Whiskey Prince Read online

  “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.

  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 towards 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 goody, and I’m excited to get lost in the world of Elizabeth Bennett 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 guys inside. I am pretty sure one is Kane. He looks just like the guy that Fiona has been gushing over, and I’m almost confident it is him. I have no clue who the other guy is. One thing is for sure, he won’t stop staring at me. I guess he thinks I don’t know since he can’t see my eyes. I see him running his gaze all over me, and I can’t say that I mind.

  I pride myself in the fact that I have 20/20 vision and from my spot on the bank of the lake, I can see him perfectly. I can’t see the bottom of him but the top is impressive. He is thin but toned, with large arms that I find incredibly sexy. He has a round face with a square jaw and a wide nose that I think brings character to his face. His lips are thin but what I love most is his hair. It’s curly from what I can see, but it’s covered in a beanie. I don’t completely understand why, since it is in the nines today, but whatever, he’s cute and he can pull it off. A smile pulls at my lips as I tear my gaze off him.

  Maybe I’ll get lucky, and he’ll come into the pub.

  Maybe he could be my risk or my something drastic.

  Later at dinner, I settle into my seat beside Fiona as my aunt serves us. Like I knew I would, my body aches from where the sun has caused havoc on my skin. I should have never stayed as long as I did, but I couldn’t stop watching Kane and his friend on the boat. I’m almost positive Kane’s friend was waiting for me to leave because when I got up to go, he started to row the boat back to the bank. I may be flattering myself, but it made me smile nonetheless. I’ve had a grin on my face that won’t go away, even after rubbing aloe all over my burning body.

  As Shelia loads my plate up with sliced pork and potatoes, I looked over at Fiona to say, “I saw Kane today.”

  She glanced over at me as Shelia asks, “Who’s that?”

  “Ma, just a second,” Fiona says, turning to me. “Where? What was he doing? He wasn’t with someone, was he?”

  I roll my eyes. “He was out on a boat and yes, with some guy. I’ve never seen him before.”

  Her brows came together. “The lake? Outside?”

  “Yeah, that’s usually where lakes are.”

  She smacks me playfully as my uncle laughs from across the table and my aunt asks once more, “Who this is Kane fella?”

  “Some guy, Ma, I fancy him a bit,” Fiona says quickly before looking back at me. “What was he doing on the lake, in a boat?”

  “Fishing.”

  She is confused, that is obvious, as she turns to her father. “Da, why would Kane Levy be on the O’Callaghan Lake?”

  Michael shrugs his shoulders. “Hell, I don’t know, darlin’. I don’t even know who Kane Levy is.”

  “Who? Alice and Paul Levy’s Kane?”

  We all look up at Shelia as Fiona says, “Yeah, ya know them?”

  “Of course I do. Kane is over there because he works there. He’s been friends with the young O’Callaghan lad since they were wee bit babies. It was probably him that Amberlyn saw.”

  Fiona smacks her hands together as she nods. “That’s right, I knew that. Yeah, it was probably him. They are best pals, but I can’t believe you saw him. No one sees Declan.”

  I don’t touch my food when it is placed before me. Instead, I ask, “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He just disappeared a couple years ago. Rumor is he has locked himself away for his bride who is coming in another couple of years.”

  So he is engaged? That’s depressing, but I am also confused. “Locked himself away?”

  “Yeah, up in that big ‘ole castle of his.”

  “Castle?”

  Fiona laughs as she covers her mouth. “Yeah, he’s the Whiskey Prince.”

  “He’s a prince!” I exclaim. “That’s so cool!”

  Michael chuckles before saying, “No Amberlyn, he isn’t like real royalty. That’s just what he is called around her. The O’Callaghan’s are basically our royalty. They are kind of like your Kennedys. I don�€