I set the bowl in front of her and grabbed a fork. She chuckled as she pulled the fruit closer. I hadn’t bothered giving her a small bowl or plate, knowing she’d likely eat the whole thing.
“I was the opposite when I was pregnant with Maddie. I couldn’t eat anything without getting sick,” I told her.
“My sister-in-law was this way as well. She had a son. So maybe I’m having a boy as well.”
“Lucille hasn’t told you?” I snarked.
Freyja smiled, unbothered by my rudeness. “Nope. She likes to be mysterious. She gives me a little information to prepareme but doesn’t tell me everything. It’s how I knew there would be a second announcement at dinner the other night.” Her smile faded, and her eyes looked apologetic. “Had she told me what would happen, I would have helped prepare you both in some way.”
I sat down at the table and inhaled. “I don’t know how she found out.”
“Someone told her. Someone in the family.”
My eyes snapped up to Freyja. “What?”
“There were multiple men there when Nolan told them the truth about you and Cian. Someone there wanted to sow discord. What better way than to shove a wedge between Sal and one of his best friends?”
“Tyran,” I whispered.
Freyja nodded. “I suspect so,” she added. “He tried it with Duncan by going after Colleen. Now he’s going after Maddie.” Freyja held her hand up when I gasped. “I’ve already told Duncan my thoughts. He assured me that Maddie would be protected.”
“Her father will protect her.” It felt good to say that.
“You love him,” Freyja stated.
“My whole life, it seems.”
“What happened? Why didn’t you marry Cian? How did you end up with Nolan?”
I looked at Freyja. “You know how the Mob works, I’m sure. Women aren’t given much of a choice when it comes to their future. And Cian was never interested.”
“I find that hard to believe,” she said, popping a grape into her mouth.
“Even if he were, he was a soldier. And a low-level one at that. His father wasn’t anyone important. My father never would have given his blessing.”
“And that was important to you?” she asked. Her voice was even—a genuine question.
“It was. My father was an asshole, but I loved him. He’d doted on me as his daughter. I’d always believed he loved me. When he told me I had to marry Nolan, it was the first time I’d experienced the Mob boss and not my dad.”
“I assume Nolan was a terrible husband?”
“Not at first. I mean, he wasn’t great, but he didn’t yell at me or hit me or anything. But he cheated on me. Over and over.”
“So you decided what’s good for the goose...”
“In a way, yes, but it wasn’t my motivation. I was lonely. I wanted to feel wanted. Loved. If even for a night.”
“And Cian?”
I smiled; I couldn’t have stopped it if I’d tried. Anytime I thought of that night, it brought a smile to my face.
“Pure Irish luck. I drove to Connecticut. I knew the city wasn’t safe. Wives weren’t allowed to cheat the way husbands did. I just happened to pick a bar that he was in.”
Freyja stayed and talked with me for a few hours before she finally went home. And once again, I was alone. I looked around the room. It wasn’t my style. Everything in this house came from my father. I hadn’t planned on staying here, so I never bothered to redecorate, but maybe it was time I fixed that.
I went to the kitchen and searched for the trash bags. I’d already called Lorcan, my cousin on my mother’s side, and asked him to bring me some boxes. It was time I started living for myself.
Knowing how the men in this family worked, it wasn’t long before my brother was pounding on my door. I looked up fromwhat I was doing and stared at the door. Two shadows could be seen through the curtains, and I sighed. Pulling it open, I was surprised to see Mac with Sal and not Cian.
