Page 25 of See You Maybe
His expression grew defensive, and she hurried to add, “I just finished A Portrait of Dorian Gray. I started reading Wilde when I knew was coming to Ireland. I’m a dork like that,” she babbled, feeling embarrassed. “But I was hooked. Blake used to be my favorite, but Wilde has a way of just cutting through…”
“The bullshit? Yeah, he’s a bit more blunt than Mr. ‘Love seeketh.’” Declan popped one of the sausages in his mouth.
Olivia knew her mouth was hanging open. “You read Blake?” Declan frowned, so she hurried to add. “I just wasn’t expecting you to quote poetry. You’re an onion.”
Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.
Inside thoughts, Olivia
“Excuse me?”
“From Shrek.” Olivia didn’t think it was possible, but her face flamed hotter. She couldn’t seem to shut up. “He tells Donkey that Ogres are like onions. Lots of layers.”
Declan stared at her like she’d lost her mind. He was probably regretting being nice to her now.
“You… I mean… you quote Blake, read Oscar Wilde, but there’s also the whole…” She waved a hand at him. “Sexy, muscly, alpha-male thing going on. You’re kind of a fantasy.”
My fantasy.
Olivia wanted to slap a hand over her own mouth and disappear. Could she claim to still be drunk?
While she scrambled for a way to walk back her words, Declan’s lips lifted into a full, genuine grin. “Sexy, alpha male, huh?”
Olivia was convinced her mortification was going to reduce her to ash right there in the cafe. The only way through was to brazen it out. “I have eyes.”
Declan dragged his tongue over his lower lip, his eyes heating. The low-level arousal she’d experienced since waking up next to him exploded into full-fledged lust. Her breath caught as she stared at his mouth, and she squeezed her thighs together against the ache.
The words “let’s go back to the hotel” were on the tip of her tongue when Declan sucked in a sharp breath.
“What were your plans for Dublin?”
Olivia swallowed the words, all too aware that his thoughts weren’t on the same page. “If I’d rallied earlier, I probably would have gone to see the Book of Kells or gone on the Irish Writers Pub Tour. At this point, I’m sure all the tickets are sold out for the library, and I think I should probably give my liver a break.”
“I can get you in.
Olivia studied the dark curls of his bent head as he pulled several bills from his wallet and laid them on the table. “Yeah? With no ticket?”
He looked up and smirked. “Yeah.”
She narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if he was serious, and decided to call his bluff. “Okay.”
“Finish your food, Petal.” He jerked his chin at her plate of food. “It’s a bit of a walk.”
A steady drizzle started on the trek back up the hill to the city centre. Declan shrugged off his jacket and insisted she hold it over her head when he noticed her shivering in the rain.
“Who told you wearing just a thin sundress would be appropriate for Irish weather?” He laughed.
“It’s summer,” she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.
“Irish summer is not the same thing, Yank.” He grinned at her, rubbing her chill-bumped arms.
His words reminded her of something that had been puzzling her. “How come you don’t have a strong accent, like your cousin?”
Declan’s arm slipped to her waist, pulling her away from the curb as a car approached, rainwater splashing out from its tires. “I have an accent.”
“You do, but it’s not as thick as I would have expected.”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Did you think we all sound like the Lucky Charm’s leprechaun?”