“At home I have a diabetic alert dog. She’s the best girl ever. I love her. I wanted to bring her. My girl’s name is Danu.” He crossed his arms and rested them on the table, then propped his chin up on them, the picture of woe.
Diedre made a sad sound at him, and he grinned before he popped upright and took another sip of his drink.
“We do have very strict laws with bringing dogs into the country,” Diedre said, nodding her head as if we’d been having a full-on debate about it.
“Where are the rest of the guys?” I asked Fallon as the sudden thought entered my head.
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Not sure. Cillian told me to stay here. They’re out scouting a spot to ambush some Italians. They’re all just bored, and they’re having fun trying to think up crap to do before Sloan decides to bring us home because nothing is happening right now.”
“Everyone would be excited if there was simply a big fight and they could get it out of their systems,” Diedre said, waving her glass around before she sipped.
“Well, I wouldn’t.” Legend’s voice startled me into glancing around.
Excitement had me rushing to get up. I knocked a hip against the table and hissed at the jolt of pain, and with a laugh he strode over and wrapped me in a strong embrace. His chest was solid and his arms were steel bands around me, and fuck, did he ever smell good. I buried my nose against his shirt and got a good whiff of him. That masculine scent had my dick poking at the front of my panties.
“Aren’t you beautiful?” he whispered in my ear, then slammed his lips over mine. I clung to him and sighed against his mouth. He smiled as he straightened, and my heart soared. I’d never felt like this. He really hadn’t been gone that long, but it had been lifetimes.
“So, I found some people at the airport who are furious with me,” he said, sounding as if that was the best joke ever. “Didn’t say a word to me on the way over here. And I promised Naoise I’d speak with him in my office once we arrived.”
My heart jolted. “Uncle Naoise? My uncle is here?” I blinked up at Legend. “Oh my God, I forgot to tell you to call him!” I slapped a hand to the side of my face and nearly died on the spot. Mr. Killough hadpersonally orderedme to have Legend talk to my uncle, but with everything that had happened that night, I’d forgotten to say anything.
“Finn?”
I glanced around and rubbed my chest. My mom stood in the doorway, red hair in a ponytail as usual. Her round face, which was normally happy, was pinched and without even a trace of makeup. Her black T-shirt and jean shorts were the same type of clothing she’d worn in hot weather since I was a kid. My heart lurched as she scanned her gaze down my body. Panic had me freezing, and all the confidence I’d felt earlier today melted away.
“Shit,” I muttered, then rushed past her where she stood in the threshold, barely squeaked in Uncle Naoise’s direction, and ran for Legend’s room.
Crying wasn’t really my thing, but my eyes burned as I used wipes to remove the makeup from my face, leaving my pale skin splotchy and pink from the effort it took to scrub all the color away. While fighting nausea, I hurriedly stripped off my dress. I didn’t worry about the pink panties and bra, but I grimaced as I went to the walk-in closet and rustled up a blue T-shirt and pair of jeans. When I was done, I sucked in a deep, wobbly breath. I’d always told myself I wasn’t embarrassed about what I liked, but I’d also never considered sharing this part of me with my mother or family.
Except it had felt good to be the real Finn around Diedre and Cyclone. I closed my eyes.
When I’d first moved from New York City, Miami had been a paradise where I could be whoever I wanted—late at night. Now, things were different. But were they really?
Swallowing, I drew in a deep breath and marched back out into the living room, which seemed to be the favorite spot for everyone to hang out, even though the house was huge. Diedre was nowhere to be found. I had no idea where Legend or Uncle Naoise had gone, but my mother sat out at the balcony table with a beer in front of her. Condensation rolled down the brown glass bottle. She stared at the label with her shoulders slumped, and the tears I’d been fighting off snuck down my face. I wiped my cheeks with the heel of my palm and walked out to my doom.
She glanced up at me with a hurt frown that made my heart flip. Her eyes were huge and her green irises—identical to mine—were maybe the only thing I shared with her besides my red hair. I took after my dad in almost every way.
We both stared awkwardly for a horrible minute, and I wanted to run back inside.
“Is that what this boss here in Australia is making you do?” she asked. Her Irish accent was light because she’d lived in the US most of her life, but it still sounded like home to me. I wanted to rush over and hug her because I hadn’t seen her in forever. I’d asked her not to come to Miami when I was hurt because she didn’t like to fly.
But she’d gotten on a plane for over twenty-five hours to get here. She must be terrified for me.
“Uh....” My mind blanked.
A scowl darkened her face. “Your Uncle Naoise will put a stop to this. If your father were alive, he would be mortified. He would never have allowed this.” She clinked the bottom of the glass bottle on the table, steady like a heartbeat, and the incessant noise began to drive me crazy. She used to do that with her coffee mug when I was a teenager and I’d irritated her.
I did something I’d always wanted to do. I walked over, grabbed the bottle, and tossed it as far over the railing as I could.
She gaped at me.
Shame washed through me, then fury. “You’ve been telling me since he died how he would feel about everything I ever did. He would be so proud. Or he would be upset. Or disappointed. Or angry. Hediedin a shootout when I was in the fifth grade. He doesn’t have feelings about my life. You do.He’s dead.Areyouupset seeing me that way?” The question came out as a roar and not a whisper, and I didn’t care. I’d wanted to shout at her about this crap forever. This was part of why I’d been so eager to get away from New York City.
She blinked at me. “Am I upset by seeing you in a dress?” She cocked her head and frowned, sitting back to cross her arms. “I just can’t imagine. I haven’t worn makeup or a dress since my own wedding. I didn’t even wear a dress to your high school graduation. I would hate it,” she said with a sigh and a sad smile. “I hate wearing pantyhose. I hate worrying about the skirt flying in the wind and flashing everyone. It’s a pain.” She shook her head.
“I love it. I was doing this before I met Legend.”
Her eyebrows marched up her forehead.
