Early the next morning

"Sweetheart, it's 3:30. We need to get up. My dad will be here in 30 to take us to the airport."

She tried to move but Lucas' arm was draped over her waist and he was spooned up behind her. There was no space between them. At all. If they didn't need to catch a plane, she'd absolutely be staying in bed with her new husband.

"Mm."

"Lucas."

He nuzzled her neck which gave her goosebumps.

"Hey, I want to go to Dublin, Lucas Bouchard. We cannot be late."

He groaned, she turned her head to kiss him and they forced themselves to get up.

He wanted to go to Dublin and enjoy every moment with Beth so that's the motivation he found.

They took quick showers and put on comfortable clothes for the long trip and made it out the door just in time for William to arrive to take them to the airport.

"Morning, Dad."

"Morning, you two. Ready for this trip?"

"Absolutely. Ireland sounds magical," Elizabeth told him. For many reasons, not the least of which was the sexy fireman sitting next to her.

She rested her hand on his thigh and smiled at the twitch in his leg muscle that happened as he placed his hand over hers, his ears turning red. He was embarrassed, maybe?

She looked up at him, enjoying the embarrassed Lucas a lot. She raised her eyebrows at him and he just laced their fingers together.

She leaned in and whispered something, trying to get his whole face to turn pink. Success. She just chuckled. Troublemaker? Probably or maybe just a teasing wife.

When they got out of the vehicle at the curb and grabbed their suitcases, they said goodbye and then headed inside, ready for the adventure.

As they checked their bags and headed through security, Lucas stood very close and then rested his hand on her hip, sometimes letting it slip down a bit, getting a reaction from her like she had from him in the car.

"Babe."

"What?" he asked, much too innocently.

"We are in public."

"Yeah and you're my wife and you are so very hot," he whispered into her ear. "I'm allowed to show people that I appreciate your hotness and wifey-ness."

"So not a word."

She turned red this time and decided to just go with it, putting her hand in his back pocket.

She wouldn't complain that he liked the way she looked, even calling her hot. At her age. Of course, he was older and he was just as hot.

He gazed down at her, pressing his lips to her temple as they continued to inch forward in the security line.

Keeping in contact was necessary for him at this point since it was a very long trip to Dublin and they wouldn't be enjoying marital bliss for…he sighed.

"What?" she asked.

"I miss you," he whispered. "Like more than I need air. Seriously, honey."

She hugged him tightly and stayed quiet. She missed him too but they could wait. They may be newlyweds but they were over 40. They could have some semblance of control. However…

"We have a four hour layover in Newark," she pointed out.

"Oh thank goodness." She could feel him relax and it made her smile.

"And there's a hotel close to the airport that I already took the liberty of booking a room at…" She stopped talking as he kissed her.

"Genius! I married a genius."

….

Allie and Tim's house, that night

Allie turned over and watched Tim sleep. He was so cute and his lips were perfect and his hair needed a trim. She had been doing that for him the last few months. It saved money and they needed to save. She worked part time at the coffee shop but she went to school and he worked hard at the station but they were broke. A lot. She had wracked up a credit card that she had applied for on a whim so there was that payment too. He didn't know about it.

She sighed and he rolled toward her, opening his eyes.

"Babe?"

"Go back to sleep, Tim. I'm fine."

"You do this every night, Al. I see you."

She got up, put her slippers on and wandered to the living room. If she were still living at home and couldn't sleep, she'd see if Elizabeth would give advice. She was a great person to give advice. She didn't still live at home though and Elizabeth was on her honeymoon.

She was alone. Well, Tim was there but…she felt alone.

Tim walked in a moment later, looking adorable in a white t-shirt and his boxers. "Allie, tell me. What's bothering you so much that you can't sleep?"

"I don't want…we need more money. Maybe I should quit school and work full time."

"Babe, when you get your degree you will have a full time job, doing what you love, not making coffee."

"I have a whole year left. What do we do until then?"

"I thought we were doing fine."

"We were."

"Until….?"

"I bought some stuff and now I have the payment for the credit card…"

"What credit card? Allie, you know I hate those things."

"Its not in your name and we needed things. Groceries and I needed gas and then I saw these jeans and…"

Tim got up and stared out the window into the darkness.

"How much?"

"What?"

"How much to pay it off?"

"$800."

"Crap. Al. Let's cut it up."

"What? I should keep it for emergencies, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, but that's all it can be for. Not buying jeans."

"Fine."

"I'm going to do some overtime so we can get it paid off."

"I don't see you very much as it is. Please, I'll just pick up more shifts at the coffee shop."

"No, you need to concentrate on school. I'll do overtime. After a month we can have it paid off and I'll go back to normal shifts."

She felt the tension coming off him. "Are you mad?"

