"Yes. I don't want to meet your parents smelling like sex."
twenty-one
Mia
"Are you ready?" Kieran asks me, holding his hand out.
I look one last time in the mirror, making sure that my clothes fit okay. Imogen had my clothes from the first night I showed up, cleaned. They’re nothing special, just a pair of jeans with my favorite graphic tee that saysI would rather be reading. Refusing to wear Kieran’s clothes to breakfast or shopping with his mother, I threw them on.
"You look amazing. Come on," he encourages.
I look over at him and can see the appreciation in his eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, I take the chance and place my hand in his. Before I can blink, we're walking down the stairs. You can hear the clatter of pots andpans in the kitchen along with voices talking to one another.
Kieran is still pulling me along when we come face to face with everyone, every single eye on me. I glance around the room to see a man who looks similar to Kieran but older, a woman with blonde hair that looks like it’s never been out of place, and lastly, a younger man who has dark brown hair. All of them, sitting on one side of the table, staring at us.
My lungs seize up in my chest and I feel like I can't breathe. Kieran squeezes my hand like he knows I need him. "Have a seat, Mia."
Still trying to figure out how to breathe normally, I listen to Kieran and sit down. Everyone begins talking again but it all just sounds like buzzing in my ears.
Kieran sits down next to me, leaning his arm on the back of my chair before leaning in to whisper, "Breathe in." I follow suit. "Breathe out." I follow his directionagain. He continues a few times before he pulls my face to his. "Feel better?"
"Yes," I breathe out. "But now I feel really embarrassed."
"You don't need to be embarrassed,mo bhanphrionsa," he tells me before pulling away. "Let me introduce you to my family."
Pointing to the man who looks like him, he says, "This is my Da, Brian."
"Nice to meet you," Brian says, giving me a soft smile that instantly puts me at ease.
Kieran then moves to the woman sitting next to Brian. " This is my Ma, Maeve."
"Hello, darling. I'm excited to go shopping with you today. But I must say I do love your shirt," she says, while placing her hand on top of mine. Her voice is so calm, her eyes smiling at me, that makes any nerves I had swirling around in my stomach, disappear. I don’t remember a time when my own mother was able to put me at ease with just a simple touch.
"Thank you," I say to both of them.
"Lastly,this is my best friend and right-hand man, Henry," he says, pointing to the man at the end of the table.
I recognize him as being the one who was outside talking with Kieran. That's when everything clicks. When he was waiting outside, he must’ve had to tell him something to do with the business. The only thing I can’t figure out is why Kieran was so mad about him seeing me in the ripped boxers.
Henry smiles at me. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. O'Sullivan."
His response pulls a laugh out of me. "You don't need to call me that. Mia is just fine."
"No. I like Mrs. O'Sullivan," Kieran says, making me turn to him.
"You’re married?" Kieran's mom interrupts us.
I just stare at his parents like a deer caught in headlights, because how the fuck did my so-called-husband not tell his parents we were married, before they came overfor breakfast.
"I thought we were just meeting your girlfriend," his dad replies, unnaturally calm.
Kieran's mother is quiet, just sitting there as if she is waiting for a bomb to go off, leaving me a little confused as to why everyone is so tense. I look over toward Kieran to see if he can give me any answers, but when I do, I'm even more confused. He is staring into space with his jaw clenched, as if he’s trying to keep his anger at bay.
What the hell?
That's when Kieran stands up. Everything around us goes eerily still as he grits out, "Did you not tell me that I could marry whomever I wanted?"
That's when my head swings over to where Brian is sitting, his hands are on the table as before, the only difference is that now, they are clenched. "I did. I thought you might give us the courtesy of being able to watch our eldest son get married. Or at least notify us.
