I’ve done a lot of thinking in the last twenty-four hours and hoping and praying I don’t fuck things up is a futile strategy. I’ve got to face the facts. Nothing good ever lasts in my life because I have a self-detonation button I can’t help pressing. Iwillfuck things up with her, so I’m better off entering into it with my eyes wide-open. That way, I can enjoy whatever time we have together and when it ends up in ruins at least I’ll be expecting it.
“Kent.” Eva peers into my face, her expression etched with concern. “Where’d you go?”
“Sorry. I wandered off. What were you saying?”
“Things are great with Kade and the kids, but the stress and pressure of work is getting to both of us. There is always so much to do and not enough hours in the day.”
I slouch back in the chair, resting my ankle on my knee as I get comfortable. “Hire more staff, and didn’t McConaughey take on more responsibility recently?” I remember Red, his wife, mentioning something about Brad becoming a director or some shit. I tend to tune out when Rachel waxes lyrical about her husband.
Brad is like a surrogate Kennedy, having lived with my family for several years when his family fled overseas. He’s best friends with my brother Kyler, and Rachel is Faye’s best friend. Both women are from Ireland, but they’ve been living here for years.
“Brad is our global sales director, and he’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting and most of the international travel, but we can’t keep pulling him away from Rachel and Elodie. She’s not even two, and she needs her daddy.”
“Again, hire more staff. The business can afford it, right?” The last I heard, Eva and Kade’s online golf business was booming, hence the expansion into Europe.
“I know you’re right, but even finding the time to recruit someone is challenging.”
“Outsource it to a recruitment agency. I bet Faye could recommend someone.” Faye, Kyler’s wife, works part-time as head of human resources for my mom’s interior design company. Mom’s business partner is Brad’s mom, and they hold an equal share in the thriving interior design company. Faye shares the HR role with another woman, because she didn’t want to go back to working full-time after the twins were born.
Or so Mom says, because I haven’t talked to Kyler or Faye much since Ciara and Cathal arrived on the scene. A pang of guilt sweeps through me, and I know I’ve got to make more of an effort with my family. If they all agreed to not discuss Keats, it would be easier, but my family is a bunch of busybodies, and they won’t rest until they have fixed things between me and my triplet.
There’s more chance of Kanye being president than things getting resolved with Keaton.
“You’re full of good ideas tonight,” Eva muses, running the tip of her finger around the top of her wineglass. “We should talk more often.”
I roll my eyes, and Eva laughs, kicking off her shoes and tucking her long, slim, olive-toned legs into her chest. My sister-in-law is a beautiful woman, and Kade is a lucky guy because she’s also super smart and she has a big heart. All my brothers chose well, but I’m only close with Eva and Selena because none of the others understand me.
From the minute I met Eva, she accepted me for who I am, flaws and all. She never judges. She only ever wants to help. If I didn’t think she’d instantly tell my brother, I would confide in her. I’ve come close once or twice when I’ve gone through a particularly rough patch, but knowing she’d tell Kade always holds me back.
“So, what’s going on with you? How is Harvard Law?”
“It’s good. The coursework is intense, but I’m keeping up.”
“And how’s the love life?”
Only Eva could refer to my “sex life” as a “love life.” I smother my snort of hilarity. “That’s actually what I want to talk to you about. I have a date next Tuesday, and I have no idea where to take her.” I pin puppy-dog eyes on her. “Help a guy out?”
Her eyes pop wide with excitement. “Who is this girl, and when can I meet her?”
I raise a palm. “Hold your horses. It’s one date. It’s not like I’m going to marry her.”
“This is huge for you. We both know that.” Eva’s grin is so wide it threatens to split her face. “Tell me all about her.”
So, I do. I tell her the little I know about Presley.
“She sounds wonderful, and you clearly like her. I’m excited for you.”
I shrug, shifting on the couch, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is going. “Where should I take her? I’ve spent all day looking at options, and I can’t decide.” I exhale heavily.
“From what you’ve said, Presley doesn’t want extravagant gestures, so take her someplace cool, maybe a little off the beaten track. A bar with a good rep for food and a variety of craft beers maybe?”
“She works in a bar, so I want to take her someplace different.”
“What about that new restaurant, Moam? The food is supposed to be delicious, and they have a full bar with craft beer and a cocktail menu. Kade and I have been meaning to check it out.”
“Check what out?” my brother asks from behind us.
I stifle a frustrated groan.What the fuck is he doing home this early?
