“I told your brothers I’ll be gone for five days: Thursday through Monday.” He sets his fork down. “And I was hoping you would join me.” My heart skips a beat at his words. He’s inviting me to go to Ireland with him. To meet his entire family.
“Wow… Five days in Ireland sounds like a dream, but I have Kinsley.” Just the fact he invited me means the world to me. I want to explain that to him, but I don’t want to bring up Rick and taint the moment.
“You can bring her,” he says, as if it’s a given, and my heart constricts at how amazing he is.
“That’s so sweet of you, but she has school.”
“She’d only miss a few days.” He shrugs. “Just think about it, please. I would really love for you guys to meet the rest of my family. ”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
After we finish dinner and say bye to Declan, Lachlan drives us to the next stop on our date. When we arrive, the parking lot leading up to a beautiful two story brick and mortar house is empty. I look for a sign but can’t find one. I must’ve missed it when I was looking at the video Jax sent me of Kinsley playing the Wii.
Taking my hand in his, Lachlan guides us past a large yard and up the wooden steps. He unlocks the door, and switches on the light. As I take in my surroundings, I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking at. I expected to see the inside of a home, but it’s definitely not that. The two stories are completely open with mahogany wood walls and matching floors. There are several barrels turned sideways in the middle of the room, and when I walk to the wood railing and look down, I spot a… distillery?
“Is this where whiskey is made?” I glance at a barrel and read the logo branded on the side: Bryson Distillery. I was right! His family does own one. How cool!
“Yeah, gin too.” He grins. “Come, take a look.” He walks over to one of the barrels and shakes it back and forth. That’s when I notice the barrel isn’t like a normal barrel. It has a glass bottom so you can see the liquid sloshing around. Lachlan points to a small hole in the wood. “Put your nose up to it.”
I do as he says and the aroma of the whiskey hits me hard. “Mmm…that smells good.” I beam up at him. “I drank your whiskey at Assets,” I admit. “It was delicious. I can’t believe you guys make this!”
“I know. When I kissed you, I could taste it on your tongue.” He grins devilishly. “C’mon, let me show you around. I had Salazar close the place early so I could give you a private tour.” He winks and threads his fingers through mine.
“Who owns this place?”
“My family.”
“I know that.” I smack his arm playfully. “But I mean, your parents? Or extended family?”
“My parents and I own it.”
We take the stairs down to the first floor and Lachlan explains each piece of equipment and how the process of making whiskey and gin works. He’s so charismatic about it all, I have to wonder why he’s tattooing instead of working here when he said he owns the place with his parents. I save my question for later, though. Right now, I’m enjoying getting the full tour. When we make it back upstairs, we walk through a shop that sells all their drinks as well as some other goodies such as shot glasses and magnets.
“Is your whiskey and gin in a lot of stores?” I ask curiously.
“We’re in most stores, bars, and restaurants on the East Coast,” Lachlan says with pride. “When my dad moved here from Ireland to expand, his dad wasn’t thrilled. He didn’t believe he could make a living selling whiskey and gin in the United States, but my dad was determined. My mom said he would go from business to business offering free bottles for them to try. Over the years the business grew bigger and bigger, and now we’re one of the largest distilleries in the east.”
“That’s amazing.” Lachlan opens the door for me and we enter an open area with an expansive lacquered wood top bar and several matching tables and chairs. He steps behind the bar, so I follow him.
“Hop up.” He grips the curves of my hips and lifts me onto the top of the bar. He separates my thighs and leans in to kiss me. When his lips start to move gently against mine, I sigh into his mouth. Reveling in his touch and his warmth. I can’t remember a time before Lachlan came into my life when I felt so completely content. Now, I feel that way all the time.