Read Online Irish Eyes (Stolen Hearts Romance) by Annie Jones - Free Book Online

would be so—” He waved his hand back and forth over the plate piled with golden fried fish.
    The delicious aroma wafted over Julia. The gnawing ache in her belly deepened.
    “Bountiful,” Cameron concluded. “I suppose I just got carried away.”
    “And you’ll be carrying away one of those orders, I’m supposin’, as well, since you certainly can’t eat them both now.” Fiona folded her arms over her chest and huffed.
    He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “You know fish and chips doesn’t keep well. Does not keep well at all.”
    “You should eat it, Miss Reed,” Fiona suggested, pushing the plate toward Julia.
    “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” Cameron slapped the heel of his hand against his forehead.
    Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head, directing her gaze heavenward. “How on earth does a man who is such a lousy actor make a living as a secret agent?”
    “I’m not a secret agent.”
    Her lips twitched, fighting against the urge to break into a grin. “But you are a lousy actor.”
    He picked up the fork beside his plate and offered it.
    She placed her hand on his wrist. “But I want to make it crystal clear that I’m only accepting this meal because you’ve already paid for it.”
    “I understand,” he murmured.
    “And it would be wrong to let it go to waste out of a sense of foolish pride,” she said firmly.
    “I understand,” he repeated.
    “And because, Mr. Cameron Brennan William O’Dea—” She moved in closer, so close she could see the golden-tipped fringe of his lashes around his emerald eyes. “In regard to your comment earlier today, I do always tell the truth.”
    He blinked. “I don’t understand.”
    She lifted her hand from his. Giving a quick salute with the shiny fork, she cocked her head and answered, “I have to admit it, I’m hungry. And that’s the truth.”
    The conversation veered from one topic to another as they ate. Fiona kept chatting at a lively pace that surprised Julia. Just putting up a good front or was her trust in Cameron just that unshakable? Occasionally the tension around the woman’s sometimes wincing smile hinted that fear and pain lay beneath the calm exterior. Each time that happened Cameron took subtle but immediate action. A squeeze of her arm. A hand on her back. A quick joke to lighten the mood of the moment.
    Watching him practically anticipate the ebb and flow of the anxious mom’s emotions left Julia more in awe of him than before and more certain that she needed to keep herself from reading too much into any interaction the two of them had. Because he was either a well-travelled agent able to focus so fiercely on his task that you couldn’t tell scrutiny from kindness or a good loving man who had a full, busy life that could never do more than simply cross paths with hers.

    *
     
    “I guess we can’t put it off any longer, Fiona,” Cameron finally said, tossing his napkin on the table next to his meal, which he’d hardly touched. He’d hoped no one else would pick up on that evidence that he was more worried than he let on. He did not let it come through in his voice as he added, calmly, almost soothingly, “We need to talk about Michael and Devin and what we need to do next.”
    “Whatever it is, Cam, tell me it will bring Devin home safely—and soon.” Fiona drummed her short nails on the tablecloth. “I promised him he wouldn’t be gone long when we spoke today.”
    “I need to ask you about that,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I need to know everything that was said. Did Devin give any indication where he might be?”
    “None.” She lowered her gaze.
    “What about the rest of the conversation?” He prodded gently, aware of her fragile state, but not wanting to miss anything that might aid his search for the boy.
    “There isn’t much to tell.” She raised her shoulders then let them fall in heavy resignation. “We spoke a moment about missin’ one another and about how soon we’d