Of course, Ciara hasn’t come back.
Why would she, when I’ve taken every opportunity to push her away?
I throw on a pair of black sweatpants and a t-shirt and jog downstairs just as Cormac is letting himself in.
“Ever heard of knocking? I could have been fucking my wife.”
Cormac shuts the door behind him. “That’s pretty hard to do when your wife isn’t here.”
My fists clench at my sides. “How do you know she’s not here?”
He raises his eyebrows at me as he folds his arms over his chest. “Because when she left Callum’s place yesterday with some girl, she looked…”
“She looked…?”
“Well…devastated. What the hell happened?”
I clench my jaw as guilt weighs heavily on my chest.
Every instinct screams at me to drive over to Mila’s and put things right with Ciara. I hate that she’s so upset, but she also has every right to be. After all, I shattered the memory of the man she idolized.
I stare at my brother. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to go through some more of Da’s things, if that’s all right.”
“Of course.” I nod toward the office. “Most of it’s in there, so knock yourself out.”
Cormac dips his chin and makes to move, but pauses and glances over his shoulder at me. “How have you been holding up?”
A bitter laugh escapes me as I descend the remaining stairs and stroll past my brother, toward the kitchen. “I’m just peachy.”
Cormac follows me and leans against the counter. “What the hell happened with Ciara?”
“Nothing.” I turn on the espresso machine and start grinding some fresh beans.
“Sure as hell didn’t look like nothing.”
“I fucked up, okay? I told Ciara the truth about her father, and now she won’t talk to me.”
“Jesus, Ronan.”
“I know.”
“Why the hell would you tell her that?”
I don’t answer, at least not until my coffee has finished brewing, and I take a seat at the island. “Because I couldn’t stand to lie to her anymore.”
“You didn’t lie. You just…”
“Didn’t tell her the truth. Same difference.” I take a sip of my coffee, letting the bitterness coat my tongue. “Every time I looked at her, all I could think was, what happens when she finds out from someone else? What happens if she hears it from Callum or worse, from the fucking press?”
Cormac runs a hand through his hair. “Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, what did she say?”
“Nothing. She hung up the phone and got on a flight back to New York.”
