"I didn't think it mattered," Kieran replies, sitting back down in his chair, allowing some of the tension to leave the room.
Kieran's mother places her forearms on the table leaning forward, her tone laced with concern. “Son, why would you think we wouldn't want to be at your wedding."
Kieran lets out a sigh. "Because all I've heard is how I need to get married. Nothing about love. Nothing about wanting me to be happy, just married. So, that's what I did. I got married, but I made sure that it would be to someone I love."
My heart skips a beat when he mentions loving someone. Does Kieran love me? Is that what he’s trying to say? Better yet is Kieran someoneIcould love? Or am I already falling in love with him? I'm not even sure if I know what love is.
"You should've told us—" Brian begins but Maeve holds her hand up, cutting him off by staring at him, her eyes filled with anger. The look she's giving him makes me shiver.Fuck, maybe she's the scary one.They have a stare off, obviously, having some kind of conversation that neither of us are privy to. After a few beats, Brian lets out a sigh then his gaze drops down to his hand.
Maeve turns back toward Kieran, placing her hand on top of his. My heart drops when her eyes become glossy, and she mutters in a solemn tone. "We always want you to be happy. I’m sorry that you felt like we wouldn't want to be at your wedding. Maybe we can have a family get together to celebrate?" She pauses, her gaze moving to me, before continuing, "I'm glad you’re in love."
"Thanks, Ma," Kieran replies, but I can tell it's an automatic response.
That's when I step in. "We would love to have a celebration, Maeve."
A smile spreads across her face, her eyes misty once again as she mutters, "Thank you, Mia."
The room goes silent, nobody is sure what to say next when Henry stands up from the table, announcing, "I'm going to help Imogen bring in the breakfast dishes."
Thankfully, his announcement releases more of the tension in the room, and I feel my shoulders relax. Seconds later, Henry is walking in with a dish in each hand, and a petite woman, whom I assume is Imogen, following.
They place the dishes on the table, and I take in a big sniff. "Mmm...that smells so good. Thank you, Imogen."
Imogen looks over at me with a soft smile, replying, "Thank you," then she turns and heads back to the kitchen.
Kieran picks up the plate that is in front of me and starts piling food onto it. My eyes go wide when I see the amount, and that he's still trying to put more food on my plate. Placing my hand on his arm, he looks over at me. "I think that's enough."
"Sure?" he asks me.
"Yeah," I say as I grab the plate from him, putting it down on the table.
This time I reach out and grab a plate for him and start piling food on top of it. I keep piling but Kieran never says anything. He just watches me with his signature smirk, and I lift one of my brows challenging him. But he just lets me go. Finally, I stop and just place it down in front of him.
"Thank you, wife. I love it when you take care of me," he says softly, then places a kiss on my cheek, before picking up his fork and diving in.
I glance around the table, noticing that everyone is now eating, not paying attention to us, which gives me the confidence to eat. When I take my first bite, I can't help but groan because the food tastes better than it smelt.
We all eat in silence when Maeve pipes up, "Mia, where do you wantto go shopping?"
I finish eating the bite in my mouth before answering, "Uh...I'm not sure of any places around here."
"I was thinking you could take her to a few places that you go to," Kieran interrupts.
Maeve lets out a giggle, though, shaking her head. "I'll text Suri. She can tell me where to go for young girls."
I watch as she pulls out her phone, making me wonder. "Who is Suri?"
Kieran replies first, glaring at everyone at the table before responding, "Suri is my ex-fiancé, but she is now engaged to my brother, Brendan. They wanted to wait until her business took off before getting married.”
"You have a brother?"
"Yes, he's two years younger than me. He used to be our enforcer, but left the family business so he could marry her."
Within the last hour I've been given so much information, I feel like my head is spinning. Kieran grabsthe sides of my face. "Listen, Mia. You are my only one, my wife. I just need you to go with my mom and get some clothes. My treat."
"Okay," I say, because even though Kieran has been keeping things from me, he's also the man who has never made me feel safer.
Maeve stands up with a huge smile, holding her phone up. "Suri just texted a few places. Let's go. I can't wait to get to know you, Mia."
