Becoming the Whiskey Princess (6 page)

I hadn’t thought about that. Ew. “Eh, I’m sure that won’t apply to me.”

She laughs. “If you say so. They’ll have you walking in heels and your hair and makeup done every morning. No more buns or jeans, I can tell you that.”

Pulling away, I look over at her. “No. Ugh.”

“Bet ya! Those O’Callaghans are pristine all the time.”

“Well, I’ll be pristine in a pair of shorts and a tee, working the bar.”

She laughed again. “You have no clue what you are getting into. You won’t be working at the bar anymore. You’ll be going to have tea with old people and shite.”

“No way,” I say with a shake of my head. “I’m not going to change who I am.”

She eyes me for a second and slowly nods her head. “I sure as hell hope not.”

I can see in her eyes that she is doubtful, but I don’t believe a word she says. They may be basically royalty and perfect, but being an O’Callaghan isn’t going to change me.

I’ll still be me.

And that’s how Declan will want me.

“Hey, girls.”

I look up to see my aunt standing in the doorway, a smile on her face.

“Howya, Ma,” Fiona says. “What’s up?”

“Come on to the pub with me for a minute.”

We comply, and I hate the way they treat me like a fragile piece of glass. Holding my hand and making sure I don’t die on the way. It’s annoying, but I know they do it because they love me. When we reach the pub after a short walk, we go through the side door, and as I come through, the room erupts in cheers. I smile as I take in all my regular patrons and then the big “Welcome Home, Amberlyn” sign. Tears sting my eyes as I am passed around, hugged softly, and kissed by almost everyone. I have missed my pub family; some of these people I see every day. I know that Mr. Little loves his corned beef hash. That Mrs. Kettle needs lavender in her tea. That Timmy loves his whiskey straight. That Brian would marry me or Fiona, or hell, even my aunt. I know these people. Their life stories. They are my family.

When I’m seated at the bar with Richard in front of me, I smile. He comes in every single Sunday with his guitar to sing. His wife, Laney, sits at the table to the left as he sings songs with his soft, crooning voice. It reminds me so much of my father’s, and that’s why he is probably my favorite person.

Cupping my face, he says, “You gave us all a scare.”

I smile. “I’m sorry. It’s so good to be home though.”

“Sure, sure. Now, let me play for ya.”

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I lean on them softly as I nod my head. With a grin on his face, he starts to sing a song I’ve heard many times before. One he knows is one of my favorites, “Wild Mountain Thyme.” My dad used to sing it a lot, and it made my heart just sing in my chest. When the whole pub starts to sing along with him, I join in and it feels so right. Closing my eyes, I sing like I was singing with my dad while my mom sat to the side, tapping her foot on the floor as she read. I can see it so vividly. I can smell my father’s cologne and the roast in the Crock-Pot, and I can recall the feeling of being so surrounded by the love he gave me. His dark eyes would be on me while his fingers ran along the strings of his guitar.

“Sing for me, love,” he would say and I would.

Soon my mom would join in, and we would all start to laugh because she couldn’t sing for shit, but it was her. And we loved her.

When the song ends, I open my eyes and smile. “Beautiful.”

“Your voice, it is. I didn’t know you could sing, Amberlyn,” he says, his eyes playful. “I’ll have to do duets with ya from now on!”

Everyone cheers for that, causing my face to burn with embarrassment. “No way! I was just singing along.”

“Ah, hush, you have the voice of an angel. Sing for me!”

“No!” I say, giggling as I wave him off. Soon everyone is urging me on, and I shake my head, still laughing. “You guys are crazy!”

“Come on then, Amberlyn! Do it!” Fiona calls and I shoot her a dirty look, but I know they aren’t gonna give in until I do what they ask.

“Fine. Pick a song I know,” I say to Richard.

“‘Parting Glass,’ yeah? I’ve heard you hum it before,” he asks and I smile.

“Yeah,” I nod, and I pray I can get through the song without tearing up. Clearing my throat, I am surprised by how much I want to do this. I always said I would never sing it without my dad, but now, after facing death, I feel like singing it will bring him even closer to me. Keep his memory alive and burning in my heart.

Not waiting for Richard to start playing, I start to sing, causing the pub to go quiet. When Richard joins in, our voices harmonize together almost like my dad’s and mine used to. My eyes are locked on his as we sing the verses I learned from my dad. He lets me take the lead, harmonizing with me, and it’s such a lovely sound. I wait for everyone to join in, but they don’t. It’s just me and Richard.

As I sing the last line, Richard does a flair with the guitar, causing everyone to cheer out loudly as my throat goes tight. I miss my dad so much. Every dream I have, he is never there, only my mom, and I would do anything to see his face again. Even in a dream. Standing up, Richard wraps his arm around me, hugging me softly as a lone tear rolls down my face.

In my ear, he whispers, “I’ve sung that with your da many times, my dear. Let me just say, he raised one hell of a singer, and what a beauty she is.” Pulling away, he meets my gaze and wipes away my tear. “He’d be very proud of ya.”

“Thank you,” I say softly.

“Simply stunning.”

I whip my head to the side to see Declan standing there, a grin on his face. “Hey!”

I hop off the stool and into his arms. Pain explodes across my chest, and I scold myself for that dumb move, but I’ve missed him. He’s been a constant presence since I got shot, and I don’t think I like being apart. As I kiss his lips softly, he smiles against mine, and I know it’s because we are in front of the whole pub, but I don’t give two shits. He’s my man!

