My stomach swoops and dives. This was a last minute reservation, how on earth did he have time to put in a custom request?
I lean forward to better smell the floral arrangement, noting lavender and foxglove among the tulips. “That’s so sweet of you. I love them.”
A grin touches his lips as he lowers the menu. “I want to earn your happiness every single day. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Now that my mind isn’t so cloudy, I like to envision our future together.”
“Oh? What does that look like?” I’m extremely curious about how Cian sees us.
He clears his throat, indicating he’s nervous. “I see two possibilities. One where it’s just the two of us loving each other every day, traveling to any historical sight that intrigues you, and retiring in a lakeside cottage.”
“Mmm, that sounds pretty fantastic. What’s the other possibility?”
Our server appears, taking our drink orders. A merlot for me, and a whiskey for Cian.
As soon as we have our privacy again, he reaches for my hand and continues, “The other version’s very similar, except in this one we adopt a baby.”
My heart lurches. “You’d be open to adopting?”
Many people in our world aren’t willing to do such a thing. Most men are too concerned about their legacy, about passing on not only their name but their bloodline. Therefore adoption is out of the question unless it’s an orphaned close relative.
Cian dips his chin—an affirmative. He raises my hand to his lips and kisses my fingers. “For your happiness, I’d do anything. I know you’ve taken this job at the agency to fill a void. To give your life a sense of purpose. You deserve to be a mother,broc meala. I’ll do anything in my power to make that happen.”
I’m at a loss for words. He’s serious. I feel so giddy, so full of hope that I could float away.
“Would you be willing to try some medical solutions before looking into adoption?” I tentatively ask. Unsure, since it can be invasive.
Call me old fashioned, but my deepest desire is to havehischild. I want a mini Cian running around.
“Yes. Anything.” He leans forward, brushing his lips against mine. “I’ll make an appointment for us next week.”
My chest swells. Finally, after all of our trials and tribulations, I have myIrlandeseback—the man I originally fell in love with.
CHAPTER 51
Cian
I’m at the compound with my men, going over some revenue numbers. Wolfe’s worried that one of our gambling den dealers has sticky fingers. What he’s been reporting versus the amount of traffic the place gets isn’t adding up. I hate it when someone in my employ gets greedy. That’s when things turn messy.
“Besides the numbers being off, do we have any proof of who’s doing the stealing?” I ask. Throwing around accusations without solid proof puts everyone on edge.
Brendan speaks up. “I checked the security cameras. Somehow the one in the office, that’s supposed to show the safe, has been moved so that’s now a blind spot. I’ve fixed it. I also installed a hidden camera on the opposite wall, and on the main floor pointed at his station. We’ll have that proof soon enough.”
“Good,” I grunt.
“The footage we do have reveals that some of the men have been bringing women in there to fuck.” Brendan pulls out his phone. “I took screenshots of their faces.”
I glance at Wolfe. “Find out exactly who, and remind them of the rules. They want to screw someone, get a damn hotel room. We’re running a gambling den, not a brothel.”
Wolfe says, “We should also change the lo?—”
My phone chimes with the sound I set for notifications from Ravenna. Holding up a hand, I pause the conversation, and read her text.
Ravenna
I have to work late tonight. See you later. We need to stop by Gin and Blake’s place. His birthday party’s tonight. xox
I frown at my phone. What’s keeping her at work? Did something unexpected come up, or does her new job have less defined hours than her previous position?
And I’d forgotten about that birthday party. Blake Baron doesn’t strike me as the type of man who celebrates his birthday, or has parties. But his wife sure is. Now that they’re back together.
