Hannah lets me go. “Not at all, Kell. I’m impressed.”
Kellan steps closer to me. “How about a drink?”
Lifting my brows, I glance over at Hannah. “Shots on me?”
Hannah winks. “Maybe in a few. I have to find Andy. He doesn’t know to look for us back here.” She grins at me and Kellan before disappearing out the door to the craziness in the other room. Thankfully, the music isn’t as loud in our private room.
Kellan nods toward the bar. “Ready?” He holds out his arm and it’s as if my body moves of its own accord. I take it and he leads me to the bar. “Let me guess, green beer?”
“Please,” I scoff, waving him off, “it’s St. Patrick’s Day. I want a true Irish-inspired drink.”
The bartender walks over to us. “What’ll it be you two?”
Kellan looks to me. “Ladies first.”
“I’ll take an Irish Eyes,” I say. The bartender nods and smiles and then turns to Kellan.
Kellan laughs at me. “Irish whiskey, huh? I think I’ll do the same.” The bartender pours the whiskey in a glass and mixes it with a little cream and green crème de menthe. Kellan holds up his glass and looks in my eyes. “It actually matches your eyes. But you’re not Irish.”
I shake my head. “Nope. Got a lot of German in me though.”
Kellan takes a sip of his drink. “Don’t know why this is called Irish Eyes. The most common eye color among Irish is blue.”
Holding up my glass, I clank it against his. “Just like yours.”
His blue eyes twinkle and I avert my gaze to my drink. The way he looks at me makes things stir inside of me and I really don’t need my insides to be stirred right now, or even think of it for that matter. I should probably stop drinking.
“So, tell me,” Kellan calls out, “how long are you in town for?”
I take a sip of my drink, it’s loaded with Irish whiskey. “Only till the wedding,” I respond, meeting his gaze again. “After that, I have to get back.”
His lips pull back slightly in that sexy grin of his. “So, not long then. Hate to hear it.” I’m starting to hate it too. Shaking my head, I try to drive all indecent thoughts out of my mind, but all I can think about is hearing his voice in the dark, whispering in my ear as he touches me. I push the drink aside and Kellan laughs. “Too much for you?”
I rub a hand over my face. The room feels hot, but that’s probably because I’m tipsy and he’s making me want things I shouldn’t. “Actually, I was a little drunk to begin with. I think I need some air.”
Kellan takes my hand. “Come on. There’s a private area out back we can sit. I’ll grab you a bottle of water and we can go out there.”
He asks the bartender for a water and hands it to me. We walk out of the private room into the hallway and I guzzle the water as we head toward the door. When Kellan opens it, it leads out onto a balcony that overlooks the river. There are people everywhere and I can hear their chattering, but the cool air feels good on my skin.
“Better?” Kellan asks.
I nod. “Much. I just needed some fresh air.” There are two wrought iron chairs and he guides me into one.
“How much have you had to drink today?”
Groaning, I close my eyes. “Well … I was forced into taking Jell-O shots in the limo. To be honest, I’m not a huge drinker. Doesn’t take much to get me drunk.” Kellan laughs and it makes me smile. That’s one of the things I never forgot about him … the way he laughs.
“What are you smiling about?” he asks, laughing again.
I turn to face him. “Your laugh. I remember it from a long time ago. You were always so fun to be around. I always thought you’d end up with Hannah one day.”
Smiling, he shakes his head. “No. I always had my eye on someone else. Didn’t work out though.”
“You mean Bridget?” I ask.
“Fuck no,” he blurts out. “That was over a long time ago.”
His smile fades and I can see a flash of pain in those blue eyes of his. “What happened?”
Sighing, he looks off into the distance. “She did me wrong. Never thought I’d get hurt, but I did. After she left me for someone else, I just didn’t give a shit anymore.”
“Is that when you started growing a beard? In the pictures Hannah and Hallie sent over the years, I thought you were a homeless man.” That’s not exactly true. He’s always been good looking, but I really did hate the long, scraggly beard. Now, he looks sexy with just the stubble.
Kellan chuckles hard. “You thought I looked homeless? That’s messed up, Hope.”