This Love (Cowboys & Angels 6)

“Where you going?” Tripp asked, pulling me to a stop with his hand on my shoulder.

“Need some fresh air.”

“Why are you so afraid of her?”

I laughed. “I’m not afraid of her. I can’t fucking understand a word she says.”

He looked at me like I was full a shit.

“Maybe you should take your ‘nothing to be afraid of self’ and go hide out on the rooftop patio then,” he said with a smirk.

“Yes!” Harley stated. “It’s stunning.”

My eyes narrowed as I glanced at Maebh. She was too busy talking to my parents to notice me leaving. I was pretty sure I had to go through a private entrance to get to the patio but didn’t want to go snooping around looking for the doorway.

“How do you get to it?” I asked.

Tripp cleared his throat. “I don’t think they’re allowing anyone up there tonight. It’s for future use, to rent out for special occasions. But you can just keep going up those stairs. You can also get to Maebh’s apartment from that staircase.” He pointed back to the set of stairs I had just come up on. Sure enough, the stairs went farther up.

“Well, I’m going to go check it out. I need some air.”

They didn’t even bother to stop me as I made my way to the bar, ordered a Murphy’s Irish Stout, then took the steps two at a time. I wanted to hurry up and get out of sight before someone saw me heading to the rooftop.

The door was open, and I stepped out. A light breeze was blowing, making this July night feel more like a spring evening.

I made my way over to the edge and looked out over Oak Springs. It was pretty much the same view from my roof, but it felt more like a romantic scene out of one of Amelia’s books. Twinkle lights made a faux roof above with tables and chairs placed in different spots. Candles that weren’t lit sat on each table, and I was positive it would be a pretty romantic spot with them all lit. Not like mine that had oversized chairs, a Jacuzzi and an outside bar with a big screen TV. Mine was more like an outdoor man cave. This was a romantic hideaway made for lovers to enjoy a beautiful night, with low music and candlelight, while they ate a delicious meal under the stars.

I sat down and finished my beer as I studied the night sky. Leaning back, I put both hands behind my head and stared up at the distant stars, trying to recall the stories about the constellations I’d been taught in school…except my mind kept coming back to Maebh.

When I knew I couldn’t hide out any longer, I stood—and realized that Maebh was watching me.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, a sweet smile on her beautiful face. Her thick Irish accent made my head spin, and my heart pound in my chest. Or maybe it was her smile. Or her eyes. Or the memory of that kiss. I wanted to kiss her again and then take her to bed and just hold her as I fell asleep.

Fucking hell. What’s in this alcohol?

I wanted to hold her? No, I wanted to fuck her.

I cleared my throat. “Everything’s fine. This is nice up here. The whole place is really nice. Beautiful.” I swallowed hard.

“Thank you.”

I grinned. I loved it when she said thank you because it sounded like she was saying, tank you. It was adorable as fuck, especially when she scrunched up her nose.

She took a step closer and all I wanted to do was run. Run to her. Run from her. Run and jump off the top of the fucking building. Scream for Tripp to get his ass up here. This woman both thrilled me and scared the piss out of me.

Get it together, Parker.

No woman had ever made me feel so messed up, yet Maebh O’ Sullivan’s smile turned me into a sixteen-year-old idiot.

“I’m glad you came.” She looked out over the town square before she went on talking. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“The woman you came with?”

“Tammy?” I said, laughing at the idea of Tammy being anything more than a pain in my ass. “She’s the manager of the bar. We only walked down here together. That’s it.”

There went that goddamn smile again. Why wasn’t she mad at me? I’d acted like such a dick the other day. I didn’t deserve that smile. When my gaze moved to her lips, I groaned internally and my cock began to swell in my pants. A sure sign I needed to leave before I did something stupid again.

“What are you doing up here?” I finally managed to say.

“I needed a moment to meself and someone suggested I come up here for air. Why are you up here?” There was a playful edge to her voice, and I found myself liking it. I wanted to hear her talk more.