I shrug. I’m forcing myself out of my comfort zone and making a point. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know.”
“Let me know quickly because we’re here.”
19
root system
Lorien
He turns into a driveway and puts the SUV in park.
What? That wasn’t supposed to happen. I was trying to make him uncomfortable and give myself the upper hand. And now, I not only have a grinning Liam, but no time to prepare. “Well, you could’ve told me they didn’t live far away.”
He chuckles, turns off the car, and is at my door before I can recover.
His brother waves from the open front door. A small brown dog sits between his legs bouncing on its butt, tail swishing excitedly.
“Okay,” Cian says in a commanding voice, and the dog makes a beeline for us, skirting past Liam to circle me and wiggle. The tail goes wild and, to my surprise, it sits directly in front of me, chin up, waiting for a greeting.
“Well, hello there. I’m Lorien. You sure are a gorgeous dog. What’s your name?”
“That’s Eleanor,” Liam responds and pierces the air with a whistle that’s shrill and powerful. “Let’s go.”
Eleanor scampers to and through the front door as I lean into the SUV to grab the Sand Tarts from the center console.
“That whistle best not have been directed at me,” I mutter under my breath.
“It wasn’t,” a low voice grumbles too close to my ear. “But ifthe shoe fits…” His big strides eat up the distance between me and the house and he’s already at the front door, holding it open for me when I see Cian and a gorgeous brunette standing just inside the entryway arm-in-arm.
The blond eldest of the Murphy clan leans down and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. “Lorien, this is my wife, Sariah.” He steps aside. “Angel, this is Lorien.”
“I’m so glad to meet you. You’re going to have to give me all the details on this whole crazy situation once you’re comfortable divulging them. These two”—she pulls back and gestures to Liam and Cian—“and their schemes. The trouble is,” she drops her voice to a whisper. “They’ve saved me more than I care to admit, more times than they should’ve had to, so I’m stuck going along with the crazy since it works.”
“From what I understand, it was Ayla’s idea,” I reply, liking her instantly.
“That explains things. Though I’m surprised at her. She’s fiercely independent and would hate to have someone suggest that for her. Hmmm. We can use this to our advantage.” Sariah ushers me to the huge island that dominates the blonde-wood kitchen and offers me a chair.
I set the plate of cookies in the center and look around the space. It looks like something out of architectural digest, if that’s a real thing. Beautiful, polished, bright and airy, with tons of windows overlooking a brick patio.
“What would you like to drink?” Sariah asks.
Before I can answer, a baby cries. Looking over my head, she nods to who I’m assuming is her husband. “Can you get Lorien something to drink while I check on Wills?”
She effectively tags him in as she taps the counter in front of me. “Be right back.”
“What are you drinking?” Cian asks.
“What are my options?”
“Beer, wine, liquor, fizzy water, juice, soft drinks of all flavors, and White Claw.”
“Don’t say White Claw. Don’t say White Claw,” Liam chants from behind me.
“White Claw sounds delicious,” I offer sweetly. “Any flavor.”
There’s a growl behind me that’s cut off with a choking cough.
“Are you okay?” Cian asks, humor in his voice.
