Friday I'm in Love

  Friday I’m in Love

  Mari Carr

  Wild Irish, Book Five

  Friday’s child is loving and giving…

  Ewan Collins has had the hots for Natalie for years but she continually rebuffs him, supposedly because of their age difference. When Natalie comes to stay with the Collins family for a week, Ewan decides it’s time to make his move in a serious way.

  Natalie’s been in a funk since celebrating another birthday alone. When Ewan proposes to help her “get a life”—seven lessons in seven days—she figures, what the hell does she have to lose? Ewan’s plans include tequila shots, fishing, karaoke…and other, more erotic hands-on demonstrations.

  But Nat’s loneliness isn’t Ewan’s only obstacle. Tragedy in her past continually takes Natalie to a dark place her mind can’t easily overcome. With support, tenderness and love, Ewan plans to win over Natalie one lesson at a time.

  Starting with lessons of the heart.

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Friday I’m in Love

  ISBN 9781419929861

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Friday I’m in Love Copyright © 2010 Mari Carr

  Edited by Kelli Collins

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication August 2010

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Friday I’m in Love

  Mari Carr

  Dedication

  This story is dedicated to my cousins. I never had a sister, but I was blessed with lots and lots of girl cousins who are definitely the next best thing! I love you gals!

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  American Idol: FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

  Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore Ravens

  Bride: Condé Nast

  Coke: The Coca-Cola Company Corporation

  Dumpster: Dempster Brothers, Inc.

  Fantasy Island: Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

  Guinness: Diageo Ireland Private Unlimited Company

  Hooters: Hooters of America

  Jacuzzi: Jacuzzi Inc. Corporation

  McDonald’s: McDonald's Corporation

  Men in Black: Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc

  NASCAR: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

  National Geographic: National Geographic Society

  Ping-Pong: Parker Brothers, Inc.

  Sesame Street: Sesame Workshop

  Sleeping Beauty: Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  Styrofoam: Dow Chemical Company

  Subaru: Subaru of America, Inc.

  Superman: DC Comics

  Hostess Twinkie: Continental Baking Company

  Monday’s Child

  Monday’s child is fair of face,

  Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

  Wednesday’s child is full of woe,

  Thursday’s child has far to go,

  Friday’s child is loving and giving,

  Saturday’s child works hard for a living,

  But the child who is born on the Sabbath day,

  Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

  ~Traditional nursery rhyme

  Chapter One

  “You’re the life of the party.” Sky Mitchell claimed the seat beside her and she rolled her eyes at his droll comment.

  “It’s a freaking kid’s birthday party.”

  Sky laughed. “That’s not stopping anybody else.”

  Natalie Miller glanced around Pat’s Irish Pub and admitted he was right. The Collins family—apparently true to their Irish heritage—were partying it up in style. Several of the men were hanging out around the bar, consuming pints of Guinness, while the ladies were chattering and laughing loudly over their glasses of wine. She sighed. “Guess I’m just not in the mood.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. You haven’t been in the mood to have fun for quite a while. What gives?”

  “Nothing gives. I think I’m just starting to feel my age.”

  Sky laughed again. “You’re only thirty-four. Hell, I’m the same age as you and I’ve never felt better in my life.”

  “I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fact you’re banging Miss Sunshine and Peace Signs Collins every night.”

  “You’re gonna have to stop giving Teagan shit about being a hippie.”

  Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Have you seen the way she dresses?”

  Sky shrugged. “I love her wardrobe. It’s hot.”

  “Oh Jesus, you’re pathetic. Besides, getting older is different for men.” She wasn’t sure that was true, but it sounded plausible enough. “It’s a well-known fact men never grow up.”

  “So you’ve been walking around with a stick up your ass for the last three months because you suddenly think you’re old?”

  She didn’t know how to tell Sky he’d basically summed it up perfectly. Leave it to her to have a midlife crisis at thirty-four. Who fell apart on their thirty-fourth birthday?

  “Not old, necessarily. Just older.” She’d been in a funk since she’d blown out the single candle her business partner, Christine, had stuck in a Hostess Twinkie to celebrate yet another year in an otherwise unexceptional life. She’d spent the remainder of her birthday taking pictures at an elderly couple’s silver anniversary party. She’d listened as their children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues praised the couple’s long and glorious union.

  She’d gotten home well after midnight, crawled into bed and cried her eyes out.

  “Oh, well, that clears up everything.” Sky’s tone was sardonic and she chuckled. One of the reasons they got along so well was because they both had only two tones, sarcastic and sarcastic. Although now that Sky was doing the horizontal mamba with Teagan Collins, he’d added romantic to his repertoire. An idea that bugged the hell out of Natalie.

