JFK to Dublin (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 1) Read online

"You told Mrs. Steiner?"

  "Yes, love, she's the one who brought you the note. Come stand over here by the gate, and tie it around your eyes. I will find you, and my lips will find yours, and then we will pretend this never happened and go get married."

  I had already taken two steps to the big wooden gate, and tied my blindfold by the time he finished his speech. I wanted to touch him so badly that if he hadn't come up with some kind of plan, I probably would have burst through the wall. I heard the gate open, and I put my hand on the edge of the doorway.

  "My hand's in the door, so don't close it," I said.

  Collin must've taken that has a clue, because seconds later, his hand was on mine. In a quick burst of movement, we found each other blindly and I fell into his arms, holding him around his middle, and feeling so grateful to finally touch him, smell him. We held onto each other with equal fervor, squeezing and fitting our bodies together.

  We stayed like that for several long seconds before he pulled back and began finding my face with his hands. I felt him blindly but gently grope for the sides of my face, which he situated between both of his hands.

  He put his mouth ever so close to mine. I could not see him, but he was so close that I could feel it there. It was a thrilling feeling, knowing I was about to be kissed, but unable to see anything at all.

  "How do I know it's you?" I whispered breathlessly.

  "I assure you," he whispered, "I would not let any one else be doing this to you right now."

  His mouth was so close to mind that I could feel his words.

  "Why, because I'm yours?" I asked.

  "Uh-huh."

  "In a minute, I'm gonna be Mrs. Ross," I said.

  "I know."

  "I love you, Collin."

  He leaned even closer closing the gap completely. "I (kiss) love (kiss) you (longer, lingering kiss)."

  He pulled back a little after those three kisses, and I gave a little whimper, letting him know I was sad to feel him go.

  "No one gets to share this one with us," he whispered. He put his lips on mine again, and I responded by stretching up to meet him. Collin turned my head in his hands and kissed me deeply. He kissed me like he had never kissed me before. He kissed me in a way that conveyed so much more than just physical attraction. He showed me I was his, and in those all-too-brief seconds, I gave myself over to the passion and emotion of it all.

  We were both breathless when he pulled away. I couldn't see him, of course, but I could hear us breathing, and could tell by our movements that we were both working to catch our breath.

  "Go," he said, reluctantly. "Give me five seconds to get this gate closed before you take off your blindfold. I'll see you at our wedding."

  Chapter 19

  While I wasn't sure I would ever, in my life, tell someone I'd been "kissed silly," it was the only way to explain what Collin had just done to me in the garden. He kissed me silly, and I walked from the garden into the house, feeling stunned and delirious from it.

  I entered the house, and made my way down the long hallway to the room where I knew I'd find Lu and my mom, and perhaps even Drake. I was still holding the strip of fabric when I came in, and everyone spotted it right away. I must not have anticipated them noticing it, because it took me by surprise when they did.

  "What's that?" my mom asked.

  "Fabric," I said, casually.

  "What'd he want?" Drake asked, still looking curious about the whole no photograph thing.

  "He just wanted to ask me something," I said, looking as innocent as I could. I realized that my lips were probably still a little swollen from the massive kiss, and I puckered and shifted my mouth to draw attention away from it, although I might have accomplished the opposite.

  Thinking about my puffy lips made me try to remember whether Collin was clean-shaven or not. My senses were on overload from kissing him blindfolded, and I could honestly not say whether I thought he was clean-shaven or not. The thought put a smile on my face.

  "What happened?" my mom asked. "Are you pregnant or something?"

  Her words made my daydream come to a screeching halt. "What? Mom, no."

  "Did you see him?" Lu asked with wide eyes.

  "No," I said.

  "Then why are you grinning like that?" Lu asked.

  Snap, snap, snap, went the camera, recording still shots of the whole conversation.

  "I'm not," I said.

