I didn’t know why it moved me so much. Maybe it was because it seemed so easy for them. There was no rhyme or reason behind the words; Rosie wasn’t saying it for gain or anything transactional. It was just a demonstration of the genuine love and affection that was part of their everyday lives.
It was so fucking pure that it made a lump hit the back of my throat.
Nobody had ever been that way with me. Mam showed love through food, care, and dare I say, by clipping me upside my head, but that unashamed declaration that came so naturally to Rosie and her kids was something I’d never had.
In that moment, the mad crush I had on Rosie Woods turned into something else, something more. I felt it moving inside my chest as if it were alive and tangible, and fuck me if the sensation of it didn’t make me rock back on my heels.
Rosie placed her hands on Gabby’s waist, and I grinned as I watched them singing and dancing together, giggling at Maeve as she whooped it up with Atlas and ‘rode his pony.’ Mae pretended to spank Atlas’s ass as he bent almost double over the back of a chair and wiggled his huge backside, which made Rosie let out ayeehawand punch the air before bursting into fits of laughter.
My eyes drifted back to Atlas, who stood to his full height, holding a pint glass of cider in one hand with the other straight up in the air, and was rolling his hips and shoulders like some kind of big, hairy assed biker version of Barry White. His shirt was long gone (God only knew where), and he was down to just his cut with his dress pants and biker boots. The fucker was surrounded by Sophie, Kennedy, Cara, and Maeve (still in herwedding dress), who all gyrated on him like he was some kind of hip-hop god and they were his video bitches, while they giggled and whooped it up.
A hand rested on my shoulder, and Callum muttered, “Think I’ve lost my wife to the Coke Can over there.”
My face scrunched, and I twisted my neck to look at him. “The what?”
“Nothin’.” My brother jerked his chin toward the dance floor. “Looks like Maeve’s gonna pass out the second I put her to bed. So much for our wedding night. Just as well I took her to the barn earlier, lifted the back of her dress, and slid my di?—”
“TMI,” I barked, lifting my hand. “I get the gist, bro.”
Callum smirked, his stare sliding right, then back to me. “What’s goin’ on with you and Rosie?”
I shrugged casually. “Not as much as I want, but I intend to change that.”
His eyes drifted again and rested on her. “She’s a fine-looking woman.”
I grinned. “Yep.”
“Always thought she was your type.”
My grin widened. “Yep.”
His eyes searched my face, and he cocked an eyebrow before he declared, “You like her.”
My teeth flashed.
“If you get in there, Ma’s gonna go to Church and spend an entire day sending up prayers of thanks to sweet Mary, mother of Jesus, and all the angels. This is gonna send her loo-lah.”
I rolled my eyes. “She needn’t bother. I’m probably gonna fuck it up.”
“You sound like I used to,” he said thoughtfully. “Why so pessimistic?”
“Well, you did fuck it up,” I reminded him. “And I’m thirty-five, never had a girlfriend, and I’ve lived my life sticking to mythree-fuck rule.” I leveled him with a glare. “Thanks for telling the Speed Demon boys about that, by the way. It went a long way in helping Atlas decide he wanted me nowhere near his beloved sister. If it wasn’t for Sophie using sex as a weapon, he never would have given me the green light.”
He winced slightly. “Sorry, bro. Told Bowie a while back about it. Never thought you’d be going after one of their women, though.”
I rolled my eyes exasperatedly. “S’okay. Just keep your mouth zipped in the future, or I’ll start telling Maeve some stories.”
“There's nothing else I can do that can piss her off, Donny. She knows the worst of me, and she still agreed to let me slide a ring on her finger... again.”
“True,” I answered. My hand went to my brother’s shoulder, and I squeezed. “Congratulations. You got your bar and, more importantly, your girl. Couldn’t be happier for you, Callum.”
“Don’t fuckin’ set me off,” he rasped. “Been bawling all day. Missed Da somethin’ terrible and it’s got to me. Never been happier, Donovan. Maeve brings me so much joy that I can’t put it into words, but it’s bittersweet, ya know?”
The burn hit the back of my throat, and I croaked, “Yeah. I know.” I cleared the emotion from my throat and asked, “You all ready for the honeymoon?”
“Yep. All packed. Luggage is here. Gotta car coming for us in about ten minutes, which will take us to the airport hotel, then we fly to JFK at eleven A.M. before catching our flight to Belfast.” His expression took on a serious look. “You sure you’re gonna be okay looking after the bar and the gym?”
I waved him off. “I’ll be fine. Adam’s trained to manage, so if I need a few hours off to take Rosie out, I can rely on him. The staff know their jobs so well that they don’t even need me. I’mjust there to keep an eye on things and jump in if they need extra help or in case someone gets sick.”