  “You sure you wanna stay here this week? I know you’ve attended Collins celebrations before, but staying with them for an entire week could be tough for you.”

  She filled in the blanks on the things her friend was too polite to say out loud. He didn’t think she’d enjoy staying with the Collins family because that would involve her being in close contact with other people for more than a few hours. Sky knew she preferred her solitary existence because her interpersonal skills were more than slightly lacking.

  She’d taken a month-long working vacation away from her photography business to hit the road with Sky. He’d invited her to travel around with him to take some behind-the-scenes pictures of him and Teagan as they toured. They’d told everyone it was for a photo-biography she was compiling, but the truth was, Sky wanted to surprise Teagan with a special video as a wedding gift. Natalie had been snapping photos of the couple for three weeks straight, trying to capture some really perfect moments in their lives together. He planned to play the video at their wedding reception.

  The word romantic floated through her mind again and she did an internal eye roll.

  She’d jumped at Sky’s offer to escape her ho-hum life, thinking travel would lure her out of her doldrums. It had certainly worked in the past. It wasn’t unusual for her to leave the business in Christine’s capable hands while she got away for a bit to try to get her shit together, try to overcome her dark moods. Unfortunately, this time the escape hadn’t worked. She wasn’t any happier now than before she’d hit the road. If anything, she was in a deeper funk.

  “I’ll be fine with the Collins family. Besides, Teagan’s going to be working on wedding preparations and we agreed it would be cool to get some pictures of her with her family as they got ready for the big day.”

  “Yeah, well. I’m worried about you, Nat. This feels like,” he paused, “last time.”

  She grinned and tried to mask the agony his words provoked. She was worried about herself too. She felt so sad, so heavy, so adrift…but these weren’t feelings she wanted to admit. She’d succumbed to the darkness only once before and she was not going back there.

  “I’m fine, Sky. Promise. It’s not the same as last time. This will pass.”

  “Sky, come on. Let’s give Caitlyn her gift,” Teagan called out to her fiancé.

  Natalie waved him off as he rose. “Wouldn’t do to keep Princess Catie waiting,” she teased. It was safe to say no child had ever been more doted on
or adored than Caitlyn Wallace, Teagan’s niece. A glance at the food table confirmed this as Natalie shook her head once again at the colorful cupcake castle dominating the table.

  “You know, I never told you my birthday wish for you,” Sky said. They’d started the silly tradition back in high school. On their birthdays, each made a wish for the other.

  “Still trying to top my wish?” On Sky’s eighteenth birthday, she’d wished for him to become the most famous musician in the world. She claimed the wish had worked. God knew he was certainly on his way toward reaching that level of stardom.

  “I wished for you to fall in love and live happily ever after.”

  “You didn’t,” she hissed. She’d always forbidden that wish in the past, claiming she didn’t need or want a man to interfere with her life or career.

  “I did,” Sky replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Happy belated birthday, Nat.”

  He walked away and she shook her head, feeling the slightest kernel of panic building in her chest. It was a silly tradition. It’s not as if their wishes always came true or anything. She was a fool for sitting here with a racing heart and sweaty palms just because of Sky’s stupid wish. Jesus, she really was losing her mind.

  “Okay, I give. What the hell is up with you?”

  Natalie looked up and found Ewan Collins standing beside her table. “Was there a two-for-one deal on that line somewhere and I missed it? I’m gonna tell you what I just told Sky. Nothing’s wrong with me. Now get lost.”

  He smiled and ignored her request, claiming the seat Sky had vacated. She steadfastly ignored the heat suddenly permeating her skin at his proximity. It was always the same any time he was within five feet of her. Her body went into serious overdrive. She resisted the urge to fan herself and blamed it on a hot flash. Early onset menopause. Sure. That could be it.

  “You’ve been moping around all day. It’s a party, and you’ve done nothing but sit and nurse the same glass of wine. So I’ll repeat my question. What the hell is up with you?”

  Natalie scowled. Ewan had been a thorn in her side since the night they’d met—the night of Sky’s final concert with his previous group, The Universe. Though they’d spent less than a month’s worth of days together in the past three years, she typically spent weeks thinking about him and their conversations after each visit. His pursuit of her had been relentless, but she had to give him points for persistence.

  “You know,” she said, deciding evasion was her best bet, “I just don’t get you.”

  He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “That’s because I’m an enigma. Even my own family doesn’t know what to make of me.”

