I shrug, not the least bit worried that I may have pissed his mom off. It is my wedding. Shouldn’t it be my choice? “Yeah, but I want to get married where my mom and dad did, by the lake.”

She smiles. “That’s where I’m gonna get married. Where my ma and da did. That’s grand.”

“Yeah, Aunt Shelia is excited.”

“Sure, she is. It’s fierce.”

I smile. “I think so.”

We fall silent for a second as we continue to cut up the fruit. We make quick work of the trays, and as we clean, we chat about her holiday. They went camping, which I think is hilarious since Fiona isn’t an outdoors kind of girl, but apparently, she had a blast.

“We had sex everywhere, and I mean everywhere. The lake, the dock, the tent, the car, the four-wheeler, everywhere. It was more of a sex holiday than a relaxed one, but then again, I feel great.”

I giggle as I shake my head. “Must be nice.”

“Oh, it was, so damn nice. Mm. Damn, my man fucks like a dream.”

“Ugh, shut up,” I groan as I wipe the counter around the trays since the juice leaked some.

“Envy green isn’t a pretty color on ya!”

“Oh hush,” I throw back at her while she carries on with her laughter. Passing by me, she flips my ponytail up, and I try to smack her with my towel, but she is quicker than I thought. With a grin on my face, I grab the bucket for ice to go fill it. When I come back, Fiona is wiping around the liquor chest, which I’ve already done, but nothing can be too clean. I dump the ice in the cooler and go to get more when I feel her staring at me.

Looking at her, I ask, “What?”

“Just be careful, okay?”

My brows come together. “About what?”

“With Declan. I know you won’t leave him ’cause ya love him and all, and I doubt he’ll want to leave ya, but his family is very powerful.”

I scoff. “You make them sound like the mafia or something.”

“Might as well be,” she answers with a shrug. “I’m just saying, be careful. Give a little with the small things, so when you fight for the big things, it won’t be that big of a deal, ya know?”

I bite the inside of my cheek as I shrug. “I shouldn’t have to give for anything, except with Declan.”

“You’re right, but his ma has a lot of pull with him. Remember, she is the first woman he ever loved. No one can be his ma.”

“But you told me not to let them change me.”

“I did, and I still want that, but it worries me, ya know? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I nod. “I don’t think Declan would allow that to happen.”

“Yeah, I don’t either, but just be careful, okay?”

“Yeah, I will,” I agree just to make her happy, but I know I have nothing to worry about.

Declan won’t hurt me and he won’t allow anyone to hurt me.

When the door opens, I look up to see Kane walking in in his carefree way. Dressed in a pair of jeans and an O’Callaghan tee, his brown hair is pushed to the side out of his eyes that are trained on Fiona.

Smiling, I glance at her as she squeals, closing the distance between them to kiss her man deeply. I hate that I am jealous of them. I haven’t been able to really kiss Declan in what seems like forever. I miss him. Turning so that I don’t have to watch the display of love, which is horrible of me, I know, I pull out my phone and text him.

I miss you.

I miss you. That’s why I’m here.

Confused, I hear the door open. Turning, I find Declan standing there, a grin on his face and a small white flower in his hand. He wears a pair of gray slacks with a light blue button-down shirt and a gray sports coat over it. It fits him so tightly around his shoulders and thighs that I find myself drooling over my fiancé. I can’t wait to see him at our wedding. Looking all dashing and all mine.

Grinning, I watch as he comes to me while I lean on the bar, my heart kicking up in speed. It always does that when he is around. It just jackhammers against my chest while my stomach does funny little flops. I pray this feeling never stops. I remember my mom saying that my dad did something to her chest every time he smiled at her. She said it felt as if he was standing there with a sledgehammer, just pounding away around her chest to get to her heart. I always thought it was a scary-sounding feeling, but now that I have Declan in my life, I totally get it.

He does that to me.

As he grins at me, I am completely stunned. I’ve always thought he was a beautiful man, but he is also very regal. Maybe it’s the suit, but my goodness, he owns the room. He’s been in meetings all week with lawyers and the other associates of O’Callaghan Whiskey, and I swear, he belongs there. He looks like the owner of a company.

Cupping my face, he kisses me hard on the lips. Parting, he kisses my nose before pulling back to hand me the flower.

“It’s sweet, thank you.”

“Not as sweet as you, though,” he says, lacing his fingers with mine. “Tell me, ya got a bit to spend with me?”

“I always have a bit to spend with you,” I say like he does in his thick Irish way.

He grins and gives me a wink as I take my apron off. Glancing at Fiona, who is currently making out with Kane, I roll my eyes. They are so engrossed in each other, it’s kinda cute.

“I’m gonna go out with Declan. I’ll be back before we open back up.”

She waves me off as Kane slowly backs her into the bar. Making a face, I say, “Please don’t have sex on the bar. We just cleaned it.”

Tearing her mouth from Kane’s, she grins at me. “I’ll clean it again.”

“Ew,” I say as Declan laughs beside me. I take his hand and we go out the side door before he pulls me to his side. Ignoring that Casey attacked me in this spot, I cuddle into Declan as we walk toward the lake. It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, there is a slight, soft breeze, and it’s just picturesque out. The best part, though, is being cuddled into his side. He is so thick and smells like whiskey and oak barrels. It’s a comforting smell and makes me feel at home.

Reaching the lake, we sit on the bank, our hands joined and my head lying against his shoulder. Watching the breeze on the lake, I let out a long breath.

“What’s wrong, my love?” he asks.

“I’ve missed you,” I answer, placing my chin onto his arm so I can look up at him. He smiles as he cups my face.