“Let’s go see your mam.” His throat splintered. He lifted his niece into his arms, ignoring her little whine, and sped back to their table.
Maeve lowered her phone. She must’ve been videoing them. “What’s wrong?”
Kieran set Saoirse in his sister’s lap. “Brennan’s here.” The truth of it fractured within him, splitting him between the man he was and the boy he’d been.
Maeve jerked back as if he’d slapped her. Her face twisted into a scowl. “The hell is he here for?” she hissed.
He didn’t have an answer, but he sure as fuck was going to find out.
Danny had made it to Lily and their father. His back was to Kieran, and over his shoulder, Kieran could see Lily. Her expression was guarded, and she had a hand on Danny’s shoulder. As if at the least provocation, she might drag him away. Brennan’s posture was the most relaxed of the three, and his attention wavered between Danny and Lily, lingering longer on Lily each time.
The ten seconds it took to get to them was an eternity, butit took no time at all for fury to claw its way up his throat and lash out as soon as he was within swinging range of his father.
“What are you doing here?” he growled and dragged Danny behind his back by his arm.
Lily inched closer to his side but not behind him. If he didn’t have to worry about Danny ripping out of his hold, he would have shielded her, too.
Danny shoved against his back. “Kier, let me go. I wanna talk to Dad.”
None of this seemed to bother Brennan. In fact, there was an unmistakable glaze to his father’s eyes. Kieran’s fists balled even as his heart thundered in his chest. The fucker was high.
Brennan’s smirk offered a brief glimpse of his yellowed teeth. “My baby girl invited me, didn’t you know?” The man chuckled, cocking his head to the side. “Found me on MyBook. Paid for my bus ticket to get here.”
No way would Shauna invite this bastard to her special day. But how else would he have found them?
Danny pushed against his back again with a grunt. “If you don’t let me go, I’ll—”
Kieran turned, his skin crawling with warning from turning his back on his father. “Go to our table, right now. You hear me?”
Panting from his fruitless pushing and pulling, his brother aimed a petulant glare at him. “No way. I wanna see Dad.”
Memory flared within him, roiling with need to protect the boy in front of him. He was fourteen again, desperately shushing a tiny Danny whose only words wereMamaandDada. Not that their parents could respond while unconscious or would have cared if the opposite were true.
Kieran shook off the echo of their childhood and bared his teeth. “Go. Sit. Down.” He’d deal with the consequences later. As long as Brennan Sullivan was in the same room ashis family, he’d do anything to protect them, even if it meant they’d hate him for it later.
Danny must’ve sensed he meant business, because he turned with a huff and stalked toward Maeve.
When Kieran turned back, he found Brennan’s gaze oozing over Lily as he combed his fingers through his gray-streaked brown hair. She stiffened at his side.
His father smirked. “I was just introducing myself to this beautiful woman. She a friend of yours?” He reached for her hand.
“You keep your fucking paws off her.”
Understanding flickered in Brennan’s eyes. “Ah, that’s my boy. Go for the prettiest girl in the room. It’s the Sullivan way.”
Bile burned in the back of his throat. He was nothing like Brennan.
A hand closed around Kieran’s arm, and Shauna appeared at his other side. “Dad! I didn’t think you’d be able to make it.”
“And miss my favorite girl’s big day?” Brennan groused. He jerked Shauna into a hug. “Never. Now, where’s your lovely wife?”
Every muscle in his body screamed to rip Shauna back and slam Brennan against the wall. Lily’s fingers slipped between his, her hesitant touch short-circuiting the violence in his hands. His fingers spasmed before relaxing around hers.
“It was,” Lily hesitated, “nicemeeting you, Mr. Sullivan. But this man owes me a dance.” She tugged at his hand, guiding him away from the edge of the room.
He followed, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Brennan and Shauna—not even when they crossed the room to meet with Stephanie and her family. He didn’t miss the wariness in their expressions as they shook hands and Brennan smothered Stephanie in an embrace.
“Hey,” Lily intoned softly, easing him onto the dance floor.She threaded her fingers through his hair and tilted his head down so she could rest her forehead against his. “You still with me?”