  I looked directly at the camera and squinted my eyes at Drake. Snap. I made a comical scowl, and there was yet another snap, snap, causing the women in the room to laugh. I was so crazy in love with Collin that I didn't even care if they figured out what I had just done.

  Everyone besides Lu and my mom went outside with the other guests. They seemed to both realize I had a lot going on mentally, because they were content to just talk to each other while helping me make the last-minute touches on my makeup.

  My mom had a ton of questions for Lu about Shower & Shelter, and Lu was excited to answer them. The Netflix documentary was apparently moving forward, and they were talking about making Lu one of their subjects since they were looking to start in August, and that's specifically when she would be the new recruit. They were still in the very early stages, and Lu's place in the production wasn't set in stone, but the producers had contacted her within the last week, and she was obviously elated about it.

  The plan was to follow the lives of five of the S&S artists (and of course the gallery in general). They would shoot the documentary over the period of roughly a year, checking in and spending time with each artist on a weekly basis. Lu was thrilled about the possibility, especially because it would come with a twenty-thousand-dollar paycheck for her trouble.

  I enjoyed hearing about it, and so did my mom, and it was a welcome distraction from how very over the moon nervous I was.

  "It's beautiful out here," Lu said as she pulled me toward the courtyard. "You're going to love it."

  "Slow down," my mom said from my other side. "You don't want to be winded by the time you get out there."

  Mrs. Steiner was in the main hall when we made our way in that direction. "Come on," she said, holding her hand out for me. I gave her a curious expression, which she ignored. She looked at my mom and Lu. "Ye two go out that way," she said. "Ye'll see where they saved ye a spot." She looked at me. "Yer comin' wi me."

  My mom and Lu took off, and Mrs. Steiner grabbed me by the hand.

  "Where are we going? "I asked. I was convinced that Collin was up to one last piece of mischief, and my heart started racing. "Where are we going?" I repeated.

  "Upstairs," she said. "Everyone's expecting you to enter from up there."

  I knew exactly what staircase she was talking about, but I had no idea I was using it. No one had told me this part when we rehearsed. She pulled me up a set of interior stairs, and we made our way down a huge, second-story hallway before she stopped at a set of French doors.

  "Everyone's on the other side," she said. "You'll see them down below in the courtyard. I'm gonna open the door for ye, but I'm steppin' out of the way as soon as I do."

  I glanced at her with a terrified expression, and she smiled sweetly at me.

  "You look bonnie, Sarah, and all the lovely people on the other side of the door here are just here because they love ya."

  I gave her a little smile as I took a deep calming breath.

  "Okay, now it's gonna be bright when I open the door because the sun's comin' down right here. Just know that ye have about ten feet of patio before ye get to the stairs. Ye'll take the stairs on yer own, and ye'll see yer dad waitin' at the bottom. He'll walk ye to Collin. Got it?"

  I nodded even though I didn't have it. I had only partially heard what she said. I barely even had time to nod when Mrs. Steiner thrust a handful of wildflowers into my hand and reached in front of me, opening the door and letting sunlight come streaming onto my face.

  I held my hand in front of my eyes to shield some of the bright sun as I stepped onto the spr
awling, stone patio. I was still letting my eyes adjust when I heard one of those two-toned whistles that someone did when they appreciated how good someone looked. The high-pitched sound most definitely came from my brother, Joe, who was prone to lighten the mood by doing such things. I loved that it gave me an excuse to smile as I crossed the upstairs terrace headed for the stairs. I grinned at my brother's whistle until I came to the edge of the stairs and tried to focus on the people below.

  My gaze fell on the back edge of the crowd first, and I saw some of Collin's colleagues along with the new friends we met in Ireland. I scanned the crowd, finding my family and Collin's family. I stood at the edge of the staircase taking it all in—the beautiful courtyard and the thirty or so sharply dressed people who were all there because they loved me.

