Luck of the Irish by Cindy Sutherland Read Free Book Online Page A

be brought to you, but it could be a couple of days.”
    Quinn felt sorry for the poor boy. He’d obviously been running himself ragged looking after all the guests and was probably waiting for Quinn to start yelling at him.
“Don’t worry about it”—his gaze flashed to the boy’s nametag—“Donald. We’ll figure something out.”
    The boy nodded gratefully and took off down the hallway. Quinn heard a noise behind him and turned to find Cian looking at him thoughtfully. “Uhm, I guess one of us gets the couch tonight?”
    “Quinn, I already told you—”
“Let’s argue about this later, okay? I want to get some of that sightseeing in.”
Cian hesitated for a minute before smiling and nodding to let Quinn know he agreed.
    “Good. My turn for the—what did you call it? Oh yeah, the loo—and then we’re off, okay?” Quinn looked over his shoulder at Cian as he walked toward the bathroom.
“Okay.”
    When Quinn came back out, they gathered their jackets and headed for some adventure in the city, both of them wondering how the night ahead was going turn out.
S
EVEN hours later, they returned exhausted, full, and happy. Quinn keyed open the door to the hotel room and dropped an armful of souvenirs on the bed. He may also have been just a bit tipsy, having drunk more beer than usual due to his nerves.
    Cian put his treasures down a little more carefully on the table in front of the sofa. He had things for Ceara and his grandparents, while Quinn had found something special for his little sisters and baby brother.
“God, I’m still so full. Did we really have to try one of everything at the food fair? I think I’m gonna explode.”
    “You know, you didn’t have to eat every single bite of everything we bought. Maybe then you wouldn’t feel so bad now.” Quinn chuckled at the memory of Cian stuffing cookies and tarts in so fast he looked like a vacuum.
    “It was all so good, though. Almost as good as my grandma’s baking.” “So where was your grandma when I was there, anyway?”
    “She’s off in London visiting her sister, my great-aunt Milly.” Cian smiled fondly as he said her name. “She ran off forty-five years ago and married an Englishman. Big scandal around here in those days, but she didn’t care. She loved him and that’s all there was to it.” His smile faded a little. “It was awful for her when he passed away about four years ago. Damned cancer always takes the best ones. Didn’t think she would survive his death. But her kids and grandkids kept her going, and she spends a lot of time visiting us, and Gran goes to her too.” Cian walked over to the couch and stretched out.
    Quinn stood looking out the window, thinking about his own grandmother’s fight with cancer. They had lucked out on that one. He turned to Cian. “I’m gonna have a shower. It might make it easier for me to sleep.”
Cian nodded without opening his eyes. “Yeah, think I will too, after you’re done.”
     
Quinn closed his eyes, thinking of Cian wet and naked in the shower, and decided it was time to get his stuff and put a little space between them for a bit.
    He quickly gathered his stuff, trying not to stare at Cian on the couch, arms stretched out above his head and that little strip of bare skin showing between his T-shirt and jeans. Bathroom, Donovan, now!
    He closed the door and got the water running before stripping off his clothes and getting under the spray. The almost-too-hot water felt good on his skin, and he closed his eyes and relaxed, thinking about the day he had spent with Cian.
    They had wandered around, taking in King John’s Castle and the Hunt Museum. The amazing music they had listened to seemed to speak right to his heart, and it had all been just… comfortable.
    There had been no awkward moments, no stilted conversation. It had been everything Quinn had dreamed of when he had thought about traveling with someone… except Cian wasn’t his.
    So the day had been emotionally