer there than I do here." Norah shrugs.

I grimace. Being alone on the Luas at night can be a pretty scary place.

"I hope you never took public transportation at this time of night there. It's not always the safest either".

"No. When I stayed in Dublin, my room was right in Temple Bar, so I just walked everywhere. There were always people around."

I can picture her there—walking around Temple Bar, neck craning to take in all of the sights. I can see her sitting in a pub like Auld Dubliner, drinking a Guinness—or three—and laughing at the cheeky Irish ditties. The thought makes me wish we were there right now.

"Do you miss it there at all?" she asks quietly as we approach my car.

"Sometimes," I tell her. "I miss Temple Bar. There's nothing quite like it. I miss the way you can look up at the sky in the country and see the stars. You can't find that kind of solitude in Wilmington."

"That's true. In my hometown, you could easily find a field outside of city limits that would let you stargaze. There would always be a group of us that would get together on the weekends, and…" she stops and shivers.

"Here, get in. You're getting cold, and it's late," I order her.

She obeys and slides into the driver's seat, inhaling deeply.

"Sorry, about the smell," I apologize. "We football players aren't known for our lack of sweat." I wish I would have cleaned my car out before letting her get in.

Laughing, she shakes her head and glances up at me. "It doesn't stink. I promise."

"Is it okay if I give you my number so you can let me know when you've dropped the car off?"

She nods and hands me her phone. I type it in quickly and give it back to her.

"Just give me a call or text me when you drop it off here tomorrow."

"I will. Thanks again, Eamon." She smiles sweetly at me.

I wait until she closes the door and buckles her seat belt before moving to the sidewalk. I watch as she cautiously backs out of the parking spot and drives away. I think back on the night as I head towards home, and I can't be entirely upset with Paddy. Who would complain about spending hours with a beautiful girl like Norah? Even if it was doing dishes.