"A bit." He walked forward and took her hands in his, intertwining their hands. Regardless that he was a bit mad, he gave her a kiss and a hug. "No more credit cards?"

"No more credit cards," she agreed.

"I love you, Allie Lawson."

"I love you more. I'm sorry."

He nodded and then led her back to bed. "You have early class, Al. Let's go to sleep."

……

Ivy smiled the next morning as she poured her coffee. Yesterday's coffee meet-up with Jared went well. No, they weren't dating again but she felt like they could call themselves friends. They were going to meet for coffee every Sunday to catch up and that made her happy.

"That's a good thing to see," Marley said, wandering into the kitchen they shared.

"What, coffee? I agree."

"No, Ive. You're smile. Its been awhile."

She knew that was true and of course her twin would notice it. "Our coffee date went well," she told Marley. "We are going out every Sunday for coffee."

"Really? That's great."

"It is. I feel like we are making progress."

Ivy touched the tattoo over her heart that represented Oliver. Jared had gotten a similar one and for her, it kept them connected and always would.

"Your smile went away. Thinking about Oliver?"

"Yeah. I just wish I could have met him, you know?"

"Sorry, sis."

"Thanks."

Marley's phone buzzed and she looked at it. "Ivy, Bailey just invited us to go bowling. Want to join?"

"Nah. I'll just stay here."

"Come on, sis. You need to get out. Take your mind off things."

She thought for a long moment and then nodded. Marley was right. She needed to quit hiding and just enjoy life.

"Okay, lets go."

…..

Dublin, Ireland

"Oh my goodness. Can't we just stay here? That hike last night killed me." The muscles in her legs and feet were hurting badly. Mostly though, she just wanted to stay put.

"Well, I booked us for a few tours but the good news is, we don't have to hike anywhere."

"Promise?" she asked, falling back on the bed.

"Yep. Our first one starts in about an hour."

"Babe, please. Let's stay in. It will be fun."

"I don't doubt it," he mentioned, giving her a kiss. "However, we are in Dublin and there are so many unbelievable things to see. We don't want to spend all our time here, do we?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, making him laugh. "I guess not. Just curious about something though." She stood with a groan, feeling her 43 years of age.

"What's that?"

"When we were in the airport in Denver, you could hardly wait to get to the hotel in Newark so we could start our honeymoon. Today, you don't want to stay here with me?"

"Well, I paid for…"

She reached for the hem of his t-shirt and lifted it up and over his head. "So, let's reschedule." She placed a soft kiss on his chest and moved up to his shoulder, moving further into his space. "Okay?"

He returned her affections and lifted her up, her legs around his waist, carrying her over to the bed. "Deal."

…..

"See, aren't you glad we stayed here?" she asked a while later.

"Mm," he responded, dozing as they lay in bed watching a movie.

"Let's order Italian," she said, picking up her phone to look at the menu from the hotel's restaurant.

"Honey, we're in Ireland," he mumbled, moving even closer to her.

"Right. Okay then, how about Shepherd's pie?"

"That sounds good. I'd love to try some stew."

"Shepherds pie, Irish Stew…oh and soda bread…oh and Boxty."

"What's Boxty?"

"Potato cakes."

"Okay, yes. All of that, please," he told her as he pressed his lips to the soft skin of her neck, slipping his fingers under the hem of her shirt. He loved her skin. He loved her neck.

"Hello? This is Elizabeth Bouchard from room 289. We'd like to order room service, please."

When she hung up, she looked at Lucas who had tears in his eyes. "What, hon?"

"That was the first time you've said your new name. I loved hearing that." He kissed her lips and smiled.

"Well, I loved saying it."

"If you keep feeding me all this rich food, I'm going to really need to workout hard when we get home."

"We may be eating rich food but, one, it's our honeymoon. And two, we will definitely be doing plenty of working out."

"Well, Mrs. Bouchard. Are you flirting with me?"

"Absolutely."

He pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her mouth that took her breath away. "Just checking. Don't stop."

….

Allie was nauseated when she woke up the next morning. "Ugh," she muttered, not wanting to move.

Tim was at work so he was unaware. Maybe the food they had eaten the night before was bad? Was he sick too?

She texted and then rushed into the bathroom to throw up.

Her phone dinged so after she cleaned up a bit, she read it.

"No, I'm feeling fine."

"Well, I'm not. Just threw up."

"Sorry, babe. Do you need me to come home?"

"As much as I would love that, no. I'll just sleep and maybe I'll feel better by 3 for my class."

"Okay. Love u. Feel better."

"Thank you."

As Allie laid there in bed, the next thing that popped in her head was maybe she was pregnant. But they were pretty careful. They wanted to wait until she graduated to even think about it.

No, it was more likely a stomach bug going around. Hopefully more sleep would help.