Once we’d gone over the plans with painstaking detail, Saoirse rose from her chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a bath before our evening meal.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll do the same,” Liam said as he stood, too.
Before Saoirse left the table, she raised a hand and several of the men and women who served us throughout our meeting appeared.
“Our guests would like to bathe before dinner. Would you show them to the bathing pools?” Saoirse said as she turned to leave.
We followed the servants up to the guest quarters. Fresh clothes and blanket-soft towels were laid out on the bed in the room Ethan and I had slept in.
Ethan picked up the button-down shirt and drawstring pants and smirked. It definitely wasn’t something he’d usually wear, but I couldn’t imagine anything looking bad on him.
“So, do we all go to a community bath or something?” he asked.
I laughed. “Not exactly. Streams run through the mountain. The bathing pools are pretty secluded.”
He grinned. “Good thing, I wouldn’t want to indulge your fantasies.”
I threw one of the towels at him, but I smiled at his teasing tone. “Whatever. My fantasies are much more creative than you in the tub.”
His eyebrow quirked up. “Is that so?” he asked, a devilish gleam in his eye.
Trying to keep from laughing, I nodded.
He came over to where I stood in front of the door. “Liar,” he said, effectively boxing me in.
I shrugged, because honestly, I could hardly breathe with him standing so close, especially with that look on his face.
“I’d like to hear more about these fantasies,” he said, stepping forward so my back was pressed against the door.
“Oh, please —” I started to say, but Ethan pressed one finger to my lips. Outside the door, Samantha called out my name.
“We’ll talk about your fantasies later,” he said. “I think you better go take a bath first, though.”
I shook my head. “Sure we will.” I ducked under his arm, grabbed my clothes and towel and hurried out the door.
Samantha and I walked into the stone chamber lined with hand-carved basins. Down the stone stairs on the far wall, a small river ran with private alcoves built in for bathing. Liam and Ethan had given us the bathing pools first, for some human privacy. The Danaan in residence weren’t anywhere around, likely for the same reason.
As we washed, I heard Samantha’s heavy sigh in the space next to me. “I thought Ciarán would have come by now,” she said.
I didn’t say anything right away. “Maybe he doesn’t want to start a fight.”
Samantha snorted. “That would be a first.”
“I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to guys. Not even close.”
“Yeah, right,” she said. “Ethan follows you around like he’s a puppy and you’re a T-bone.”
I took a breath, unable to smother the laugh that bubbled up. “You are so wrong,” I said.
“Anyone with eyes can see the way he watches you. I wish Ciarán looked at me like that. Most of the time, I don’t think he even likes me.”
Ignoring the flutter in my chest, I asked, “Why would he be with you if he didn’t like you?”
She didn’t say anything for so long, I didn’t think she would answer. “I don’t know,”she said finally.
We didn’t speak after that. When we went back to the guest quarters, Samantha mumbled a goodbye. I went into my room feeling a little bit down, wishing I’d known what to say to make her feel better.
I sat on the bed and smoothed my hands down the gown I’d been given. I rarely wore dresses, but I didn’t mind this one. The smooth, amethyst material was as comfortable as a nightgown, but fit me perfectly.
“Look at you,” Ethan said from the doorway.
A flush crept over my cheeks. I looked up and he was leaning against the doorframe wearing the linen shirt and khaki drawstring pants. He looked like a model on a romance novel.
“Right back at you,” I said as I stood.
“I like the purple,” he said, circling around me.
“Thanks.”
“So,” he said. “They’re going to stuff us with some more food, we sleep, then we’re going to check in with Niamh and Aodhan. Are you nervous?”
“A little.” I shrugged. “Okay, more than a little. I just want to do something. It’s the waiting that kills me.”
He smoothed my hair back from my face. “Our plan is awesome, you know. Aoife will never expect me to be there. She’ll never know what hit her.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. I couldn’t imagine how it would be waiting six weeks to finally make a move.