“You’ll survive,” he says with a hint of a smirk. “Stay for dinner? I’m tackling that lamb curry again. My ‘signature dish,’ remember?”
I return a weak smile, gladly taking the olive branch. “The one that tastes different every time? Sure, I’ll risk it.”
Anything for some normalcy. I half considered telling Killian about my health issue earlier, but scrapped that once he laid into me. Made me realize what an asshole I’ve been lately.
For now, I’ve gotta focus on fixing things with Teagan. That’s priority number one. I’ll handle the rest on my own quietly.
???
Teagan comes through the door an hour later as we sit down to dinner.
“Teagan,” I say seriously, deciding to rip off the Band-Aid. “I’m sorry you had to deal with this audio nonsense, sweetheart. I never meant for my stupid choices to hurt you. But I promise I’ll do better from now on.”
She’s grown so much lately, looking less like a girl and more like a young woman at fourteen, going on twenty. It scares the hell out of me. Her long red hair flows down her back in soft waves. I still vividly remember the day I held her tiny newborn self, becoming her godfather. I made so many promises then.
She shrugs, scooping up some rice. “I just thought it was super gross hearing my old uncle make out. Like, totally ew.”
She shudders dramatically, her face twisting up as if she’s in agony. Then she sticks her fingers down her throat, making loud, exaggerated gagging sounds like she’s trying to hack up a giant hairball.
Under different circumstances, I’d laugh, maybe even remind her that at thirty-five, I’m far from old. But guilt tempers my amusement.
Killian frowns disapprovingly. “Teagan, that’s enough. You’re being obnoxious, not entertaining.”
She just flashes a cheeky smile, totally unapologetic. “What? I’m totally scarred from Uncle Connor’s nasty make-out session!”
I let out a deep groan, dragging a hand down my face.
“She’s aiming to be an actress, so the drama comes with the territory,” Clodagh says with a smirk. “She landed the role inMacbeth. Our girl’s gonna play Lady Macbeth.”
Pride swells in my chest. “That’s incredible, kiddo. I can’t wait to see you kill it on stage.”
Her eyes pop wide, panic setting in, and she nearly spits out her rice. “What? No! You can’t come, everyone will totally freak out!”
I recoil, suckerpunched by her rejection. Jesus, Teagan’s never openly refused to be seen with me before. Some naive part of me hoped Killian was just being overprotective. But now she’s genuinely mortified by me. Having my own niece view me as an embarrassment stings like hell.
Can’t say I blame her though. Why would she want her manwhore uncle there, causing a scene and humiliating her in front of her friends? She deserves way better than that.
I clear my tight throat. “All right, sure—you just focus on nailing your big moment, superstar.”
“It’s still months away,” Clodagh says gently. “We’ll revisit who attends closer to the time.”
I nod vaguely, appetite gone.
In a few months’ time you might not be able to enjoy it anyway.
Fuck. I take a too-large gulp of wine as the doctor’s words echo through my skull.
After dinner, Teagan disappears to the TV room.
“For what it’s worth,” I start. “I’m trying to support Willow through this PR nightmare. I feel like shit for putting her through it.”
Clodagh nods sympathetically, refilling our glasses. “It’s not totally your fault. When you hook up publicly, there’s always a risk.” She shrugs. “But that poor girl . . . This happening is just awful.”
“Yeah, it’s a mess,” I mutter. “My goal now is protecting her as best I can. Hence this whole bogus dating scheme.”
“Does she know about you and the hustler chick?” Killian asks. I’d already told him about the surprising run-in with Lexi.
I stiffen. “Of course not. And there is no ‘me and Lexi.’”