  It was the thought of being loved that made me remember to find Collin. Somehow, in the rush of it all, I thought he wasn't out there yet, but I searched for him the instant I remembered he was.

  My eyes shot to the center of the courtyard where I knew he'd be standing, and sure enough, there he was. His face broke into a grin the instant he saw that I found him, and I smiled back, feeling crazy for taking so much time looking at everyone else.

  Collin was standing there in a dashing, navy blue suit. He was immaculately dressed from his slicked-back hair to his tan, wingtip shoes. There was a lot of space between us, and I wanted it gone immediately. He was exactly what my eyes wanted to see. If I could have only had one time in my whole life where I blinked and ended up in a different location, it would be now, and I would go from where I was to where he was.

  I was so desperate to go to him that I picked up my dress and started trotting down the staircase. I was wearing a formal white gown, but underneath were my favorite pair of red low-top Chuck Taylors. I vaguely heard the crowd responding to either the site of them or the sight of me running down the stairs, but I only had one thing on my mind, and that was getting to Collin.

  I jogged as carefully as I could, praying I didn't do a face plant in front of everyone. My dad was standing at the bottom of the stairs, and I stopped briefly to talk to him. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek, knowing he'd go along with whatever I said.

  "I love you, Daddy, but I got it from here. I’m running to him."

  He gave me a loving smile that meant I should go, and I didn't hesitate to do just that. I left my dad at the foot of those stairs and started out toward Collin at a much faster pace than I would have been going had I been walking with my dad.

  Collin didn't stay put either. Once he saw that I had left my dad in favor of running toward him, he started toward me as well. We met about twenty feet away from where we were supposed to wind up, but I didn't even give that a second thought because the next thing I knew, I was in Collin's arms.

  He caught me, spinning me around to carry my momentum before we came to a breathless stop right there in the aisle. We paid no attention to the people around us or the fact that we were standing in the wrong spot. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and we both knew what a relief it was to finally get to see each other.

  I smiled and shook my head absentmindedly, thinking of how gorgeous he looked out there in the sunlight with his suit on. He smiled back at me, and without pausing to think better of it, I stretched up and kissed him right on the mouth. It wasn't a quick, accidental kiss, either. I wrapped my hand around the back of his head and held him there, letting our mouths meet while we stared right into each other's eyes.

  My brother started with a whistle and then the entire group burst into applause. Collin smiled and kissed me again before taking me by the hand to lead me back to the spot where he had been standing before.

  Neither of us had anyone standing next to us. It was just Collin, the priest, and me, and all of our guests sat on stone benches and in extra chairs that had been placed nearby. We had a simple ceremony that only lasted about ten minutes. The priest said a few things and so did Collin. He spoke about the circumstances of how we met and how from the first moment he saw me, he knew I was his sunshine. He told them how much he cared for me, and somehow in the midst of it, he recited his vows.

  My part wasn't as eloquent as Collin's, and the priest led me through my vows, but I had written them from the heart, and I felt like everything I said went well with Collin's speech. Plus, I had already promised to just be comfortable, natural, and true to myself so that I didn't regret any part of this day. It didn't matter what everyone else thought of the ceremony; it just mattered that Collin and I were telling each other the truth, and we were… I could feel it.

  Collin kissed me again at the end of the ceremony, and this time it was different. This time he was kissing Mrs. Ross. I knew I had done the right thing by marrying him, and felt like happiness might come oozing right out of me.

  Everyone was still cheering for us after he kissed me, and he leaned down to speak into my ear.

  "Do we have to spend the whole afternoon entertaining these people?" he asked. He was talking to me, but he said it loud enough that I was sure the priest heard.

  "Yes," I said.

  He pulled back and stared at me, looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive. "Why would we do that?"

  I giggled, feeling delighted at his impatience. "Because everyone wants to hang out with us," I said, trying to look like I was fine with waiting, even though I wasn't."

  The priest had already introduced us once, but he did it again since Collin and I seemed content to just stand there and have a conversation with each other.

