James scoffed. “Not bloody likely. It’s all I can do to fight them off.” He flopped down in the wooden rocker next to Ian and propped his feet up on the railing as his brother was doing. They sat in silence for a long while, relaxing and enjoying the quiet sound of the surf and the cool breeze coming off the Atlantic.
“I miss the sea,” Ian sighed. “That’s the only bad part about living in Brandon, it’s pretty far inland.” Reaching into the ice bucket next to his chair, he pulled out a pair of Guinnesses and handed one to James. They popped off the caps and clinked the bottles in toast. “Slainte, my brother,” Ian said.
“Slainte,” echoed James. Taking a long swig of the dark beer, he settled back into his chair and stared stoically at the breaking waves on the beach below.
“Want to talk about it?” Ian asked quietly.
James shook his head. “Nope. I want to hear about your girl,” he said with a grin.
Ian’s brilliant smile was visible even in the dim light. “You’re going to love her. Best thing that’s ever happened to me. She’s beautiful, smart, funny…just a truly amazin’ woman.” He re-crossed his feet on the railing. “You know I used to have a hell of a time with insomnia. Now it only bothers me when we’re apart.”
James gasped in horror. “You slept with this woman out of wedlock? What would Ma say?”
“Shut it, Seamus,” Ian laughed. “You’ve no room to talk.”
James frowned and looked down at his beer. “Why don’t you ever call me James like everyone else does?” he said quietly.
“Because it’s not you. James is this larger than life persona you’ve created, Seamus is the man I know you are,” Ian explained. “For example, I can safely say that right now James is on top of the world, but Seamus is pretty fuckin’ miserable.” Pulling his feet down, he sat up and turned to face the younger man. “So I’ll ask you again, Seamus, do you want to talk about it?”
With a world-weary sigh, James let his head fall back against the chair. “I’m so tired, Ian. I want to go home and when I get there I want to sleep for a month. I just want some peace and quiet.”
“And the rest of it?”
“And I’m tired of being so fucking alone all the time.” James admitted. “All these girls throwing themselves at me and none of them know anything about me other than I sing for a band.” He snorted in disgust. “It’s shameful, really. Not that I didn’t enjoy it in the beginning, of course, but now…as funny as it sounds, it would be nice to hear ‘no’ from a woman once in a while.”
Ian chuckled. “Careful what you wish for. Saying something like that will definitely come back to bite you in the ass and I don’t need the sight to see that one coming.” He took a long swallow of the stout and tilted his head to look at the younger man. “Am I actually hearing that you’re ready to settle down, then?”
James thought for a moment and sighed again. “Maybe. I don’t know. All I do know is that this just isn’t working for me anymore.” He regarded his big brother for a moment then added quietly, “Settling down seems to be doing you good. Maybe I want something like that.”
Ian raised his bottle in salute and smiled. “Then here’s to you getting what it takes to make you happy.”
2
Brandon, FL, US –Present Day– the last week of April
Lisbeth Vargo threw a baleful look over her shoulder at the full-length mirror in her small apartment bedroom, glaring at the way the fabric of her new dress clung to her behind. Lily lay sprawled across the bed, watching her try on the knit outfit and trying her best not to giggle at her friend’s disconcertion.
Beth rapidly shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “I can’t possibly wear this. See, just look at my butt when I move. Looks like two bobcats fighting in a sack back there.” She looked back over her shoulder again and grinned, “At least they’re healthy bobcats, wouldn’t you say?”
Howling with laughter, Lily clutched her stomach and waved a hand frantically for Beth to stop so that she could catch her breath. When at last she was able to speak, she said, “The dress looks fabulous on you.” Suddenly she wriggled around on the bed and felt around underneath her. “You’ve made a book up in the bed again,” she giggled as she reached beneath the covers, “Let’s see what you’re reading this week.”
Beth shrieked and lunged for the paperback, but Lily snatched it back from her fingers at the last second. “Touch of the Highlander,” Lily read, flipping through the pages of the historical romance, “Ooh, this one sounds good. Doona ye ken how bad I’m wanting ye, lass…”
“Give me that,” Beth laughed, plucking it neatly from Lily’s hand. “It’s research.” She dropped it on her bedside table and waggled a menacing finger. “I need to know what to ask for specifically when I’m conjuring up my dream man.”
Glancing around the bedroom, Lily spied the carefully arranged cluster of candles on the desk. “Let’s see. Yellow for attraction, red for love, hibiscus and jasmine petals in the bowl …yes, my little witchy friend has indeed been busy.”
Beth appraised herself in the mirror once again and grudgingly decided that maybe it did look okay, although not the kind of clothes she was accustomed to wearing. The gray sweater dress did wonderful things for her lush figure, accentuating the long legs and generous breasts. It also, much to her dismay, hugged the slight extra padding she carried over her stomach and hips and she picked at the material trying to will it to loosen just a little. She was hardly overweight, just–as she put it-lumpy in places she shouldn’t be.
“Quit it. You look great,” Lily ordered. “Better than mortal man deserves.”
Giving in, Beth gave her dark red curls a toss and nodded, “Indeed, if you say it, it must be so.” She regarded her friend in the mirror. “Are you getting nervous yet?” she asked in a more serious vein.
Lily blushed slightly and smiled. “A little, I guess. It’s hard to believe the wedding is only a few days away. It seems like just a week or so ago I went to the Castle with you to apply for that job.”
Beth remembered back to that day around seven months before. She worked as a Tarot card reader at Castle Wilde, the renaissance faire theme park owned by Dan and Meg Wilde, the groom’s sister and brother-in-law. She had dragged her friend with her to apply for a job reading the cards part-time. Lily had met resident artist, occasional cast member and soon-to-be husband Ian there and the rest, as they say, was history. Their relationship hadn’t been always smooth, however, marred by a complicated love triangle and nearly culminating in the death of all three. Now that the drama was over, Lily was happier than she had ever been, getting ready to begin a new life with the man of her dreams–literally–and Beth was ecstatic for them both.
She eased out of the dress and carefully hung it up, slipping back into her familiar jeans and her favorite Dr. Seuss t-shirt. Giving her unruly hair a good shake, she turned to Lily and finally voiced the question that had been on her mind for the last couple of days. “So…how was it meeting the whole family?” she drawled.
“He’s very sweet,” Lily replied promptly, “not what I expected at all.”
Beth tried her best to appear nonchalant at that statement, but knew Lily would pick up on her excitement. “You’re describing the whole