“He is,” Portia agreed with a shrug. “And unfortunately for me, he’s the asshole who controls my money, at least for the time being.” She waved a hand, as if batting away her own painful circumstances. “But you didn’t come here on this lovely night to talk about me. I just wanted to come over and say thank you, and to let you know I am genuinely very happy for you both.”
“Thank you, Portia.” The ice in Killian’s tone had melted considerably as he rose to brush a kiss over his ex-fiancée's cheek. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry things went down the way they did.”
“Again, no apologies necessary. We both know our supposed engagement was nothing more than a business arrangement. And we’re both much happier this way.”
Killian looked down, his eyes meeting Aria’s as he smiled. “Yes. I suppose we are.”
The heart she was dangerously close to losing tripped in her chest at the warmth in his eyes. But before she could respond, he frowned and reached into his pocket for his buzzing phone. “I need to take this outside. I’ll walk you out, Portia.”
It was a subtle, but pointed order. I’m not leaving you alone with my woman. To her credit, Portia simply inclined her head with a smile and looped her arm through Killian’s. “I was just leaving, anyway. Aria, it was lovely to see you. Tell Lottie to bring you along for brunch sometime. And congratulations again.”
Leaning down, Killian pressed a kiss to her temple, and when he spoke his voice was low, quiet for only her to hear. “Tiernan is in the corner there, keeping an eye on you, so you don’t need to worry while I’m gone.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I’ll be right outside, princess. I promise you’ll be safe.”
She watched them go, and did her best not to think about what a striking couple they made. Portia was the kind of woman any man would feel blessed to have on his arm.
Then again, so was she, Aria reminded herself as she sipped at her water. She was just as pretty as Portia, though perhaps in a different way, and she was fucking smart.
And she had something going for her that Portia would never have.
Killian O’Rourke was in love with her.
Unlike before, that thought didn’t terrify her. It was still… odd, and a bit too big for her mind to fully comprehend. But it wasn’t end-of-the-world horrifying the way it had been even a few short days ago.
A squat tumbler full of amber liquid with a single orange peel curled on top appeared on the table in front of her and then a chipper voice asked, “Can I get you something else to drink, love?”
Looking up, she smiled at the woman beaming at her from beside the table. “No, I’m good with water for now, thank you. But we didn’t order that.”
“Oh, I know.” The woman batted a hand, waving aside her concerns. “It’s Mr. O’Rourke’s signature drink. The King’s Pour. We named it for him, you know.”
Clearly he was more than just a regular. Interesting. “That’s a rather… generous name.”
“Well, we wanted to call it The Killian, but he refused,” the woman explained with a roll of her eyes.
“Just out of curiosity, why would you want to name a drink after him at all?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Confusion knit the woman’s brow for a moment before her expression smoothed out again, affection warming her bright eyes. “This restaurant has been in my husband’s family for three generations. But, you know, business slowed down and the place desperately needed some sprucing up but we didn’t have the money to invest. Then Killian came along, like some kind of guardian angel, and loaned us the money to fix things up, gave us some advice on the menu, basically helped us overhaul the whole restaurant.”
“All out of the goodness of his heart, I’m sure,” Aria said dryly.
“Basically. He’s only taking a small percentage of the profits for his investment, and even that he refused until we had paid off all our other debts.”
Shock had her blinking up at the woman for several long moments. “Why would he do that?”
“To hear him tell it, he just really likes our bread pudding. But between us, I think he just genuinely wants to see the community thrive. The O’Rourkes have always been about investing in the community they live in, but Killian has taken that legacy to the next level.”
“That’s lovely.” And it was, really.
Even if it shook her already precarious worldview more than she was comfortable with.
“He’s a good man,” the woman said softly. “And a man who’s willing to take care of his community that way is going to be even more devoted to his family.”
Without thinking, Aria placed a hand over her stomach. “Yes. Yes, I imagine he would.”
They were interrupted by Killian’s return, and he flashed the woman a warm smile. “I hope you aren’t telling tales out of school, Marie.”
