Enzo (Jinx Tattoos 1)

Her mother chuckled. “Why don’t you take your long break, Keir?”

“Sure thing, Colleen. It was good meeting you, Aibhlinn.”

Her name sounded like a spoken enchantment on his tongue. She wanted to close her eyes and bask in it. “Same here, Keir.”

He walked around her and headed out the door with a long legged stride full of confidence.

“Ack, if I was younger ...”

“Mum,” Aibhlinn squealed, laughing.

“What? I saw the way your eyes lit up. It’s been a long time since I saw that look.”

“He’s charming,” Aibhlinn noted.

“Don’t forget to add attractive, intelligent, and just a wee bit brilliant. He’s got a Bachelors in Art from the Limerick School of Art and Design, and he’s built some buzz in his home town.”

“So, why come here?” she asked.

“To expand and try to tap into the American market. I took him on as a favor to his mother. We were friends back in school. You know I love to pay it back when I can,” her mother replied.

“I do. That’s really sweet, Mom.”

“Eh, least I can do. I got enough salad for two if you want to share,” she said.

“Now that you mention it, I am hungry. I spent all afternoon painting.”

“You know I love to hear that. Do you have a theme?”

“Love,” Aibhlinn muttered, not ready to share her plan.

“You know, if there were sparks between you and Keir, I wouldn’t be upset.”

“Mom—”

“What? I want grandchildren at some point. Besides, you my beautiful girl, are too wonderful to be so alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Aibhlinn said.

“Aren’t you?” her mother asked. She sighed. “Listen, a watched pot never boils, and someone who gives everything without asking for something back or telling the other person what she needs will never truly be happy. I love you and I love Enzo as if he were my own, but you have to get out of this box and look around. Let him wait. Then he will truly be forced to decide, and see what he’s taking for granted.”

“I hear you, Mum.”

“Do you?”

“I’m not a little girl pining for her best friend. I’ve been alone because I was tired of mediocrity, and forcing myself into a situation I didn’t want to be in because society deemed it necessary. The blind dates and dating websites were downright soul sucking. People didn’t want to find their soulmate, they wanted a piece of ass. The person that showed up for the first four dates was a representative. The man I saw after that was the real one, and I didn’t much like him. I decided to focus on my career and building a life that satisfied me. I’m not Rapunzel trapped in her tower. I’m the warrior princess out there slaying her own dragons.”

“Ahh, my Aleanbh. I only want you to be happy.”

“And I am, Mom. I promise. Yes, I may work a bit too much, but I’m putting in the time now, to free up my future. The romance will come later.”

“Maybe sooner than you think?” her mother teased.

The sparkle in her emerald eyes and the smirk on her face made Aibhlinn belly laugh. Her mother surely had leprechaun blood in her veins, because she could charm the dourest of people.

They sat down at the small table against the wall that housed the register and caught up as they cared for the customers who came through.

Dread Mother of Forgetfulness