Even Cormac and Brennan stayed for a lot of it, when they weren’t trying to track down our uncle.
So, instead of moving back to the penthouse, we stayed put for a few weeks, which turned into a few months, on the grounds that Riley needed all the baby practice she could get.
Watching her with Nico and Addison, I know she’s going to be a wonderful mother.
Now that she is so close to her due date, we thought that having three babies under one roof might be pushing it, so we settled back into the penthouse a few weeks ago. But so much has changed since the last time we were there that it just doesn’t feel quite like home anymore.
I’m done with the bachelor pad and monochrome decor. I want a proper home for Riley and our child, with a huge yard so we can maybe get a dog or two…
“Well, the place next door to you recently went on the market.” I take a sip of my champagne.
Ronan groans. “Don’t tell Ciara that. I’ll never get rid of you.”
“Ciara’s the one who found it.”
“I really need to find a way of disconnecting her from the internet.”
“Come on, you’re not even a little excited at the prospect of being neighbors?”
“We’re already brothers, I think that’s enough for me.”
“I think it’s important that our kids can grow up together and have some form of a stable family life even among all of the chaos.”
Ronan lets out a sigh as he gazes adoringly at his daughter.
“I never thought we would get here.”
“Neither did I.” I place a hand on his shoulder as I look out at the dance floor where Riley is dancing with Ciara and Nico.
They spin in slow circles as it’s all she can manage with her bump, while Ronan and I stand at the edge of the dance floor, pretending not to get emotional at the sight of them.
But every time the light from the chandeliers catches in Riley’s auburn hair, or her face breaks out into a huge smile when Nico starts clapping, I’m struck all over again by how surreal this is.
“I’m going to try and attempt to peel my wife away from yours for a dance,” Ronan says after a beat.
I clap him on the back, chuckling. “Good luck.”
“Maybe I can bribe her with a sleeping baby.”
I fight a smile as Ronan wades through the sea of guests to where Riley and Ciara are, and as expected, Riley eagerly takes a sleeping Addison into her own arms and takes her over to sit at a table with Lucy, leaving Ronan to dance with Ciara and Nico.
A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined my life being like this. I was so consumed by my own darkness that I couldn’t see any other path except the one I was being dragged down.
But Riley changed that. She changedme.
My eyes flick to Cormac, who stands at the bar, deep in conversation with Brennan. Or rather, Brennan seems to be talking his ear off, and Cormac looks like he would rather be anywhere else.
He looks almost back to his old self, but there’s a hauntedness in his eyes that he hasn’t been able to shake. And I’m not sure he ever will.
My relationship with Cormac is still strained.
Sure, we’ve made progress by saying our apologies and burying the worst of the tension, but there’s still something with him that I can’t figure out.
Maybe it’s my own lingering guilt that’s throwing me off.
Even knowing he forgave me months ago hasn’t seemed to erase the fact that I was convinced he was capable of betraying us. All of that anger I held onto for so long at him leaving has left deeper wounds than I realized.
I wonder what would have happened if I had just trusted him from the start like Ronan. If I had believed in him, instead of shutting him out.
