“Why did it end?” she repeated.
I shook my head, making a mental note to ask for water next time. “It’s a really sore point. He didn’t do anything wrong and he doesn’t know why I finished it. Can we move on?”
Familiar laughter filled the bar near the entrance and Vanessa nodded. “Yes, on the condition that you tell me about it at some point. But, if you’re still this touchy about it, God knows how many years later, you’ve still got feelings.”
I pushed my empty wine glass away, not wanting to admit to any of what she said, but knowing there was too much truth behind it. I had never gotten over Killian or what happened that year. It was something he didn’t know about and I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be, if I ever told him.
Chapter Five
Killian
“Blue’s a good colour.”
“It matches the colour of your balls. When did you last get laid?”
I rolled my eyes as Max continued to torment Seph, clearly enjoying himself. We’d all been measured up for suits with the expected comments about which way people hung and how much room was needed, plus the inevitable competition around bicep and thigh sizes, all of which I won fairly easily, enjoying the victory with a quiet smile and appreciating the glare Max threw me.
“Unlike you, I don’t flaunt my conquests,” Seph said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. I was pretty sure they were clear frames, purely worn for the effect he thought they created.
“I notice you never give Killian any grief about being single and not having a stable full of kinky professors.”
I raised my brow at Seph. “Some of us are subtler, kid,” I said. “We know haven’t gotten any since you broke up with your puppy love because if you had, you’d have told everyone. Don’t judge everyone by your standards.” Truth be told it had been more than a couple of months since I’d had a woman in my bed, or anywhere else for that matter. Claire had been socialising with her brothers more, which meant we’d seen more of each other, which meant no other woman was worth my time.
Seph pulled an expression that looked like a pout and pulled on his shoe. We’d done with the shopping so it was now time to patronise a few of the Oxford pubs and ensure they were kept in business. Which meant I’d be seeing Claire again sooner rather than later.
A sharp burst of laughter from the front of the store drew my attention and I turned to see Callum accepting a piece of paper from the girl who had been serving us. He was clearly getting hit on and was giving her hisfuck mesmile.
Max caught my eye, having noticed the same as me. “Guess he won’t be coming home with us tonight.”
“He won’t be going home with her though,” Jackson said, looking at cufflinks. “Not enough of a challenge.”
We walked past Callum, who, to be fair, looked like he was trying to escape the clutches of the very enthusiastic blonde. None of us offered a means of escape, leaving him to it, Seph passing a loud comment concerning STI’s and appointments that didn’t even raise an eyebrow from the girl.
We headed for the nearest pub, a small, real ale establishment that we hadn’t gone in whilst being students, which was almost a relief. There were no memories of Claire in here, nor was it a place the girls were likely to turn up at which gave me some breathing space. Sport was being piped through the TV and Seph was forced to the bar to get the first round.
“Your brother will be here in an hour or so,” Jackson said, putting his phone in his pocket. “Marie’s taken over babysitting duties with Katie so Nick’s just grabbing a shower and will meet us in the Pearl for lunch.”
“Good,” I said, accepting the pint and shot of what was probably tequila that Seph passed my way. I had wondered whether Nick would make it or not. He wasn’t part of the wedding party as such, although he would be on the stag do and certainly a guest at the day and evening events. His time was consumed by the twins and he was bound to them in a way he wouldn’t have been if their mother had lived, weighed down, I suppose, through being their only parent.
“Marie’s also messaged to say that it seems that Katie will be pretty much the live-in nanny. The girls like her already,” Jackson said, looking at his phone. “I think she might be trying to matchmake the two of them. You should warn your brother.”
“He can fight his own battles,” I said, taking a sip of the beer and ignoring the shot. “Katie’s got enough complicated shit going on at the moment without adding my brother and two babies to it.”
Jackson nodded. “I wasn’t sure about Claire taking on the case, only knowing what I knew then,” he said. “Now I’m pretty sure I would’ve said to refer it to someone else and I don’t think I know half of what it entails. You will look after her, won’t you?”
Something inside me stretched and boomed and I needed Claire to be here now so I could watch her and ensure her safety. I knew Katie’s ex had connections - connections and the means to cover shit up. It was in his best interests for Katie and her evidence to disappear and one of the best ways for that to happen was for her lawyer to renege from the case and for no one else to pick it up. “You know I will,” I said. “I’ll have my best men watching for her. And we’ll be having words about upping the security in the next week or so. Lacey’s got some contacts who will have already sussed her out. In fact, I’m not comfortable with her staying at her apartment after this weekend.”
Jackson stared at his pint and then looked up at me, his expression stony. “Then she doesn’t. She can stay with me. It should be easier to secure than her place.”
“Yes, but I doubt she’ll want to stay with you and Vanessa. Who wants to cramp the style of almost newlyweds?” I said, having already heard Claire comment on the amount of shagging Vanessa was doing with Jackson, said with an expression of disgust that was more than just amusing.
“Max? Better she stays there. At least he’d be around,” Jackson said. “Someone else looking out for her.”
“And they’d kill each other within two days,” I said. As much as Claire adored her eldest brother, the two would spat like a cat and dog. I saw it when they were at university together and when they were at home. She had a much more harmonious relationship with Jackson and even Callum, her and Max tending to lock horns at times, just because they could.
“True,” Jackson said, looking worried. Max sat down next to us, looking interested. “Then where can she stay until we secure her apartment?”
“Here,” I said. “She can work remotely for a couple of days. We’re looking at security for the key members of her team, but that’s easier to sort out as two of them room together and are nowhere near as difficult as Claire.”
