Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Three kids, if possible, and their first names would be Dean, Miles, and Taggart, or a feminized version of some kind. Deana. Myla. He wasn’t sure how to make Taggart pretty, but they would figure out a way if they had to. And they would all be O’Donnells.
“It doesn’t matter in the end.” It was a lie Aidan hoped he could convince himself was true. “I promise you I won’t let anything bad happen to Carys.”
“I think something bad already has happened. Getting her heart broken isn’t exactly fun,” Sean said with a sigh like he’d known it would end like this. “Are you sure it can work without him?”
“He’s not leaving us,” Aidan insisted.
“He won’t mean to, but I know how this kind of job goes. How long did he say he needed?”
“Six months. Eight, tops,” Aidan said, glancing into the bar. Carys sat alone, her back to him, but there was a slump to her shoulders that made him ache. “He wants to clear this one mission up and then we’ll be good. The wedding is months off. Even if he needs more time, we’ll be okay. If not, we’ll go through with things the way we need to.”
Sean chuckled, but there wasn’t any humor to the sound. “Oh, if we’re betting, I’ll take the over.” He sobered. “Are you sure you want to wait?”
Aidan wasn’t sure of anything. “Not forever.”
“I’m going to give you some advice, son. Postpone the wedding for a year. Honestly, I’ve been worried about the stress it will have on Carys even with Grace and Serena and your mom doing most of the work,” Sean said.
He didn’t want to wait, but it might be for the best. However, there was another problem. “The stress won’t go away. If we wait a year, we’ll be almost through our first year of internship. It’s intense. But I get your point. If I want this to work, I might have to be patient. I don’t think this is about Tristan wanting to be some big spy. I think he got involved in something, and he feels like he needs to follow through.”
“He got involved with my nieces,” Sean said under his breath. “I love them, but damn I worry about them. Tris will be okay. Ian’s in control. But I worry about what this is going to do to Carys.”
“I’ll take care of her.” He was going to shield her from the worst of it. He would convince her without dragging her into Tristan’s suddenly dangerous world. He would hold the connection so when Tristan was done there would be something for him to come home to.
Sean put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you will. I know you love my daughter. I know Tris does, too, but sometimes it’s not enough. You should talk to her. I only have so much gin.”
Sean turned to go, and Aidan took a deep breath, getting ready. Tristan had his mission and now Aidan had his.
To keep them all together.
It was only six months. Then they could enjoy their engagement and wedding planning and get on with the rest of their lives.
He walked through the bar to join his future wife, sure he could handle this.
Chapter One
Two Years, Three Months, and Fifteen Days Later
Carys looked at herself in the mirror and wished her smile was brighter.
Fuck Tristan Dean-Miles. He was ruining her wedding day and the bastard wasn’t even here.
“Okay, if you look like that in the pictures, your future children will worry you were forced into this marriage. You want to run, cousin?”
She glanced back and Tasha Taggart stood in the doorway looking gorgeous in her bridesmaid dress. It was a blush pink with a plunging neckline flowing to a fitted skirt. Carys stopped and sighed because it truly was lovely. Everything was beautiful.
She was letting one thing ruin the most special day of her life.
A little thing like one of her grooms wasn’t here.
Still, she had to put on a brave face because Aidan was here. Aidan had been at her side the whole time, and he needed to know how much she loved him. She needed to believe they could make this work on their own. Without Tris.
“Devi did an amazing job,” she said, forcing a smile on her face. She wasn’t this mopey girl.
Tash walked in, setting her bouquet aside. “She did indeed, but you should know Kala is complaining the skirt is too tight.”
“I said no weapons.” Yes, she was the bride who had to tell her bridal party they shouldn’t strap on an armory, and it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt her family was filled with psychos.
Psychos she adored. Her family could be intense. Though her father had left the military and security business before she’d been born, most of her family still had feet planted firmly in that dangerous world.