Guilt stabbed me right in the gut. Of course, she was upset. I should have stopped Ronan after seeing the way he looked at her, and instead of telling him to leave her the fuck alone, I'd ignored the problem.
Not that I was much better. My head was full of Verity these days. To the point Maeve had accused me of cheating on her.
Verity passed under the stone arch into the rose garden and disappeared from view. We had no cameras in there. Ma had put her foot down about that.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and jogged across the garden, not enjoying the way the rain soaked through my shirt. Satan's balls, if it felt cold to me, she must be freezing. Thea would kill us all if her sister ended up in a hospital bed with pneumonia.
When I entered the garden, I spotted her on the bench with her face tilted up to the sky, eyes closed. Damn, she was beautiful. Naturally beautiful. Not a scrap of makeup on her face.
Unlike the women I usually dated, Verity wasn't vain. She rarely bothered with makeup, and I doubted she cared about fillers and Botox.
The bone-deep sadness etched into her face stopped me in my tracks. The raindrops sliding down her face resembled tears. Was my angel crying?
The thought she might be in the middle of a mental health crisis sent me into a panic. Fucking Ronan. He should never have touched her. Not knowing how vulnerable she was.
"What the fuck are you doing out here?" I winced inwardly at the way the words came out. Having a go at her wasn't my intention, but from the way her expression shut down, it sure sounded like I was.
"Meditating?" I relaxed a fraction at the sass in her words, but when she refused to meet my eyes, I made a split-second decision. My angel needed to get out of here. Frankly, so did I.
"Come on." I held out my hand.
"Why? I'm fine." Her bottom lip popped out in a pout. Fucking adorable.
"You're not fine. Now move before I throw you over my shoulder."
Outrage flared in her eyes. Outrage was good. Way better than the shut-down mask she wore so often these days.
"You wouldn't…"
"Don't test me, sweetheart." I was more than willing to haul her ass out of here if she protested.
Verity hesitated when I opened the passenger door of my SUV. She'd changed into some jeans and a thick sweater, but her hair still hung in a damp braid down her back.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to go anywhere," she pointed out.
"On your own, yes, but with me, you're safe."
"Really?" I caught the skepticism in her voice.
"Get in." Time was ticking on. If Declan saw me leave with Verity, he'd want to know what the fuck I was up to. Thankfully, Ronan was with his pigs, so I didn't need to worry about him hijacking my date.
And it was a date, even if I preferred not to call it that.
Verity's pretty brown eyes widened when we pulled up outside a small cafe on the cliff overlooking the churning ocean. The place was barely more than a shack, but Jo Rosetti did good business selling coffee and cakes to the tourists and locals, all of whom appreciated excellent coffee.
The fact the café stood adjacent to a scenic walking trail helped. Tourists came for the views and stayed for the baked goods.
Jo looked surprised when I strolled in with Verity, my hand resting on the small of her back. She wasn't used to seeing me with a woman. I usually called in for fresh coffee on my way to and from the city. Jo brewed her coffee strong, just the way I liked it.
"Conal Kelly. Long time no see,amico." From the twinkle in Jo's eye as she observed Verity, an interrogation was imminent.
"Been busy, Jo, as I'm sure you've heard."
She stopped wiping the counter and fixed me with a concerned look.
"Everyone's OK, yes?"
"Yeah. We're all good." I lowered my voice. "The O'Rourkes, not so much."
