I force a smile, even as guilt twists in my stomach.
“So will I.”
The words taste bitter because it’s nothing but a lie.
Thingswillchange, maybe in ways we can’t come back from.
Only time will tell if that change is good or bad, and that terrifies me more than anything.
Chapter Eight
KIERAN
I checkthe clock on the dash as I ease the car back onto the main road, silent, fuming after wasting time on yet another informant who swore they had something on Cormac but ended up folding under pressure, spinning vague half-truths that lead nowhere.
I grit my teeth and force myself not to punch the steering wheel.
It’s been days of chasing dead end after dead end.
Cormac’s buried deep, and the more I search, the more it feels like he’s laughing at me from whatever hole he crawled into.
But none of that matters right now because I made Riley a promise, and for once, I’m going to keep it.
The grocery list in the passenger seat is laughably simple. Nothing but vegetables, beef, and broth.
It’s been years since I cooked anything more complicated than pasta, but the recipe is burned into my memory after watching my mother make her famous Irish stew every week for my entire childhood.
The smell of it used to fill the entire house, and I can still see her in my mind, standing at the stove, humming with a wooden spoon in one hand, and her long auburn hair tied back in a braid.
Cooking was my mother’s way of making our world feel stable, even when we knew it wasn’t, and I’m hoping to extend that feeling to Riley.
Parking outside the store, I grab the list and force myself not to overthink it.
I don’t expect one dinner to make up for the hell Riley has gone through over the past few weeks, but it’s a start.
By the timeI’m pulling into Ronan’s driveway an hour later, the trunk loaded with groceries, it’s late afternoon. As I climb the front steps, the door swings open to reveal a beaming Riley.
Her green eyes shine in a way I haven’t seen in weeks, and that realization makes my chest ache.
She eyes the grocery bags. “You’re really doing this. I half-expected you to call and cancel.”
I laugh, stepping inside and pressing a kiss to her lips before she can doubt me again. “You might wish I had once you taste what I’m making.”
She scrunches her nose. “Maybe I should help, just to be safe.”
I brush a hand down her cheek and kiss her again, slower this time.
“You’re banned from the kitchen, little dove. So, you better go and find some way to occupy your time other than hovering over me.”
Riley pouts, her bottom lip sticking out just enough to make me want to suck it into my mouth.
“Can I at least know what you’re cooking?”
I shake my head. “That would ruin the surprise.”
She huffs. “You’re infuriating.”
“And you’re beautiful.” I kiss her one last time.
