Lily took his offered hand and stood but shook her head. “You’re leaving out the coming back part.”
Kieran’s jaw flexed, and for a moment she thought he might not answer, but he met her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Danny was only five when I left. I don’t know what it was like for him, but it killed me. Neal said my best option was to keepfighting, keep making money, so I could send help home to Maeve. And that’s what I did. I got into Fight Fest Chicago at nineteen and went on to fight for Intimidators USA in Atlanta. I was in contract negotiations with the UFC when DCFS called me.”
He tugged his hoodie off over his head and tied it around his waist. “Mom had died, and Dad had dipped. Danny and Shauna were in a group home and my options were to either get a home study and have the case transferred to Georgia, which would have taken half a year at least, or go home and they’d give me the kids via kinship immediately, I’d just have to get my home study and parenting classes done while the case was active. So, that’s what I did. Neal helped me find a place. He moved to just managing the gym and let me have his spot coaching the men’s team. Shauna aged out and moved out, and eventually Dad was formally declared to have abandoned his child. I was granted legal guardianship of Danny. Which he resents.”
Lily frowned. What a fucked-up situation. And poor Danny. There’d been six years of Kieran’s absence for their parents to twist the boy’s mind against his brother. For all they knew, maybe Danny felt his brother had abandoned him, long before his father ever did.
“That’s a lot to be put on you.” Lily rubbed his bare arm.
Kieran shrugged and stepped back, twisting to give his core a stretch. “It is what it is. We survived.”
Yes. Survived. So had she. They’d all survived, but at what cost? Wasn’t there more to life than just getting by?
She stepped after him and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a tight hug. “Thank you for telling me.”
It took a moment, but he returned her hug, nearly crushing her in his embrace. “Come on,” he said when he released her. “Let’s finish this run and get a shower. We have a wedding to attend.”
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Shauna and Stephanie rocked in place on the dance floor, completely wrapped up in each other during their first dance as a married couple.
Kieran was happy for them. It was hard to believe how much Shauna had grown from the stubborn little girl who drew all over herself in marker to the woman she was now—still covered in ink and even more tenacious. And now she had the love and support of her wife and family. His sister was finally stepping into the kind of life they’d only dreamed of as kids.
His siblings deserved that kind of life. Maybe he did, too.
It seemed his siblings got along well with Lily, and she hadn’t run screaming when he’d told her about his past. Maybe if they could sort out their careers, there’d be room in their lives for each other.
Kieran ducked off the main dance floor and wove his way through the tables. Lily and Danny sat at the family table with Maeve and Saoirse. Danny had an earbud in and his phone in his lap, and Lily was helping Maeve re-pin Saoirse’s curls since several wild wisps had broken free of her ponytail.
“How’s my girl doing?”
“Good!” Both Lily and Saoirse answered at the same time, but only Lily’s cheeks tinged red.
His girl.He could get used to that.
Saoirse squirmed in her seat and pointed to the dance floor. “I wanna dance!” Her bottom lip dipped in a pout.
“You have to wait until the DJ says everyone else can dance, sweetling.” Maeve kissed her daughter’s cheek, keeping her hands on her waist. Probably to stop her from bolting to the dance floor.
Lily pinned the final curl. “All done!” She tickled the little girl, eliciting a happy shriek. “Who do you want to dance with?”
“Kiki!”
Kieran chuckled and held out his hand as the DJ opened the floor. “Come on, Saoirse. You better not step on my feet though.”
With a mischievous grin, Saoirse wiggled her way off the seat in all her fluffy pink dress glory and rushed to his side.
Lily stood from her chair, the slinky fabric of her navy dress pooling around her strappy heels. “I’m just going to step out for some fresh air.” When she glanced at him, her expression softened. “Save a dance for me?”
That softness soothed the raw ache still reverberating in his chest from their morning discussion. “For you, Princess? Anything.”
On the dance floor, just as he expected, Saoirse fitted her little hands into his and climbed right onto the toe boxes of his shiny black loafers. He never wanted to forget moments like these. Saoirse grinning up at him while they danced, completely at ease and unafraid of the world around her. Maeve, safe and happy as she watched them from the table. Danny, foronce, not staring at his phone, a giant smile spreading across his face. Shauna laughing with her—
Wait, what the hell was Danny so excited about? Kieran’s gaze whipped back to his brother, but Danny was out of his seat and moving. He checked Danny’s trajectory. He was heading toward Lily, who stood by a garland-lined exit, standing next to an older man in a rumpled button-down shirt and jeans. The man rolled his shoulders, his dark eyes sweeping over Lily.
Recognition spread through Kieran’s veins like an oil spill.
“Why’d we stop?” Saoirse’s voice rose, and she shifted on his toes as if to inspire movement.
