Whiskey Prince Read online

  I’m selfish like that, I guess.

  As I lean into him, we head through the different corridors while Declan gives me the tour.

  “The house is massive, as you can tell, but my family lives in the North Wing, which is eight rooms, twelve bathrooms, two dining rooms, a huge kitchen, and three studies. It also has my favorite part of the house.”

  “Wow,” is all I can say as I take in every single detail of the house. I’m still blown away at how gorgeous everything is. “How many people work here?”

  “On the whole ground? Over fifteen hundred, but that includes the distillery.”

  “Good Lord.”

  “Yeah, I live here with my ma, da, Lena, grandda, and grandma. I don’t see my grandparents much. They are traveling with my uncle and his family. I think they are in England right now. Lena usually goes with them, but she stayed home this year. When my da retires, he’ll travel more, too.”

  “So then you’ll have the whole house to yourself? Or will you travel, too?”

  He shakes his head. “Yeah, it will be all mine.”

  “Wow. This is a lot of house for one guy.”

  He bites into his lip as he nods his head. “Yeah, but by then I’ll be married.”

  I looked up, my brow raised. “Oh.”

  I have no clue why I just got jealous, but I am. It’s a horrible feeling, one that feels like it’s on fire in the middle of my chest. Biting into my lip hard, I push the feeling away as we reach a huge, white door.

  “So this is what I wanted to show ya.”

  Excitement takes over, and I bounce on my heels. I may have been nervous before, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t his room. For one, the door is as big as a car, and for another, he would have said this is my room, right? Shit! Letting go of my hand, he takes both handles in his hands and pushes the doors open. I swear, what I see brings tears to my eyes.

  “Please, pinch me.”

  Declan laughs as he shakes his head. “It’s real and my favorite place on the whole grounds, beside my room in the distillery.”

  “Good God,” I mutter as I set inside. The sun warms me from above but I ignore it, because all I see is rows and rows of books. It’s a library, a huge, beautiful library. Huge, marble pillars hold up another floor of books, and there is seating everywhere. It’s like a book nerd’s Holy Grail. “It’s like the Beauty and the Beast movie.”

  “That’s what Lena said when we were growing up.”

  “Oh my God,” I say in complete awe. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

  He comes up beside me, and I look up into his eyes. He smiles before saying, “I was thinking the same thing.”

  My cheeks rush with heat as my heart completely blows up in my chest. It’s not lust. I mean, yeah, it’s there, but this is more. My heart may very well be his. Looking away shyly, he says, “I figured you’d love this as much as I do. I mean, the books in here date back to the early 1700s. Voltaire, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, loads of Jane Austin… I know your favorite.”

  He must have seen my face light up. “Oh my God, Declan, I am in complete awe. This is amazing.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Come on, let’s go check out the Jane Austin. I think I have a first edition Pride and Prejudice.”

  I halt and throw my hands up in utter shock. “No way!”

  “Yes,” he says, his eyes sparking as he reaches for my hand. “Go see for yourself.”

  He does have it and when I touch it, a stray tear runs down my cheek. Like everything else in this damn house, it is impeccable, but I can see the wear where someone has read it. Along the front reads, Charleston, and I can’t believe I am holding this.

  “Oh my God, I can’t wait to tell my mo—” I stop before the whole word leaves my mouth. My grip tightens on the book and I take in a sharp breath, trying to compose myself, but I can’t stop the tears from gathering in my eyes. Or falling as my heart feels like it is being ripped out of my chest. My mom would have loved this. She wouldn’t have believed me, but I won’t get that chance to tell her.

  When Declan’s arms wrap around me, squishing me into his chest with the book between us, I want to try to save the book, but I can’t. I can’t do anything because I need his comfort.

  I need him.

  My lips dust her hair, her temple, and snuggle into her neck as she takes deep breaths, crying into my shoulder. My heart is breaking for her. She tries so hard to be so strong, but the smallest things can just break her sweet, beautiful heart. It honestly kills me because I have no fuckin’ clue what to do. Laying my head against hers, I hold her, no words coming to mind on what to say to her. I’ve never experienced that kind of loss, and I feel a little lost on how to help her. The book she is holding is stabbing me in the chest and since I don’t plan on moving any time soon, I slowly remove it, putting it beside us as she continues to sob.

  I will hold her forever if she wants me too.

  The room is completely quiet; the only sound is her sobs. Then, very faintly, I hear her whispering or maybe singing. It’s so faint, but it’s there. I’m not sure if she wants me to hear it but I want to know, so I get closer to find that she is singing. The song is an old song that my grandda and da would sing when they were shit faced. “The Parting Glass”.

  I know that my voice is shite but soon I am singing along with her, in the hopes that it helps. Removing her face from my shoulder, she looks up at me with her eyes red and full of tears as her beautiful mouth moves with mine. She sings better than I do, but I don’t think this is the time to tell her that. Soon her tears have stopped falling, and our voices carry throughout the whole room. It’s beautiful.

  When the last note leaves our lips, I cup her face in my hands and lean in to press my lips to hers. She wraps her arms around my neck, holding me close as she takes over the kiss, running her sweet tongue along my lips. My mouth opens and slowly we play, our tongues teasing each other as my heart beats out of control. When she pulls away, I follow her, wanting one more kiss. Her mouth is so sweet and I want her to know how much I care for her, that I am here for her. She smiles against my lips, but only for a second before she begins to move her lips with mine, deepening the kiss. Parting only for air, I run my thumb along her jawbone, taking in every single feature of her. The freckles, the pain in her eyes, the redness of her lips and nose, the beauty that is Amberlyn.

  “Don’t look at me, I’m a mess. God, I’m so sorry,” she says, looking down at where the book lays.

  “Never,” I say, bringing her face back up. “You’re beautiful and don’t apologize, Amberlyn. I know it has to hurt, and I don’t want you to hide that from me.”

  She picks the book back up and smiles at it before looking up at me. Her eyes are watery again, as she says, “My mom would have loved this. She wouldn’t have believed that I touched it. Thank you, thank you for giving me this moment.

  “Shh,” I whisper, kissing her temple again. “She sees you now. She’s in your heart. Hell, I don’t know if what I’m saying is helping Amberlyn. I’m so sorry.”

  “No, you are. I’m sorry,” she says, waving me off. “This happens sometimes. I just lose it.”

  “And I’ll be here to help you find the pieces and put you back together,” I promise.

  “That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” she whispers. Slowly a tear rolls down her cheek and I catch it, wiping it on my shorts before kissing her lips once more. Mainly because I want to, but also because I have no clue what to say. I didn’t plan to say that to her. It just left my lips. Once it was out there, I knew it was true. I wanted to be the person to wipe her tears, to hold her when she cried, and to be the person she confides in. I want to be the person that helps her heal.

  I think I’ve fallen for her.

  I look up from where I am staring a hole in the ground. My chest hurts, feels like it is cracking open, and I don’t know what that means. Everything is tingling, and