“I figured.”

“And the fact that she blocked a shot for you.”

“Again, I know, and while I wish I could take it ba—”

“Ya can’t, and she wouldn’t want you to. She loves ya, Declan, and she did it because of that.”

I look down, running my fingers through my hair with a nod. “I love her.”

“Good. Go on then, ask my da. I’ll keep my door open in case she wakes up.”

“Thank you,” I say, sharing a long look with her. She is so good for my best mate, Kane, it’s insane. I always believe that people were born for other people, and Fiona is that for Kane. As my Amberlyn is for me.

Turning to go downstairs, I pause and look back at her. “Do you think we’re mad?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I think it’d be mad to get married now, but she told me about the distillery and she isn’t budging. I tried,” she says sheepishly. “She’s so young, but like I said, she loves you, and I believe in yous two. She doesn’t make careless choices. She believes that she is making a sound decision, and I believe in her.”

I know she is right and it does derail me a bit, but then I know we are going to have a good life together. We are young, yes, but it will work. I pray, at least, it will. “You know I’ll love her until I die.”

“Oh, I know. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be so agreeable.”

She sends me a grin and I can’t help but to throw one back at her. Having Fiona’s approval is almost enough. She doesn’t hold anything back. She lets the world know what she is thinking. She means a lot to Amberlyn, and to know she supports us is good. Real good. Turning to head down the stairs, my heart starts to knock against my chest. I know that the Maclasters don’t think too highly of me right now, but I feel doing this will better their view of me.

I find them downstairs, Mrs. Maclaster in her chair reading and Mr. Maclaster on the computer.

When she sees me, she flies out of her chair, her eyes wild as she asks, “She okay?”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, didn’t mean to alarm ya.”

She places her hand on her chest, and I notice that Mr. Maclaster stands too, the same look of distress on his face. “You look worried.”

“Oh, sorry, that’s because I’ve come to ask for your blessing to marry Amberlyn,” I say, and I really wish I would have thought that out a bit. They are both taken aback as they look at me in disbelief.

“What?” Mrs. Maclaster asks. “Didn’t you already ask her?”

Mr. Maclaster crosses his arms across his wide chest, his dark eyes set on me as I nod slowly. “Yes, I did. But I don’t feel right the way it happened. I know I am supposed to ask you two first, but with everything that happened, I kind of got lost in the process. I apologize for that.”

They both eye me for a moment as sweat breaks out across my forehead. “She’s so young. Only twenty.”

“Yes, I know—”

“Just because you can lose your distillery doesn’t mean she should have to marry you. You’ve only dated a short time,” Mr. Maclaster says, his voice sharp.

Yeah, this is not going well. Not at all.

“I know. While the distillery issue is the reason that I asked so early, I’ve always known I was gonna marry her. She’s beautiful, smart, and so damn perfect in my eyes.”

“We know all that,” Mrs. Maclaster says. “But she hasn’t lived. She went from caring for her mother and not having any interaction with anyone to coming here, and bam! You are in her face. She hasn’t experienced heartbreak, or university, nothing. She’s still so young and naïve to it all. You come in, a prince of Mayo, and what girl wouldn’t jump at the chance to marry ya? I think yer a sweet man, Declan, I do, but I feel this is rushing it a bit. How do you know that this is going to work? I know you don’t believe in divorce, so what happens when she isn’t happy?”

“I’ll do everything to make her happy,” I say, a little more sharply than I intended, but I feel under attack. Something I don’t care for one bit. “I understand you perfectly, truly, but I love her. So much, and she loves me. I know we are young, I know this is rushed, but I promise you, she won’t ever be unhappy. And if the moment comes when she is, I’ll fix it. I’ll make her happy; I’ll give her the world. If, after all, she decides she doesn’t want to be with me, then I’ll let her go. I’ll lose it all for her. As long as she is happy.”

Silence falls in the room, the only sound the breeze from the window, the curtains smacking against the wall. The TV is on mute, and my heart is pounding in my ears. I swallow hard as Mr. Maclaster clears his throat, looking deep into my eyes.

“That’s the thing, she won’t let you go. She’s a fixer, a caring, sweet soul. She’ll be unhappy before she allows anyone to hurt. And that’s what worries me. Is she marrying you to save your distillery, or because she actually loves you?”

I nod. “I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Maclaster, but if she didn’t love me, then why did she almost die for me?”

His eyes darken as he nods slowly, looking away and falling into his seat. Mrs. Maclaster doesn’t move, her eyes still trained on mine as she asks, “Can you not see if you can get more time? A year maybe?”

“I can,” I agreed. “I planned to anyway, but I’d still like your blessing.”

Mrs. Maclaster looks over at her husband, and they share a long look. I feel like it’s a private moment, so I look away as I fight for breath. If they say no, what will I do? Can I marry Amberlyn without their consent?

Yeah. I can.

I know that is horrible, but I can’t live without her. I just can’t.

“Declan, you are a good man. We know you’ll take good care of her. We’d like for ya to wait a little bit, but if that can’t happen, then yes, you have our blessing,” she says as she comes toward me. Placing her hands on my arms, she smiles. “Thank you for giving us this chance to talk to you.”

“I should have done it before.”

“Yes, but I am thankful you did now.”

I nod and she cups my cheek as she searches my eyes. Clearing her throat, she says, “I think my brother would have liked you. I know that my sister-in-law would have. You remind me a lot of my Tomas, God rest his soul. He was a driven man, to himself, until Ciara came along. She bewitched him from the start, and I know that Amberlyn has done the same for ya.”