Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
I perked up. “Would I get to have my own little brush to use?”
Lucas laughed. “I’ll get you your very own kit. How’s that?”
“With my name on it?”
He nodded as he wore a wide smile.
“It’s like what I said earlier, my home is where you are, Lucas.”
He kissed my wrist, and my stomach fluttered. “My home is where you are as well.”
“So, are we going to do this?”
“Wait—what about the parties you already have planned? We won’t be here for New Year’s.”
Stopping for a moment to think, the answer popped into my head. “Why don’t you go first since we’ll need a place to live? I’ll finish out this year’s parties and then let my customers know I’ll be leaving, but I’ll still be available to help plan. It just won’t be hands-on. Then I can come and join you in Ireland.”
He slowly shook his head as if he were in awe. “Are you sure, Hollie?”
My hand slipped behind his neck, and I drew him to me. With our mouths inches apart, I whispered, “I’m sure.”
The look on his face was one of utter joy. He almost looked like a little boy set free in a toy store.
“What about your job?” I asked.
“I spoke with the city manager and asked if I could take a leave of absence for the project. He basically told me not to give up this opportunity and felt it would strengthen my knowledge. My job will be here for me when I get back.”
I smiled. “Then it’s settled. We’re going to Ireland.”
Lucas stood and pulled me up with him. He drew me to him and kissed me so passionately, I nearly begged him to take me right there in the gazebo. I know for a fact, Rose hadn’t planned on that!
“We should get back in. I’m sure you’re freezing,” he said, his forehead against mine.
“I say, we sneak away and tell everyone I wasn’t feeling well.”
A wicked, sexy smile appeared, and before I knew it, I was being carried through the backyard, down the side of the house, and being placed in the passenger seat of Lucas’s car.
“Thank God no one blocked us in!” he said as he got in and headed toward his house.
The entire car ride, all I could do was stare at my beautiful ring. I had never in my life been as happy as I was in that moment.
Lucas
Drawing in a deep breath, I took in the cool, damp air while I drank my coffee and looked over the site where we were digging. The area that the site had been found in was part of a tunnel system connecting Dublin with Galway on the other side of the island. It had been a controversial project to start with, and now, with this find, there were talks of scrapping it altogether. The island wasn’t that big, and to be honest, it was so beautiful here, I couldn’t imagine who wouldn’t enjoy the drive.
“I cannot believe we found so much burned flint,” Matt Leiver said. He was one of the consultant archaeologists who worked for Dublin Archaeology.
With a nod, I replied, “I’m thinking leathermaking.”
He rubbed his chin. “And metal work. God, wouldn’t you love to go back in time and see how they lived?”
I smiled. “I would indeed.”
I’d been in Ireland for nearly a month, and Hollie was due to arrive next week. I couldn’t wait to see her. We talked every morning and night, no matter what time it was for either of us. Seeing her over FaceTime wasn’t nearly good enough. I wanted to hold her, show her how much I loved and missed her. We’d gotten creative a few times with FaceTime sex, something I would highly recommend to everyone.
“Lucas! Matt!” a voice called from our right. “You’ve got to see this!”
Setting my coffee down, I followed Matt as we rushed to one of the areas where we had been working. I was almost positive the area had been a structure at one time.
Coming to a stop, my mouth dropped open at the site before me.
“Holy shit, you were right,” Matt whispered. “It’s the base of some kind of structure.”
I quickly jumped into work mode. We needed to proceed carefully; hopefully, we’d find an artifact that would tell us what the site was used for.
“Look—this looks like a pot, maybe?” Ryan, another archeologist from London, said.
I nearly jumped with excitement as the whole team started to carefully clear the area around the pot. After a few hours, the pot has been carefully removed and placed in a container to bring back to the onsite lab, where it would be examined and then carefully cleaned.
When I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket, I stood and stretched. Christ, I’d been bent over for so long, I was stiff as a board.