Cillian snorted. “Ye wouldn’t fecking run even if ye weren’t injured.”
Fallon shoved him, or attempted to, and I knew it was time to go.
“Come on.” I led Vail out of the room and down the stairs, and we went through the entrance hall and out the front door. Two guards at the doors nodded to us on the way past, and I gave them a hello as I guided Vail toward the walkway to the right that led to Sloan’s somewhat-private beach. It wasn’t entirely Mr. Killough’s, but only the rich who lived along the shore could use it and a lot of them didn’t.
As we reached the sand, I stopped to peer around. The tide was low, the water farther out and giving us more beach than usual, but the waves were still angry, crashing against the shore. The sun had snuck behind a cloud, making it a wee bit colder, although it was still nice for a run. By the time we were done, we’d be soaked in sweat.
“Rowen.” Vail grabbed my elbow, and I turned to look at him. “Are you sure you’re okay with the Mr. Killough and Conall thing? I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
I smiled. “I promise, angel. It’s just... I’m sorry for acting like a twat before. Would it be stupid if I told ye I’m worried ye’ll grow bored of me by being with the others?”
“What?” He blinked and shook his head furiously. “I would never get tired of you. Ever.” He kissed me hard, and I relaxed into his lush mouth. Our worlds melded and there was something comforting about being on this beach with him. “I love you.”
“I love ye too, angel.” I slid my knuckles down his face. “But I promise ye I’m fine with it. I know the boss would never touch ye, nor allow Conall to touch ye. They only have eyes for each other.”
He hummed. “But the thought of them watching us?”
“So hot.”
His laughter bounced through the air, joining the wind that whipped around us. “Sovery hot.”
“But I want me date night every week. No exceptions, aye?” I slid my hands into his and held on tightly.
“Aye,” he said with a chuckle. “Aye, me matey.”
I blinked at him.
His laughter doubled. “I’m sorry, that was terrible.”
“Horrible,” I agreed with an amused grin. “I’m Irish, not a pirate.”
He fell against me, laughing harder, and shook his head. “Sorry, sorry. I’m teasing.”
“I know ye are.” I slid my hand down his back, the shirt barely hiding the warmth of his skin from my palm. He smelled delicious and I hated that I’d ruin this moment, but I knew we needed to talk before we ran. “Did I tell ye Cillian and I had a grandfather we loved very much in Ireland? Well, he was Cillian’s grandfather, but he was kind to me.”
He leaned his head back to stare up at me, fingers dancing across my beard. “No.”
“Mm. We did. His name wasDaideóJack. He loved us all equally and never made us feel bad. Every Sunday, we went to his house for biscuits,cookiesI mean, and he would give us milk with them. We loved it there. There were no expectations, justDaideóJack and his grandsons and one granddaughter.” It hurt my heart to think about him and his gentle smile. He’d always offer us more biscuits and milk, and he enjoyed our company as much as we did his. “Then, when I was the wee age of eleven, he passed away.” I glanced toward the wild waves farther out in the ocean and thought about his face, wrinkly butalwaysgrinning for all us children. “I thought me world had been set on fire. No more Sunday biscuits and milk. No more telling him stories about me Irish dancing and him being proud of me. Nothing.”
Vail held me tighter, his mouth turning downward. “He sounded like an amazing grandpa.”
“He was.” I kissed Vail’s forehead. “But I didn’t handle his death well. I grew angry at the world for taking away a man I loved. I stopped studying for school. I started stealing from stores. And I hung around with some mean blokes.”
“You?” His eyes widened. “That sounds more like something Cillian would do.”
“Ye’d think. He wasn’t without his own trouble. The difference is he got caught. I never did. His parents had no idea what I did, but an elderly lady who was friends withDaideóJack saw and she lectured me. Told meDaideówould’ve never wanted me to do those things.” I chuckled as I remembered Aoife’s stern expression and how she’d grabbed me by the ear and dragged me down the street, crying out for mercy. “She took me toDaideó’sgrave, told me to talk to him. I thought she was insane, but she told me I wasn’t to leave until I did.”
He cocked his head. “What happened?”
“She left and fifteen minutes later had Cillian there, too.” I laughed harder. “We didn’t know what had hit us. She’d always cared about us, too. Sometimes I thought her andDaideóhad a thing.”
He touched his hand to my chest, directly over my heart. “Did you talk to him?”
“It took us a wee while, but aye, I started to talk to him first, told him I missed him.” I stared down into Vail’s gorgeous brown eyes. “It was the best thing I ever did, angel, because I wasn’t dealing with his death.”
He chewed on his bottom lip and winced. “You want me to go to Dad’s grave and talk to him?”
“If that’s what ye want.” I pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. “But ye need to process his death. All of us agree. We let ye go without dealing with it for too long.”
