“Not a one as pretty as you are, Nan Galvin.” He leaned forward to steal a kiss, but before he could, Katie barged through the kitchen door. He waited while she put the crock of soup in front of Nan, along with a plate of sliced homemade bread and butter.
“Thank you,” Nan said, giving her a smile.
“Cherry tart for dessert,” she said. “Warm from the oven. Can I get you a piece?”
She grinned. “All right. I’m famished. Bring it on.”
“That’s the spirit,” Katie said, walking over to the kitchen door.
Nan dug into the chowder, then groaned. “It’s wonderful. This place is wonderful. It’s exactly how I’d imagined an Irish pub to be,” she said.
“Now, I know you have pubs in America,” he said.
“I don’t spend a lot of time in them,” she said. Nan pointed to a pair of socks hanging from a rafter. “I’m sure there’s a good story behind those.”
“There’s a hundred years of stories in this pub,” he said. “The Speckled Hound has been around since the turn of the nineteenth century. I don’t know them all. But I do know one.” He grabbed her hand and drew her along to a dark corner. “There was this pretty American girl who came to Ballykirk and she walked into the Speckled Hound and the bloke behind the bar was so besotted that he had to kiss her.”
“Besotted?” Nan asked.
“Yeah, besotted.” He bent close and captured her mouth, his hands spanning her narrow waist. He dragged her off the stool and trapped her against the bar, his hands braced on either side of her. A current of desire raced through his body as her fingers furrowed through the hair at the nape of his neck. This wasn’t just some one-sided infatuation, Riley thought to himself. She was kissing him back, her tongue tangling with his, her hands wandering over his body.
The taste of her was like a drug, so incredibly addictive that all he could think about was more. He ran his palms along her waist and then slipped them beneath her shirt, searching for warm, smooth flesh.
Riley couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt the need to completely possess a woman. Most of the women he’d been with the past few years had been nothing more than physical attractions, driven by a hot body and raw need. The truth was, he hadn’t wanted anything more than that.
But this was different. He wanted to know everything about her—what she loved, how she lived, all the tiny details that made her the fascinating woman she was. Still, he wondered if the attraction was intensified because the clock was ticking. She’d leave in ten days and he’d never see her again. Was that the source of his desire?
“I’ve never kissed an American before,” he murmured, his lips barely touching hers. “I don’t think I realized what I was missing.”
She smiled, then pulled him into another kiss. “This is not what I expected when I told the immigration officer I was here for pleasure.”
“Oh, that I can provide.” He nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck. She smelled so good. He’d almost forgotten how nice it was to have a woman to focus on, even if it was only temporary. “Why don’t you finish your lunch and then we’ll go out for a drive. I have a place I’d like to show you.”
He wrapped his hands around her waist and set her back on the stool. She picked up her spoon. “This is really good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
Riley watched her eat. Unlike some of the girls he’d known, she seemed to enjoy her food. He hated to see a woman pick at her food like a bird. “So, I think we should go out tonight. Find some fun.”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yeah. Why not? It’s your first night in Ireland. I think I should try to make it memorable.”
“All right. It’s a date,” she said.
Riley grinned. Now all he had to do was convince Danny to work at the pub tonight—and if things went well, for the next ten days.
“NOW, LET THE CLUTCH out very slowly and at the same time, give it a bit of … I think you’d call it gas.”
Nan focused on Riley’s instructions. She’d been behind the wheel for nearly a half hour and managed to drive no more than five or ten yards at best, and that was on a completely flat road. “All right. Slowly. Slowly,” she said. The car stopped with a jerk, the engine dying. “And I’m going to ruin your car in the process. This can’t be good for it.” She turned to Riley. “Are there no cars in Ireland with an automatic transmission?”
“Of course there are. I just don’t happen to own one. So this car will have to do, unless you plan to see Ireland by bicycle or on foot.”
She drew a deep breath. “All right. One more time. But if I kill it again, we’re done. At least for now.”
“Crossed fingers,” Riley said. “Just a nice smooth switch, one pedal out, then the other in. Feel where the clutch catches.”
She did as she was told, focusing on the clutch as she let it out. And suddenly, she realized what he was talking about. She felt the clutch engage and gave the car a bit of gas. To her astonishment, they started off down the road, the ride smooth.
“Oh, my God!” Nan cried. “I’m doing it. I’m driving in Ireland. I’m driving in Ireland.”
“All right, now let’s shift.”
“No, no, no. Let’s just stay at this speed.”
“Nan, we can’t drive in first gear forever. Shifting isn’t hard once you get going. Just push the clutch in, shift and let it out slowly.” He put his hand over hers on the gearshift. “Ready?”
Nan winced. “Ready.”
“Clutch in. Shift. Clutch out. And there we go.”
She laughed. “All right, now we’re moving. This isn’t so hard. What’s next?”
“Third gear,” he said. “Speed up a little. Clutch in. And shift. Clutch out.”
They rolled along on the deserted road, Nan’s mind spinning with all the things she had to remember. The steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car and the car was on the wrong side of the road. And she had three pedals where there were usually two. And the gearshift made things nearly impossible. But now that she could drive, her adventures could begin.
The truth was, as long as she couldn’t drive, Riley would be required to accompany her wherever she wanted to go. “Stop sign,” she said, pointing down the road. “Stop sign!”
“Don’t worry. Just do what you do in your car. Take your foot off the accelerator and put it on the brake.”
To her relief, the car began to slow as it approached the stop sign. But then it began to shudder.
“Clutch in, clutch in,” he said.
But she wasn’t quick enough and the engine died. They slowly rolled up to the stop sign, the car silent. “I think this would be a good place to stop for today,” she said.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders. “You did a fine job of work there. A few more lessons and you’ll be ready to go solo. Until you’re ready, I’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”
Nan smiled. “Don’t you have to work?”
“Nah, my brother Danny is going to work for me. He’s barely worked all summer, so he owes me some time.” Riley reached over and grabbed her waist. “Come on, let’s switch.” He pulled her on top of him, wriggling toward the driver’s seat.
But the car was ridiculously small and their limbs tangled together until it was impossible to move. “Now I know how those clowns feel,” she said, laughing.
“Wait,”