Taking Risk Series Read online

  Kane laughs. “No, I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  “I like to lie in this boat, alone, and let the sun warm my face.”

  “Jaysus, what color are your lace knickers?”

  “Fuck off!” I say, but he just laughs. “I feel like a fucking gobshite.”

  “Don’t worry, you are, but everyone still loves you.”

  I set him with a look that he just laughs off before throwing my line out and leaning back in the boat. As I wait for a bite, I glance over to find Kane holding his pole between his legs while he plays on his phone. I sort of hope that a fish bites and takes the pole, or maybe even him, into the water. That would be a show for sure. Knowing that he is bored, I ask, “Are you going to ask her out?”

  He nods. “Soon enough, have to feel her out. Right now, I’m hot for her, but I don’t want to rush it, ya know?”

  That has me chuckling. “When have you ever been worried about rushing it with a girl? You’re usually rushing straight into her bed or yours.”

  Kane smiles as he nods. “Yeah, but it’s different with her. She has a smile that stuns me, and a body that makes my mouth water. I want to get to know her.”

  I smile as I turn the reel, bringing my empty hook back. I don’t say anything as I rebait; I’m too lost with my thoughts. Kane isn’t the type of guy to want to get to know anyone. He wants what he wants and goes on, so this Fiona must be something. It also makes me realize how much what he has been saying is true. I have locked myself up from the world, but who can blame me? When I leave the gates, it’s like I’m the freak show of the circus. Everyone stares, and I don’t know why. They do the same to my ma, da, and Lena, but they don’t care. They live as if they aren’t there. For me, it is different. It makes me nervous and makes me feel like every move I make could be the wrong one. I need to let this go, though, because my friend could get married and have kids while I lie in my boat, watching the clouds pass by. Alone. And I don’t want that. Not at all.

  “Will she be there tomorrow?”

  He nods. “She’s always there. Even though, there is a new girl, I think she said her cousin, working there now. She’s a Yank and very pretty. I can’t remember her name for the life of me. You’d fancy her though. She’s got those sweet eyes and freckles you like.”

  I laugh. “How do you know I fancy sweet eyes and freckles?”

  Kane shoots me a grin. “Because I know you.”

  It’s true and he’s right, but that smug look on his face doesn’t have me admitting that. I shake my head as I reel in again. There is a fucking fish that is taking my bait and when I catch him, I’m gonna fry the fucker.

  “Speak of the devil.”

  I glance up. “What?”

  “There she is, and damn, she’s got one hell of a body!”

  “Who?” I say, looking across the lake at where he is pointing. When I see her, my tongue falls out of my mouth. Literally. Putting it back in, I ask, “Fucking hell, who is that?”

  An angel is the only thing that comes to mind.

  Her hair is reddish brown and long, down the middle of her back. She has big, black sunglasses covering her eyes, and I can tell from where I am that she has lush, plump lips that are glossed and shiny. She is wearing a bikini, dark green that makes her porcelain skin shine. Kane said she has freckles, and while I can’t see them on her face, they dust her chest and arms. Her breasts are large, her ass round, and thankfully, I get to admire it as she lays a blanket on the grass before dropping to her knees to lie down on it. I watch as she puts a baseball hat on her head before reaching in her bag to pull out a book that she lays to the side. Her body shines in the sun, probably from the oil she has pulled from her bag and is currently lathering her legs up with. I can’t take my eyes off her. She is magnificent, beautiful, and I wish like hell I knew what color her eyes are.

  “That’s not Fiona, is it?” I ask, basically pleading that it isn’t.

  “Hell no, Fiona is thicker. That’s the cousin, the Yank.”

  I refuse to let my eyes leave her breathtaking body as I ask, “And you don’t know her name?”

  “No.”

  “But she works at the pub?”

  “Yeah, you know, a lot of our beautiful town is full of women like that.”

  I tear my eyes away from her, look back at a grinning Kane, and say, “I don’t care about them. I care about her.”

  “She is hot.”

  I shake my head. “No, she’s glorious.”

  I watch her for another minute as Kane chuckles beside me. I have the urge to know her. To learn what her favorite movie is. What book she is reading. I want to know why she is here and not back in America. I want to know everything, but most of all, I want to find out what color her eyes are and get lost in them. I want to learn her name and then whisper it before dropping my lips to hers. I want—no, I need—to know her.

  Turning to my best friend, I ask, “What time did you want to go to lunch tomorrow?”

  I am answered with a knowing laugh, but I don’t care because I just saw an angel I am going to make mine.

  Chapter 5

  Amberlyn

  The sun warms me all the way to the core, and I’ve decided that I found the honey hole of the Maclaster land. I need this. Last night, hearing stories of my mother and father in their younger years from my aunt and uncle had me biting back my tears. God, it was horrible. I almost lost it plenty of times, but I held them back until I was in the privacy of my own room. Then I spent the night bawling my eyes out, holding myself as the hot water of my shower hit me. The shower is my favorite place to cry. No one can hear me, and I usually have an hour to myself before Fiona or anyone comes to find me. I hate that I still cry so much, I mean, I knew she was leaving me. I had counseling, I met with my youth group leader, I knew what to expect, I knew what pain was coming, but I don’t think it prepared me for how much I would miss her. Them. I miss my dad just as much, and it just hurts. They left a hole in my heart, and I try so hard every day to do what she asked me to do, but it just seems so hard.

  I want to break down. I want to quit life, ball up in the fetal position, and beg her to come back to me, but I know she can’t. I know that she is watching me and rooting for me. So for her, I wake up each day, put on makeup, get dressed, and I fucking smile as I try to live the life she wants for me. I try to leave my sadness, my heartbreak, and my shyness all behind me to try different things. I want to be the Amberlyn Reilly that my mom and dad would be proud of, and that girl is happy.

  So since last night was shitty for me, I decided to do something that would make me happy and that was to get lost in a good book on a beautiful summer day. When I asked Fiona where I could go to read, she rolled her eyes before pointing out toward this majestic lake behind the B&B. For some reason, everything in Ireland just seems so much brighter and more vivid to me. I’ve lain near the lake that sat behind my house year after year, and it had never been as nice as it is lying here now.

  After lathering my body up with tanning lotion, I wipe my hands on my blanket before picking up my book. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and I’m excited to get lost in the world of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Something about this country makes me want to catch up on all my favorite Jane Austen books. Maybe it’s the land or the history, but I just love it here. I’m so glad that I took the chance to come here. I love that I am learning who I am and finding my own way. I just wish my mom and dad were here physically to see me do it.

  I lie back with my book on my forearms as the sun kisses my body. I’m hoping for a tan, but let’s be honest, I’ll probably just burn. Can’t blame me for trying though. Fiona is so beautifully tanned. It’s fake, but those damn tanning beds scare the shit out of me. When I tried to express this fear with her, she waved me off, muttered something that sounded very close to eejit, and walked away. So here I am, hoping for a natural tan.

  But to my surprise, Mr. Darcy isn’t keeping my attention. There is a boat on the lake with two very handsome