  He sweetly (and for the second time) introduced us as Mr. and Mrs. Ross in his thick Irish accent, and Collin and I peeled our eyes off of each other with great difficulty so that we could face the crowd and wave at everyone.

  Chapter 20

  Mr. Steiner gave a speech right after our ceremony. He thanked everyone for being there explained what parts of the house were open and prepared for guests with refreshments, music, and games. A formal dinner was to be served promptly at 6.

  I knew everyone (including our new Irish friends) would be staying through until dinner because Mrs. Steiner had everyone RSVP so that her chef would know how many he would need to serve.

  None of this was my idea. Mrs. Steiner had taken it upon herself to host our wedding and reception in the way she chose, and honestly, I was relieved to not have to deal with it since I knew absolutely nothing about planning weddings.

  I must say I was a bit surprised when my mom informed me that the Steiners wanted to make it an afternoon-long ordeal. They thought it would be nice since our families had traveled all that way. They were eager hosts, so I ended up just putting it in their hands and telling myself that I'd be happy with it no matter what it was. I was completely right to trust them. The Steiners made me feel like a complete princess the whole time, and I was humbled that they acted like it was their honor to do so.

  It was truly a fairytale day. There was traditional Irish music in the main hall with a 4-piece band, consisting of guitar, accordion, fiddle, and flute. The guy on guitar also did a lot of stomping, so maybe that made him the drummer, too.

  There was a huge fireplace in the billiards room, along with couches and tables, making it one of the most popular locations for the party guests to hang out, only second to the main hall where the band was playing. Then some genius in the group asked the band to move into the billiards room. It was large enough to accommodate our whole party, so for the rest of the afternoon we all pretty much stayed in that one location, laughing and dancing, and just sitting around talking.

  There wasn't a single person in the place who looked like they were having a bad time. Not that I wouldn't forgive them if they did because I already decided that some level of drama would be a possibility, and I knew ahead of time I would forgive the culprit if it came to that.

  All that pre-drama forgiveness, and there was no need to forgive anyone after all. Everyone had the time of their lives, and if they didn't, then they were all great actors, bec
ause it sure seemed like they were pleased as punch about our marriage and thrilled to be in Dublin to celebrate it.

  The Steiners had a huge dining table like the ones you'd imagine in medieval days. It was large enough to easily accommodate all of our guests. Mr. Steiner sat on one end of it, and Collin on the other, and we all took our designated places—me of course, positioned right next to Collin. The table was huge, and I felt far away from him, so I scooted my chair closer to the end so that I could hold his hand.

  We made conversation with those sitting right around us, but several times during the meal someone would clang a fork to their glass to get everyone's attention so that they could give a speech. My dad gave one, Collin's dad gave one, and my brothers shared one where Eli started to give his own, and Joe wound up interrupting in a sweet but jovial way that had everyone laughing.

  Collin said a few words after that, and before I knew it, there was an empty cup where my tea had been and my mostly-eaten dessert was sitting in front of me.

  I now heard talk of the evening being over. Everyone went on and on about what an amazing time they had and helped us thank the Steiners for welcoming us into their home. We had begun to stir in a way that made it apparent the meal was over.

  I leaned over to speak to Collin. "This dinner took forever," I said.

  He smiled. "I know. At least it seems that way to us since we… have other plans and everything."

  "I've definitely got other plans," I said.

  "You do?"

  I nodded. "You want to know what I'm doing in about five minutes?" I asked.

  "What?" he asked, still grinning at me.

  I put my mouth near his ear. "I'm takin' my new husban to bed," I said. "I've got a new outfit for it and everythin." I had gone over the words in my head at least ten times before I said them to him. I knew the accent would sound good. I had been around Dubliners for almost two weeks now, and I was much better at making myself sound Irish and not like a pirate.

  "What did you say?" he asked, pulling back to stare at me.