“Ah, yes, the family curse.”
“Three more…” The trace of his fingers held me in his thrall. “…that’s all we need for it to be over.”
“The bracelets, right?”
“Cuffs and a necklace.”
“Maybe you’ll get them back now that you have the luck of the Irish on your side.”
“Who knew leprechauns carried Birkins, huh?”
With the meds already kicking in, I cackled. “Hey! I don’t look like a troll!”
“My sexy leprechaun,” he tacked on swiftly.
“Nice save.” My amusement dampened as our car drew ever closer to the private jet, but not out of fear. “You sure I should come with you?”
“That’d better be either a rhetorical question or you fishing for compliments.”
“Well, I’m not against more compliments, but I meant with Currau?—”
“He’s fine. He has a detail of his own and that massive room and hydrotherapy and whatever else Rory decided he needs.” He plucked at the button on his sports coat. “Honestly, she’s nesting in the wrong place.”
I thought about his very pregnant sister’s belly… “When is she due?”
“Next couple of weeks.” He tilted his head to the side. “We’ll be getting together soon. As a family. Before the birth…”
“Yeah?” I studied him, aware he wanted to say something but hedged instead.
His inked fingers played with mine and I rubbed my thumb over the letters forever etched there. “I want you to attend with me.”
I shot him a shy smile. “That can be arranged.”
“Oh, how?”
“You have to reserve my time at least an hour in advance,” I said promptly.
Stan’s chuckle lit up the back of the town car, mine entwined with it.
Honestly, my secondhand happiness would have terrified me with anyone else.
Somehow, the sapfest I felt for him had me forgiving myself for letting Stan get away with murder.
Literally.
“We don’t have an hour,buthow about a half-hour’s notice?”
“Sure. I’ll pencil you into my calendar.” My smirk faltered. “You sure that Currau can afford to be without me? It’s a massive change.”
“You asked the man yourself.” He shot me a pointed look. “Are you trying to get out of the plane journey?”
I stared at the jet—someone else might coo and be awed by the luxury of it. Me? I was busy racing through the stats on howmany of these planes crashed. Again. “You sure you checked it over?”
“No, because I know nothing about planes.” When I whacked his arm, he hooked it over my shoulders and hauled me into his side. “Because I knew you were coming with me, I asked Rory to send another team in this morning to double-check the first service.”
I gnawed on my lip. “That was considerate of you.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t sit on my lap,” he offered gruffly.
