I wanted to tell them I’d wait in the car, but I knew better. The last time I’d refused to go somewhere, Kieran had tossed me over his shoulder and nearly dragged me out of my apartment wearing only a sheet.
“It’s about time you made it,” a woman called from the front porch as we were exiting the car. “I was starting to think you changed your mind.”
Kieran grunted. “We’re half an hour early.”
I didn’t have to ask who she was. I’d seen her the night I met Kieran at the club. She was the woman who’d been whispering in Knox’s ear, the one I’d wanted to throttle because I’d thought she was whispering sweet nothings. But it was the lyrical Irish accent and her devastating youthful beauty that told me she could be none other than Kieran’s sister.
“I figured you’d flake out on us,” Steph teased gleefully, hurrying down the steps.
“Em, meet my sister, Steph,” Kieran said, his words softly spoken, an amused ring to them.
I smiled, unable to find my voice.
Steph smiled as she approached, and her blue eyes glittered with amusement.
There was very little resemblance between Kieran and his sister. Aside from their height, they didn’t look much alike. Where Kieran was dark, brooding masculinity, Steph was light and elegance. Her strawberry-blond hair was a shiny fall around her shoulders, making her look regal in the midday sun.
When Hannah stepped out onto the porch, I tensed. I hadn’t seen her since her job interview, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Her smile was as wide as Steph’s as she came down the steps to join us. I didn’t have time to prepare what I would say before Hannah threw her arms around me, embracing me in a tight hug.
I breathed a relieved sigh. She released me, still smiling.
“That was the hard part,” Kieran noted.
Yeah, right. The hard part was going to be meeting his mother, but I figured he knew that and was simply trying to put me at ease.
The warm hand that pressed to the small of my back offered some comfort, but it did little to settle the riot of nerves. I focused on breathing as Kieran steered me to the front door. The quaintness continued inside the house with a wealth of white lace and the blue water beyond. The view was astounding, as it should be, considering the house was right on the water, hovering above an outcropping of large, moss-covered stones below.
“You’re just in time,” a soft voice sounded as a woman approached.
I turned to see an elegant woman nearing, her smile radiant. It was in her face that I recognized both Kieran and his sister, realizing they had more facial similarities than I’d initially thought because they both held a strong resemblance to this woman.
“Mother, I’d like you to meet Emily. Emily, this is my mother, Alice.”
“It’s—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence when Alice stepped forward and hugged me. Her embrace was kind and warm, and I was struck silent for a moment, not sure how I was supposed to react.
“I’m a hugger,” she said with a tinkling laugh as she stepped back, her hands cupping my face gently. “You’re as beautiful as he said you were.”
I swallowed, feeling unnerved by her kindness. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this. The only mother figure I’d had certainly wouldn’t have embraced a stranger. No, Kitty would’ve glared down her nose at anyone Knox might’ve ever brought home.
Oddly enough, it was that acknowledgment that eased some of my inner turmoil.
~~~~
Knox
Meals with Kieran’s family were always entertaining, and today’s was no exception.
Steph, as usual, was the life of the party. The woman’s mere presence demanded attention, and she used her vibrant personality to put everyone at ease. Because Alice had hosted this party for Clinton, we enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and an endless number of other dishes.
The entire time, I watched Emily interact.
For a woman who claimed to be anxious in social settings, you wouldn’t know it. She settled in nicely, carrying on various conversations, asking questions, answering them. Still, she seemed most interested in the various tidbits of Kieran’s history that Alice and Steph regaled her with. I’d heard most of them before in a setting very similar to this one. Steph, Alice, and Clinton were the only people who knew the true depth of our relationship. Which meant they also understood that by bringing Emily here, we were staking a claim.
“Did you find out who sent the flowers?” Kieran asked when he joined me in the den where I’d retreated to give the ladies some space.
I shook my head, took a sip of the bourbon Clinton had offered. “You?”
