Caoimhe tugs at his arm."Can I steal my husband for a minute?"
I wave them off, not looking up."Go.Leave me to my shame."
They disappear, and I'm left sitting at the bar alone, nursing my beer and my wounded pride.The whole fucking club knows.They know I called a woman the wrong name during sex.They know I fucked up something that could've been…
What?
I don't even know.
But it felt like something.She felt like something.
I down the rest of my beer and signal the prospect for another.The night's young and I'm already feeling like shite.Might as well lean into it.
The music shifts, something with a heavy beat that gets people moving.I watch the crowd, the easy way everyone moves together.My brothers.My family.In the only place I've ever really belonged.
But tonight it feels hollow.
Because all I can think about is a woman with blue eyes and a sharp tongue who wants nothing to do with me.
And I've got no fucking idea how to fix it.
I'm halfway through my second beer when the front door opens and a burst of cool air cuts through the smoke and noise.I glance over, out of habit more than anything, and my heart stops.
Enya.
She's here.In the clubhouse.Wearing dark jeans that hug her legs and a fitted black top that shows off the ink on her arms.Her hair is down, falling in waves past her shoulders.She looks nervous, eyes scanning the room like she's not sure she belongs here.
Then her gaze lands on me.
Everything stops.The noise, the music, the movement, it all fades to nothing.There’s just her, looking at me with those blue eyes that I see every time I close mine.
Her expression shifts.Surprise, then recognition, then something harder.Her jaw tightens.
Fuck.
Rush's voice cuts through my thoughts, loud and pleased: "About fuckin’ time."
He crosses the room toward the dark-haired woman beside Enya.Ciara.That's her name, the other bartender from O’Hara’s.Rush pulls her into a hug.The two of them are close.Since Rush joined us from the New York Chapter, he and Ciara have been friends.Whenever someone comments on their relationship, he’s very adamant that they’re only friends and nothing else.
So that's how Enya ended up here.She came with Ciara.
My heart's pounding.This is…I don't know what this is.A second chance?A disaster waiting to happen?
Enya breaks eye contact first, turning to say something to Ciara.I can see the tension in her shoulders, in the way she holds herself rigid like she's trying to decide if she should bolt.
Don't leave, I think to myself, hoping she doesn’t.
I should stay put.Give her space.Let her have a good night without me fucking it up.
But my feet are already moving.
I weave through the crowd, heart hammering, palms sweating like I'm about to step into a fight.Maybe I am.Different kind of fight, but a fight all the same.
Rush is talking with Ciara, his arm slung over her shoulders.Enya hangs back slightly, arms crossed, uncomfortable but trying not to show it.
I stop in front of her.Up close, she's even more beautiful than I remember.But there's exhaustion in the lines around her eyes, wariness in the set of her mouth.
"Enya," I say quietly.
