Whiskey Prince Read online

  Once the door shuts, Amberlyn looks up at me and I’m utterly speechless. Her hair has somehow fallen out of the bun it was in, her lips are swollen and red, and her eyes are bright with excitement and lust. Taking in a deep breath to compose myself, I smile. “Mo stór.”

  Her face reddens more as she breathes against my lips. “That’s super-hot and totes-ma-goats sweet.”

  I scoff. “What the hell is ‘totes-ma-goats?”

  “Totally awesome,” she says, and then she kisses me again. I love the taste of her mouth, it’s sweet, like candy, and I want to feast for hours… but we have to go. Pulling away all too soon, I cup her face.

  “As much as I want to sit here and kiss you until my lips are raw, I have to take you back before my da gets in here.”

  Her face falls as she says, “Oh, okay.”

  “Don’t think that,” I say, because I can see it in her eyes. She might possibility think I’m embarrassed by her, when that is so far from the truth it isn’t even funny.

  “Think what?” she says with a shrug.

  “That I don’t want you to meet my da. Well that is kind of true but it’s not because of you. It’s because of him. He can come off strong, and I want you to like me.”

  Moving her fingers with mine, she says, “I already do. No stopping it now.”

  Cupping her face, I smile against her lips before kissing her hard. Once we part, I whisper, “Good to know, but I don’t want to test that theory today. Let’s go, another time.”

  She nods, but I don’t move until she smiles. It only takes a second before her lips curve and she grins. Kissing her nose, I lead her out of the distillery and then to the car, thankfully without any run-ins with my da.

  “You’re a fuckin’ arse is what you are, Kane Levy, and I am done with you. Stay the fuck away from me.”

  Kane throws his hands up and shakes his head. “You are overreacting. She’s a friend.”

  “A friend? You kissed her!”

  “I kiss all my friends!”

  With that statement, I know that Kane Levy is a dead man. Fiona’s eyes go wild as she throws the bottle of pop she has at him. He ducks out of the way and tries to reach for her, but she dodges his grip while I just sit here and wish like hell we could leave. Why I agreed to ride with her to the park to find Kane is beyond me. I felt like it was my duty though. She is my best friend and when they beg you to go see if the guy they are dating is cheating on them—you go. I just wish we wouldn’t have found Kane with another girl.

  “Fiona. Please, calm down!” he says, reaching for her and pulling her to his chest. She slams her fist into him and pushes him away.

  “No, you won’t cheat on me and then expect me to be like oh, no big deal!”

  “I am not cheating but also, I won’t point out that we’re only seein’ each other so even if I was here getting it on with Ellen, it wouldn’t be cheating. I’m not doing anything wrong here.”

  I want to jump out of the car and wrap my arms around Fiona, because I can see she is about to lose it. Her eyes fill with tears and her lip wobbles as she slowly nods her head. “Yeah, you’re right,” she breathes. Kane smiles before reaching for her, but she swats him away. “We aren’t together. How stupid of me to assume the guy I’ve been going out with, slept with, and slowly fallen for could actually feel the same for me, but don’t worry… you’ll never have to bother yourself with me again.”

  “Whoa, Fiona, stop,” he says, taking hold of her wrist to stop her. “We are seein’ each other. I never said we were going out!”

  “Yeah, I forgot to tell my heart that.”

  With that, she turns and gets in the car, slamming the door before jamming the key in the ignition. I reach over and wrap my arm around her shoulder, leaning into her as she takes in a deep breath, tears falling down her sweet cheeks. As the car takes off, I spare a glance at Kane to find him watching her; his face sullen and his lips parted. I look away just as his eyes meet mine, and I hate this. Nothing is coming to mind to say to her. I’ve never had my heart broken by a guy. I’ve never experienced the pain of rejection, so I have no clue what to say. Sitting up, I look at her profile, her nose red, her eyes swollen, and her lips wobbling as she sobs.

  I want to make the pain stop, but I don’t know how.

  “Fiona, I’m sorry.”

  She shakes her head. “It’s no one’s fault but his. Or fuck, mine, for falling for someone that didn’t want what I did.”

  “What can I do?”

  She tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes as she takes my hand. “Just be here, ok?”

  “Yes,” I promise.

  “Grand.”

  She drives faster than normal back to the house as her soft sobs fill the car, leaving me feeling helpless. Thankfully, my aunt and uncle are at the pub working, so we are able to hide in her room with ice cream, popcorn, and soda, watching horrible chick flicks in our PJs at two in the afternoon. With Fiona’s head in my lap, I braid her hair as we watch The Notebook. My nose is running from my tears but damn, this is one of the greatest love stories ever put out.

  “I want a love like this,” she whispers, and I nod.

  “Me too. I want the kind of love that you run across a field for. Like in Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Darcy beelines for Elizabeth.”

  “That’s a good one. We should watch that next.”

  I couldn’t agree more. Smiling, I say, “Sounds good.”

  She moves her head to look up at me. “I would have run across the field for Kane. I thought that he was it. How stupid am I? It’s only been a month, and I almost fell for him! No one does that. No one falls in love that quickly. I am so naïve.”

  “Why do you think that?” I ask.

  She shakes her head, sitting up before wrapping the blanket around her. “Because love is complicated and hard. It doesn’t come easy. You have to work for it. My feelings were lust, and I confused them for something more.”

  I pause for a second, and I know she doesn’t mean any of that. She is just trying to cover up her hurt. Knowing that, I ask, “Do you think that it’s lust for me? And Declan, I mean?”

  Her brow comes up. “You’ve fallen for him?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t think so, not yet, but I think I could.”

  “Yeah, well, be careful. He is the first guy you’ve ever been with. You’ll sleep with him, everything will change, and you’ll think he is the one. The next thing you know, he’s sleeping with the fuckin’ bitch down the road! Love is stupid, Amberlyn. Don’t get caught up in the ridiculous notion of it all. It turns smart women into dumbasses who do stupid things. Just don’t do it.”

  With that, she suddenly gets up and goes to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I am stunned by what just happened, but more than that, I’m worried. Even with knowing she is just saying all this because she is upset, I can’t help but wonder if she is right. What if what I’ve been feeling since meeting Declan is just lust? I mean, I’ve never slept with anyone in my life and maybe my body is like ‘hey, you might want to get us off and we are making you think you like this guy so you’ll do it’. My body knows that I won’t do anything like that unless I love the person. What if it is all a trick? Oh my God, have I lost my ever-loving mind? Am I actually sitting here thinking my body is trying to deceive me to get laid?

  Really though, I need to remember that Fiona is heartbroken right now and not really speaking the truth. She’s hurting, and this thing with Declan is different. I’ve been dating him for two weeks now, and each day is something new and beautiful. He makes me feel alive, and I can’t stop smiling when I think of him. I like how easy it is around him and most of all, I like that when we talk, both of us listen, and we have real conversations. It’s not just small talk with us. We learn about each other. I like that. I like him.

  When my phone sounds, I look down to see that it is Declan. Speak of the devil, I think with a grin as I read his text.

  Haven’t heard from you tod