"I know." Her smile widens. "Can I come in?"
I step back because I don't know what else to do. She enters with the casual familiarity of someone who's been here before, unwinding her scarf and draping it over the back of a chair.
"Is Declan home?"
"Upstairs."
"Good. Then we can talk without him hovering." She settles onto the couch and pats the cushion beside her. "Sit. Please."
I perch on the edge, hands folded in my lap. Hope appears from nowhere and jumps into Nora's lap. Nora scratches behind her ears without missing a beat.
"She likes you," I say.
"Animals always do. People take longer." Nora's gaze is warm, assessing, but not unkind. "I wanted to meet you and welcome you to the family properly."
Family. The word feels foreign in my mouth.
"Thank you."
"And I wanted to prepare you." She shifts. Her hand, where it's petting Hope, pauses. "Sunday dinner at the O’Rourke estate. It's...a lot."
I blink. "Sunday dinner?"
“It’s held on the first Sunday of every month. And it’s mandatory. Kathleen—Declan's mother—won't take any excuses for absences." Nora's expression turns wry. "The first one I attended, I felt like I was in front of a firing squad."
My pulse kicks up. "What do I—how do I?—"
"Breathe," Nora says. "You'll be fine. Declan will be there. He won't let anything happen to you."
I don't know how to respond to that.
"Kathleen can be...intense," Nora continues. "She's not cruel, but she has very high standards, and you and I…well, we come from a different world. The brothers will be friendly. Lorcan will probably flirt. It's what he does." She pauses. "But you'rean O'Rourke now. Everyone will respect you because you're Declan's."
The weight of all that settles over me. I'm Declan's. The possessiveness in that statement makes my skin flush.
"What if I mess up?"
"Then you mess up. Nobody's perfect." Nora reaches over and squeezes my hand. "I ran away once. Did Declan tell you?"
The change of topic is abrupt, and I find myself shaking my head.
“Not long into our marriage, I convinced myself I was doing Cillian a favor by leaving. That he'd be better off without me." Her voice goes quiet. "I was wrong.”
My throat tightens. “You went back?"
"He found me in a motel room and brought me home after he convinced me I was worthy.” She meets my eyes. "Declan's different from Cillian in a lot of ways. But they're the same in one way—they’re fiercely loyal. Declan won’t give up on you, and he won’t give you up.”
The words shouldn't make my insides flip-flop, but they do.
"I don't know how to do this," I admit. "Be a wife. Be part of a family. I've never?—"
"Neither did I." Nora's smile is sad and understanding. "I came from a bad place. My father was abusive and sold me to pay a debt. I showed up at Cillian's penthouse with everything I owned in a garbage bag."
She looks so poised and put together. I'm a bit startled by this revelation. "You?—"
"I know what it's like to feel like you don't belong in this world. To think you're temporary. But you're not temporary.” She leans forward. “You're married. Marriage in this family is permanent. And permanent means you're protected, provided for, and part of a family.”
Tears prick my eyes. I blink them back hard.
