I feel so self-conscious, as if at any moment she is going to throw her hands up and storm away, hating this thing I call life, but to my surprise, she grins up at me and God, I love her eyes. They are so bright, so playful, and I swear, everything about her drives me insane.

With a shrug, her eyes narrow in such a matter of fact way as she says, “They stare because we look so good together, duh! Or they’re jealous because I’m with the hottest guy ever.”

When she winks, my heart explodes in my chest. Not knowing what to say, I let my body do the talking by turning, stopping her mid-stride, wrapping my arms around her waist, and pulling her to me. Her eyes go wide before I drop my mouth to hers, kissing her so hard and deeply that nothing else matters but her sweet lips. Slowly our mouths move together and all I can think is if people weren’t staring before, they sure are now. Parting, I press my lips to hers, lightly, before whispering, “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

A slow grin spreads over her face before her hands travel up my chest and around my neck. I can feel her heart pounding, her eyes are bright, and I feel like she is trying to say something without really saying it. Twirling her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck, she smiles. “I’ve never felt like this.”

“Me neither,” I say, taking her mouth with mine. I know for sure that people are staring, along with taking pictures, but I don’t fuckin’ care. I also know that my ma and da will probably get wind of this before I get home but, at this moment, nothing matters but holding this woman in my arms and getting lost in her kisses.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

Amberlyn looks over at me and shrugs. “Up to you. I’m not tired now.”

I laugh as I turn onto the road that will lead back on her aunt’s property. Driving out on the grass, I park under the tree by the lake.

“We could have walked,” she joked as she threw the door open.

“Yeah, but then we wouldn’t have anything to lie on.”

She looks at me questionably. “So what? We are lying on the car?”

I shrug. “Why not?”

She throws her hands towards the car. “This car is sexy! I don’t want to dent it with my huge ass.”

I roll my eyes before setting her with a look. “Did you say that so I will say you don’t have a huge ass?”

She smiles shyly. “Maybe.”

“Well, sorry love, your ass is huge and I fuckin’ love it. Now come on,” I say, smacking her ass playfully. She laughs but then stops, reaching down for a weed.

“Oh! My favorite! Make a wish.”

“Love, it’s a weed,” I say, but she holds it up to my face.

“No, it’s a wish,” she says, her eyes glittering with excitement. I’m lost in her eyes and before I know it, I’m leaning forward making a wish. She smiles before picking another one, closing her eyes tight before opening and blowing with all her might. Slowly, the little fuzzies fly through the air around us and when I glance at her, she is just grinning. I watch her, my chest seizing, as I admire her love for the world. I don’t understand how she could have been through so much crap and she can still bend down for a weed and turn it into a wish. It’s magical, really.

As she smiles back at me, I lean forward and kiss her temple before I pull her up onto the hood of the car. As she cuddles into my side, we look up at the clear sky and I let out a long breath.

“So my attempt at fishing for a compliment went to shit, huh?” she asks, wrapping her arm around my waist.

I smile. “Love, you don’t need to fish but yes, very much so.”

“Hmm, maybe next time.”

I laugh. “If you want a compliment, I’ll give you one.”

She doesn’t say anything for a second and I think I’ve offended her, but then she says, “I’m waiting!”

I look over to meet her grinning face. “For?”

“For my compliment!”

A hearty laugh escapes my lips before I say, “Oh, sorry.”

“Jeez, leave a girl hanging like that,” she says, smacking me playfully.

“Shh,” I say, squeezing her hip tightly. “Here I go.”

“Hit me with it.”

“I’m trying, but you keep talking,” I tease, giving her a pointed look. She bites her lip, holding in her laughter as I say, “You, my beautiful Amberlyn, are by far the most gorgeous girl in the world. I love your eyes, your lips, and I am convinced that you have the greatest arse in Ireland.”

Her face warms with color before she snuggles into my chest, causing me to laugh. “Look, I compliment you and you hide!”

She laughs as she snuggles deeper. “Shut up, you make me blush.”

“Grand. Look at me, I love seeing the color on your face.”

She peeks up at me, and then we both dissolve with laughter. Hugging her closer as our laughter subsides, I kiss her temple before whispering, “This is nice.”

She nods. “Yeah, it is.”

Slowly running my hands along the small of her back, I take in her scent, basking in the flowery smell of her. “You know, today I discovered that I don’t know something about you.”

She looks up at me and smiles. “No way.”

“No really, I know you are going to school in the fall, but I don’t know for what.”

“English major. I want to be a teacher,” she says. I can’t help but notice that her eyes light up with the mention of teaching.

“That’s awesome. So you like kids?”

She grins as she nods. “Yeah, but I want to teach older kids, like the theory of English maybe. I’m not sure. I just want to be immersed in books, and I want to share my love with someone else.”

As much as I love her passion, I can’t help but think she probably wouldn’t be happy being a stay-at-home mom/wife, which is what usually happens when O’Callaghans get married. Swallowing my disappointment, I say, “Wow, you’re very passionate about it. It’s refreshing.”

Threading her fingers in my hair, she nods. “Yup, we are both passionate about the things we love, huh?”

I couldn’t agree more. Leaning towards her, I run my nose along hers before taking her mouth with mine. Our lips move with ease as our limbs tangle and the kiss deepens. As I hold her close, our kisses get more demanding as our hands explore each other’s body. Hooking her leg over my hip, I press into her, our tongues tangling with each other. I am so hot for her. I can’t control my need to feel her, to be completely immersed in her. Tearing my mouth from hers, I kiss down her jaw, nipping and licking down her throat, but soon stop when I hear her yawn.