  She ignored his jest. “I’m fairly certain I’ve made my feelings for you clear. Have I not?” She had him age-wise by nearly a decade and to say she was typically a total bitch whenever they were together was probably putting it lightly.

  Ewan nodded. “If you mean telling me get lost, go fuck myself and you are the most annoying man I’ve ever met, then yes, I think all of that was pretty straightforward.”

  “And yet here you sit.” She gestured at him, letting her irritation show.

  “That’s because I know you don’t mean any of that.”

  She raised one eyebrow. “I don’t?”

  He shook his head. “Your words say go away, but your eyes say come closer.” He punctuated that inane comment by leaning toward her. She tried to force her body to move away or, at the very least, shove his ass out of the booth, but found herself trying to covertly enjoy a sniff of his scent. She wasn’t sure what it was about his smell that attracted her so. She could detect the slight odor of the beer he’d been drinking on his breath. And damn, if she didn’t feel her mouth watering for a taste.

  “This is insane,” she muttered to herself, surprised when his grin grew.

  “Nope. It’s chemistry.”

  “I’m too old for you.” It was her standard fallback line. The one she’d used time after time to push him away.

  He rested his forehead against hers intimately and again she wondered why she never tore into him for his inappropriate familiarity. They didn’t know each other well enough for him to crowd her personal space like this, and yet, she never resisted when he grabbed her hand to hold, never shrugged him off when he wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulder.

  “I’m twenty-six to your thirty-four. Eight years, Nat. That’s all. That excuse is lame. Why don’t you try to find a new one?”

  “How about I’m not interested?”

  He smiled. “Well, now you’re just lying.”

  She scowled and moved her face away from his, frustration growing in her chest. “It is taking every ounce of strength in my body not to throw you through a wall right now.”

  He laughed and put his arm against the back of the booth, caging her in. “Oh babydoll. I’d love to see that.”

  She knew her threat was empty. While she was nearly five foot nine, the top of her head barely cleared his shoulders when they were standing. Unlike his brothers—who were built like Goliath football players, Ewan was lankier, his build reminding her more of a basketball player. A basketball player with rock-hard abs and muscular arms that could hold a woman against a wall and—

  She closed her eyes and forced the naughty fantasy away. Damn man was starring in more of her wet dreams lately than Gerard Butler. She cleared her throat and gave him a narrow-eyed scowl. “Babydoll is a sexist term and I find it highly offensive.”

  “No you don’t.”

  She clenched her fists and fought the urge to strike him. “Stop telling me what I think!”

  “You finished dodging the subject at hand?”

  She threw in the towel. She didn’t have the energy for this. “I’m just tired.” Her answer was weak, but it wasn’t entirely untrue. She was averaging five hours of restless sleep a night, if she was lucky.

  “Why are you tired?”

  She closed her eyes and prayed for patience. This was how conversations with Ewan went. He asked a question, she answered, and then he asked more.

  “I was reading a really sexy book last night and spent half the night masturbating with my vibrator. All those amazing orgasms can really take it out of you, you know?” She hoped her smartass comment would embarrass him, shut him up.

  She should have known better.

  “Shit, Nat. I wish you would have waited. I’m going to be downstairs from you tonight. I can fuck you a helluva lot better than a lousy piece of plastic.”

  She’d been given Tristan’s old room on the third floor to sleep in while she was staying with the family, but sleep didn’t seem to be something she was going to be doing much of, especially not after the sexy seed Ewan had just planted.

  “In your dreams, kiddo. I don’t play with children,” she said, although she wasn’t all that concerned that he was younger.

  For one thing, he didn’t act young, but she supposed that was because he’d been responsible—along with his sister, Keira—for running the restaurant side of his family’s business since graduating from college. Teagan raved about his management abilities and smooth administration. The fun, sexually explicit banter he engaged in with Natalie seemed to be the exception, rather than the norm, and she got the feeling the rest of his family saw him as serious, responsible, staid.

  “Thought you weren’t gonna play the age card again?”

  “Old habits die hard.”

  “You’re quiet today, distant. Why do I get the feeling it’s more than fatigue?”

  “I would think you’d be glad I’m quiet. I mean, it’s not as if there’s ever been any love lost between us. You and I are like—”

  He looked so genuinely shocked she stopped midsentence, the words oil and water dying on her tongue.

  “No love lost? I’m crazy about you, Nat. You must know that?”

  She laughed. “You really are going to have to give up this schoolboy crush. I’ve been nothing but a bitch to you since day one.”

  He grasped her hand and she looked at him in surprise. “I haven’t been a boy in a long time, babydoll. And I’m more than man enough to deal with you and your so-called bitchiness.”