Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Oh whatever,” Saoirse called from the hallway.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Aisling asked, her head inside the fridge.
“Exactly,” I said, pulling Aoife in for a hug. “I get you, Aisling, and Sean. Good trade.”
“We won’t be here forever,” Aoife mumbled against my chest. “I swear, you’ll have the house back.”
“I’m not worried about it.” I pulled away as Bas stepped back outside. “I am a little worried about where everyone’s gonna sleep, though.”
“Couch,” Aisling said instantly.
“Guest bed,” Saoirse yelled.
“You and Sean can sleep in the main bedroom,” Aunt Ashley told Aisling as she followed Bas outside. “I’m happy in the camper!”
“Well, that worked out,” I said easily.
It was late by the time we got all the boxes inside. Bas and Saoirse ran to town to pick up some Chinese food, and we crammed around Aunt Ashley’s table and stuffed ourselves. Sean kept up a running commentary of everything he’d found in the house, from tampons under the guest bathroom sink to a small glass jar filled with random bits and bobs Aunt Ashley had found while traveling.
It was…nice. After the shit we’d just slogged through, it was a welcome moment of peace in the center of the chaos. Even dinner with Ronan the night before hadn’t felt so easy—we’d been too on edge while we prepared to leave town.
Bas took off right around the time Aoife put Sean to bed, and when he got down to the end of the driveway, he texted that there was a prospect out there keeping watch. I felt the muscles in my neck relax a little. I could stay, it wasn’t like I hadn’t slept on the floor before, but I was hoping that everyone would be settled enough that I could go over to Myla’s.
I needed to fix things with her. The long ride had given me plenty of time to run through everything that had happened and realize that I really didn’t want to be without her. However she wanted that to look, I was down. I thought I’d been keeping just enough distance between us that we weren’t crossing any lines that could fuck me later, but that was a goddamn joke.
Everyone we knew acted like we were together already. Her dad hadn’t batted an eye when he’d seen us asleep together on the couch. He’d volunteered to stay a day after everyone else left so that Myla could stay an extra day, too. Titus hadn’t questioned us—ever. Hell, none of her brothers had ever even pulled me aside for a conversation, even after they’d found her sleeping in my tent.
And truth be told, I was already fucked. I’d left the lines blurred and never made any kind of promises—but that hadn’t changed a goddamn thing. I was already fucking nuts about her. Drowning, and we hadn’t even had sex yet.
“Cian,” Aisling said, waving her hand in front of my face. “I’ve called your name like four times.”
“Shit, sorry,” I mumbled, wiping a hand down my face.
“Do you think, um.” She shifted from foot to foot.
“What?”
“Do you think you could stay here tonight? Just tonight? I’m just a little jittery, you know? I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow, but it was already almost dark when we got here, so it’s just freaking me out a little. I’ll be good tomorrow, though. I know you want to go home and shit. I’m really sorry to even ask—”
“Jesus, take a breath,” I said, cutting her off. “I can stay. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, her lips pulling up on one side in a small relieved smile. The other side had lost most of its swelling, but it still wasn’t moving the way it should.
I’d noticed. Aoife had noticed. I wasn’t sure if Aisling had noticed it yet. It could still go back to normal, so I wasn’t going to say anything.
I spent the night on the floor of the living room. The next day, Aoife asked if I would go grocery shopping with her, which turned into shopping for a bunch of clothes for Aisling to replace what she’d lost. We all ate dinner together, and by the time it was over, Aisling was as jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The next day, I had to get back to work, so I ran home for a quick shower and headed to the garage. After work I had a meeting with the Aces president and officers to go over all of the shit that had happened with Julian Kitz, Richie’s decision to go into witness protection—which they weren’t pleased about—and the fact that I’d moved my sisters to town. My two lives were no longer separate.
As soon as I got home that night, I crashed before I even made it to the shower. The next day I headed into work again but had to leave early because Aisling was having a weird pain in her side and Aoife was worried that she was having complications from some of her injuries. We didn’t get home from the emergency room until late, and I ended up on Aunt Ashley’s living room floor again. The days bled into one another while I got pulled in seven different directions. I was barely keeping my head above water, and all the time I was on edge waiting for Julian Kitz to rear his crazy fucking head again.