The Celtic Knot. Shannon MacLeod

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СКАЧАТЬ clouds chasing each other across the azure sky. The drive took just over an hour but lost in animated conversation with Ian, the time passed as if on wings. At the art store, she and Ian were greeted upon arrival by a distinguished gentleman with a British accent. “Mr. Kelly, always a delight, sir. We’ve gotten some new oils I think you might find interesting…” He set off at a trot toward the back of the store.

      Entranced with the unfamiliar surroundings, Lily was already moving forward to browse a selection of unframed art. Ian glanced at the man then back to her, obviously torn. “Would you mind…” he asked.

      “Go ahead, I’ll just look around,” she said, waving him on.

      Ian tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in question. Lily laughed. “I’ll be fine unless…nothing here is dangerous, right?” she asked with a straight face.

      “Shouldn’t be, but should you get cornered by some wild brushes, scream and I’ll come running.” With a snort of amusement, he turned and followed the older man down the aisle.

      I should have paid more attention in art class, Lily realized as she wandered up and down the rows of pads, brushes and paints, I’m not even sure what half of this stuff is. She rounded a large display of charcoal pencils and gasped at the breathtaking mural of a seascape painted on the back wall of the store. Billowy clouds floated near the top, and the waves were dotted with bright sails of windsurfers. So realistic, she could almost hear the cries of the laughing gulls and the brown pelicans floating on the salty breeze of the Gulf.

      “Can I help you find something?” asked a young woman wearing a name tag and apron.

      “Just looking, thanks.” She smiled and indicated the mural. “This is magnificent. Local artist?”

      The clerk pointed two aisles down where Ian stood deep in conversation with the owner. “That’s him right there, miss, the man in the gray shirt.”

      Ian’s face brightened when he turned and saw her. “Ready?” he asked, tucking his new package under his arm. Outside in the parking lot, Lily commented on the seascape. “You are so talented,” she said. “Have you ever thought about seriously pursuing–”

      He whipped his phone from his pocket, glanced at the screen and looked horror stricken.. “No wonder I’m near starved. It’s the afternoon already. Hungry?”

      Ian just happened to know of a wonderful little outdoor cafe in the historic district near the beach. She spent the next several hours there talking and laughing with him over steaming cups of cafe con leche and pressed Cuban sandwiches. “I do love these,” he sighed happily after finishing his second one. He wiped a spot of mustard from his mouth then crumpled the napkin on his plate. “There are some interesting little shops nearby. Would milady care for a stroll in the market?” he teased.

      Lily giggled. “Only if you don’t end up dueling for my honor,” she said. Ian reached for her hand and helped her up, then gave it a little squeeze as if to say May I? She gave a little squeeze back to say yes, you may.

      Hand-in-hand with him, she strolled by the shops. He didn’t seem to mind when she stopped to look in the windows, and laughed at her comment about Bella not being seen dead in a frilly Halloween costume for cats a pet store had on display. If she’d been with Lucas, he would have tugged her back to the car after the art store. As if she’d drunk wine at lunch she felt giddy when Ian smiled at her, and by the way his eyes gleamed he felt the same way. She was delighted when he presented her with a fragrant nosegay from a street vendor, and when she rose up on tiptoe to give him a shy kiss on the cheek in thanks, he turned to the smiling florist and asked how much for the whole cart.

      When the sun began to sink on the horizon and the air turned cooler, he slipped an arm around her. Happy for both the closeness and the warmth, she leaned into him as they made their way back to the car. Well after dark, they returned to Lily’s apartment and this time Ian accepted her offer to come inside for coffee. “Only for a moment,” he warned, “you have to go to work in the morning.”

      As soon as Ian sat on the couch, Bella deposited herself on his lap and butted his hand with her head. “You shameless hussy,” Lily scolded the cat, whose adoring look announced she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed at being so forward.

      Ian chuckled and obliged the purring feline. “Most men don’t seem to like cats, I’ve heard,” he said. “I think it’s because they can’t control them. I rather like that quality.” He smiled, tickling Bella under her chin. They chatted for another hour and after finishing his second cup of coffee, he gently relocated the dozing cat and stood. “It’s getting late, I should go,” he said, the reluctance apparent in his voice. He took Lily’s hands in his and kissed them one at a time.

      “I enjoyed today,” she said, “you have no idea how much.”

      “I know how much I enjoyed spending it with you,” he replied, pulling her gently forward and lowering his head to hers. Softly at first, one kiss, two, a dozen kisses, each one more intense than the last. Ian moved along her cheek and down to the pulse point at the hollow of her neck. She swooned from the intimate contact and when she slipped her arms around his neck to pull him closer, a blaze of electricity enveloped them. Her lips parted in a soft sigh, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth more fully, and she felt the familiar heat spreading all over her body.

       …I remember…

      His body vibrating like a live wire, Ian curled his fingers under her chin, forcing her eyes up to meet his. “This is not the night, mo chuisle, but you do tempt me beyond reason.”

      “What does that word mean?” Lily asked in a shaky whisper.

      He placed her hand in the center of his chest so she could feel the rhythmic pounding. “It means my pulse, my heartbeat,” he explained. “It’s Gaelic, or Irish as we call it. I grew up speaking it.”

      “It’s beautiful. Mo chuisle,” she repeated. He blinked in surprise then deepened the kiss, crushing her to his chest and fisting his hand in her silky tresses. She moaned low in her throat, and with reluctance he pulled himself away from her again.

      “You’re getting up early for work in the morning, and here’s me being selfish again,” Ian said. She walked him to the door and with one last, lingering kiss, closed it behind him. On impulse, she rose on tiptoes and watched him through the peephole. He paused and waited. When the lock clicked, he blew a kiss toward the door and walked away with a slight spring in his step.

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