Parting, I smile up at him, running my finger along his jaw. “They threw me a little welcome home party.”

“It was Declan’s idea,” I hear Fiona say, and my grin grows as his cheeks warm with color.

“Oh, really?”

He shrugs. “Sure. Everyone’s missed ya.”

I grin and he sends me a grin back before he unlocks my arms from around his neck. My brows come together as he says, “Sit down, sweetheart.”

I do as he asks, and then he takes my hand in his. “I heard this song a couple years ago. I saw the artist perform it here, right, Fiona?”

Fiona grins as she nods. “Yeah.”

He meets my gaze again and kisses my knuckles before saying, “And yeah, he was amazing, but I never thought about this song until about an hour ago.” He pauses, lacing our fingers together, and I can feel the nerves coming off him in waves. He hates crowds, and I am surprised he is saying this much, but I appreciate it. “I was in my library and the thought of you was heavy on my mind. Like always,” he says, sending me a grin that I return. “And all of a sudden, this song comes to mind. This is how I feel for ya, and it describes ya perfectly. So, yeah, let’s have at it.”

Richard starts to play and I fully expect him to start singing, but to my surprise, it is Declan who starts to sing. It is a lovely sound too! Deep but with a little bit of a softness to it. I recognize the song almost immediately as Ed Sheeran’s “Fall.” It is one of my favorites, and hearing Declan sing it has my heart coming out of my chest. While he doesn’t have the voice Ed Sheeran has, his voice is beautiful just the same, and I am in complete awe of him. The song lyrics talk about how much he loves falling for the girl he loves, and it rattles my soul seeing my boyfriend, I mean fiancé, sing so beautifully. Just for me.

The whole pub has fallen silent again, and everyone is in total shock. As am I. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone hold up their phone but Fiona takes it away, shaking her head. She really is so amazing. I meet Declan’s gaze again and can see that he is nervous, but my God, he has no reason to be. He is beyond amazing. Squeezing his hand as his voice fills the pub, I am flabbergasted.

As the song ends, I stand up, wrapping my arms around his neck as I kiss his lips while everyone claps and hollers out for him. Love explodes in my heart for him, sending tingles through my body as we share a long kiss. His fingers are tight at my waist, and I can feel his heart beating against my chest, almost in time with mine. Parting, we share a smile, but when I go to say something, he shakes his head before falling down to one knee.

Holding my hand in his, he looks up at me and my heart kicks into hyperspeed. I know what he is doing, but seeing him down there just makes it extremely real.

“I would have never done that before,” he says softly. “Sing for ya like that.”

“Sure the hell wouldn’t,” I hear Kane call out, and I hadn’t realized he was here, but he is, wrapped around Fiona like a glove.

Smiling, I look back down at Declan and cup his jaw. “It was beautiful. Thank you.”

“Anything for ya, Amberlyn. Really. Anything and everything you want, you’ll have because I honestly can’t live this life without you. I can’t believe I found ya, across a lake, looking so gorgeous. You stunned me. First glance, I was a goner. When I first talked to you and you poked me in the middle of my forehead, I knew I was going to love you my whole damn life. You’ve taken over my thoughts, my heart, and brought me out of the shell I’ve lived in for so long. I became alive when I met you.”

Tears burn my eyes as I hold his gaze. “Oh, Declan,” I say softly, and he smiles.

“Nothing feels like you. Nothing can add up to what you give me. I want to say I chose ya first, but I didn’t. My heart did, and by the time my brain and the rest of my body caught up, I was gone with ya. I never want to let ya go. So,” he says, pausing. I glance over to where he is looking as Fiona hands him a book. Meeting my gaze again, he says, “I want you to have this.”

When he places it in my lap, I look up at him in shock. It’s his
Pride and Prejudice
first edition.

“No, this is your great-times-ten-grandma’s,” I say, running my fingers down the front of it. I love this book and would love to say it was mine, but it isn’t, and I can’t allow him to give it to me. No matter how much I want it.

“Yeah, it was and so is what is inside.”

Intrigued, I open the book but don’t see anything. “Huh?”

He pulls on the little string bookmark, and at the bottom of the fabric is a ring tied to it. Blinking in complete shock, I pick it up and gawk at the gorgeousness of this ring. A huge oval diamond sits on a gold band that is encrusted with smaller diamonds. It is stunning and beautiful, very vintage. So completely me. I meet Declan’s gaze, and he smiles as he takes the ring from my fingers and unties it. Holding it out, he looks deep into my eyes, and I can see the tears welling up in his own eyes. He is so beautiful, his ice-blue eyes burning with love for me. I can see every single one of his emotions, and I can’t believe that, so quickly, I can read him like this. He is nervous but completely in love with me, just the way I want him.

“My grandma who wore this ring and bought this book was married for forty-six years to my grandda. They were mad for each other, and she loved this ring and this book, but I want you to have them.”

A tear escapes my eye, and I try to hold in the others, but it doesn’t work well. He smiles as his fingers thread with mine while his other hand holds the ring out to me. “These things are part of my history, and I want you to have them because you are my future.”

“Declan,” I gasp, my lip wobbling as I hold his gaze.

“I love ya, Amberlyn, and I would like nothing more than for you to be my wife. To make this life worth living because without ya, I’m nothing. So will ya have me?”

I don’t even answer him. I let my lips do the talking and ignore the sting in my chest or the exclamation of the audience. I mark the pain off as my heart exploding in my chest, and I couldn’t care less about the people in the room. The only thing that matters is the fact I’ll never love anyone the way I love Declan O’Callaghan.