I was—not that I’ll admit that out loud—but after the past few weeks with Aoife, the truth is, I’m desperate to lock her down as my wife for a million other reasons which I haven’t even fully processed yet.
‘It has fuck all to do with him, and everything to do with her. Trust me. You’ll understand when you meet her. She’s different. She’s… innocent.’
She raises a single eyebrow. ‘So innocent that she’s currently naked upstairs?’
‘It’s not like that,’ I growl.
Aoife chooses this exact moment to enter the kitchen. Her eyes dart dubiously between us as she tucks her blonde hair behind her ear timidly. She’s changed into that blush pink sundress again and the flat white pumps. Her hair is wet as it hangs over her shoulders. Devoid of make-up, she looks utterly fucking adorable.
‘Hi.’ She saunters closer, gravitating towards me, silently seeking security. The urge to wrap my arms around her and keep her there forever burns beneath my skin.
‘Sweetheart.’ I drop my arm over her shoulder, tugging her against my side. Her shoulders relax a fraction. Thank fuck she submitted to me today. It makes our marriage so much more believable now that she’s comfortable in my arms. ‘This is Mama K. Mam, this is Aoife.’
Mama K pauses for a long minute, sharp, narrow eyes assessing my fiancée from head to toe. She steps forward and Aoife shrinks closer against my chest.
‘Well, let me see the ring then.’ She beckons for Aoife’s hand.
Fuck.
That was a school boy error.
‘It’s getting resized,’ Aoife lies smoothly, and I flash her a grateful look.
‘Oh,’ Mama K’s dubious, and with good reason. But I can honestly swear, hand on heart, I want to marry Aoife O’Shea because I’m obsessed with her. Provoking Kavanagh is now simply a bonus.
‘Shall we sit?’ Her gaze shifts to the stools at the island. ‘I want to know everything there is to know about my new daughter-in-law. What do you do? Where are you from?’
‘I, er, I’m from the Greenhills estate.’ Aoife winces. ‘I just graduated as a teacher. I’m starting my new job at the end of August.’ She looks to me, and I flash her an encouraging smile.
‘How very respectable.’ Mama K says dryly.
Aoife gulps. I pass her my whiskey, and she takes it with a small, grateful smile. Our eyes lock, and that familiar heat pulses between us. If my mother weren’t standing two feet away, I’d already have my mouth on hers and my hands all over her body.
Her revelation earlier was shocking—in the best possible way.
To be her first is one thing.
But I have a sneaking suspicion I want to be her last too.
Mama K watches us with an unwavering intensity. ‘Oh my god,’ Her hand covers her mouth, but unfortunately even that doesn’t stop her talking. ‘Dominic Kincaid, I never thought I’d see the day. You’re in love.’
25
AOIFE
Inearly choke on the whiskey. It burns all the way down, but not nearly as much as the words Mama K drops so casually into the room. You’re in love.
No, we’re in lust.
It’s different
But tonight, with her sharp eyes assessing us, I’m so fucking grateful for her mistake. And grateful for the attraction that has tormented me since I first laid eyes on him. Because for once, it’s useful. I’m doubly fucking grateful that I know what his mouth feels like on mine, that I know what his hands and tongue are capable of—even if it will make walking away from him—from this—harder in the end.
Because while I want him, I don’t want this life—not forever anyway.
I’d be giving up everything I thought I believed in.
I’d be giving up on the only person I truly have in this life—myself—and everything I thought I was.
