My best friend's face registered shock, anger, and then hurt.
"What the actual fuck, Ro!" she yelled at her brother. Then she turned and stared at me in disbelief. "When were you going to tell me you're fucking my brother?"
"Brothers," Ronan piped up unhelpfully.
Saoirse's eyebrows shot up into her hairline.
"You mean you're… Conal, too? Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what the…" She threw her hands in the air. "You know what? Idon't care. My brothers? Really? Wow. If you don't respect our friendship enough to share something this important, then fuck you!" Her furious words bounced off the wall and lodged in my brain like shrapnel.
Was the one friendship that meant more to me than anything else now irrevocably ruined beyond repair?
Saoirse stormed out of my bedroom while I shook like a leaf at the encounter. How had everything gone to shit so fast? One minute I was on cloud nine, and the next, hurtling toward a cliff on the fast train to Hell.
"Chill, Pixie. Saoirse will calm down soon." It was obvious Ronan didn't see the problem here. Typical man.
"She's upset and pissed off, and she probably hates me." Why had I been so stupid? I should have told her already. We talked most days, and I'd had plenty of opportunities to come clean about everything, yet despite this, I'd held back. Mostly because I knew she'd be upset about me sleeping with her brothers.
Justifiably upset with me after I'd sworn I no longer had a crush on them when she asked the day I after arrived. I'd basically lied to her, which was something I'd never done before.
In my defense, I'd been in denial. Unwilling to admit I still had a thing for them. Mostly because I didn't think they felt the same way.
Ronan pulled me into his arms. "Don't sweat it, Pixie girl. Saoirse will get over it. She's only mad because she hates being left out of the gossip." From the way she'd stormed off, I wasn't so convinced she'd forgive and forget anytime soon. My bestie could hold a grudge like nobody else.
I pushed him away while steeling myself for a tough conversation and some serious groveling. If I didn't mend things now, she might leave, so I threw a robe on and dashed after her.
"Saoirse! Wait!"
She stopped in her bedroom doorway, her face flushed with anger and on the verge of tears.
"Why? Got some more truth bombs for me?"
"Please, let me explain! It's not what you think!" I pleaded, desperate for her to listen. My legs shook with anxiety as we faced each other. We'd never had a major falling out. Saoirse was my best friend. I loved her.
I cataloged the dark bags under her blue eyes and the dull sheen of her normally vibrant red hair. Had something happened? Maybe this wasn't about me. She could be projecting her own pain and lashing out at me because the person she really wanted to hurt was unavailable.
She raised one eyebrow derisively and scoffed. "I saw all I needed to know. You're fucking my brother, and from his not-so-subtle hint, my other brother, too. Tell me, is Declan safe? Or are you planning on building a harem like your sister?"
I winced, a telltale flush coloring my cheeks. Her jab wasn't so far off the mark. My attraction to Declan continued to simmer away, even if he didn't feel the same way.
"Jesus, Ver. Have you no fucking sense of self-preservation? I love my brothers, but they are all bastards with women. God knows me and Aoife had to watch scores of the poor bitches crying into their coffee when one or more of my brothers had fucked and chucked them after a one-night hook-up. Hell, it got so bad I considered becoming a part-time Uber driver so I could earn money ferrying the women away from the estate post-hookup!"
Her scathing observation hit home. All three of the Kelly brothers had a bad rep, even Conal, who was the nicer one. I'd taken him at his word that he'd ended things with Maeve, but had he?
Doubts swarmed into my mind, making me second-guess everything they'd told me.
"I can't believe you fell for Ronan's bullshit, Ver!" She shook her head. "Fuck my life. I came home to cheer you up. I thought you were bored and lonely based on our recent conversations." Her lip curled in disgust. "So glad I wasted my time flying home."
Before I could say another word, she stomped into her bedroom and slammed the door in my face.
Tears pricked my eyes, but I wiped them away. Crying was pointless. Ronan was likely right, and she just needed some time to calm down.
I resolved to let her have some space instead of fruitlessly trying to apologize through her bedroom door. Hopefully, in a few hours, she'd be more receptive to my overtures.
Our friendship was salvageable.
I refused to accept otherwise, because if I lost her support, I wasn’t sure how I’d cope.
32
