I laugh. “Okay, fine, we’ll stick to phone calls.”
I kneel on the carpet so that I’m eye level with the girls and hug them both again, holding on for as long as I can.
When we break apart and I get to my feet, my hand finds Cormac’s without thinking, and he squeezes it tightly.
I can’t bear to turn around and see the girls’ faces pressed up to the window as we leave. Even though I know I can see them again soon, it still feels like my heart is being ripped out as I walk away.
Cormac doesn’t let go of my hand until we reach the car, and then it’s only so he can wrap his arms around me and hold me against his chest.
“Thank you,” I mumble as I try to hold back tears.
“You don’t need to thank me,” he murmurs into my hair.
I pull away so I can look up at him. “I do. You made today possible. You gave me a second chance. You?—”
Cormac kisses me. His lips are so warm and familiar, and I cling to him as he slides his hand into my hair.
I sink my hands into his shirt and pull him closer, savoring the feeling of his strong body against mine. “We should get going.”
He kisses along my jaw. “Oh? Do you have other plans?”
“I need to show Brennan the picture of you in a tiara.”
Cormac freezes before pulling back and scowling down at me. “I thought you didn’t get a picture?”
“Payback is a bitch, and that’s what you get for stealing my crown.”
Cormac tightens his hold on my waist and pulls me flush against him. “Payback, huh?”
“Or blackmail… I’m not sure which.”
“It makes no difference for you when the consequences are just as severe. Now, I suggest you get in the car before I decide to publicly punish you.” He lands a swift slap to my ass.
I’m still grinning as Cormac climbs behind the wheel and starts the engine.
As soon as he pulls away from the curb, he holds out a hand, and I slide my fingers between his.
I relax into the seat as Cormac rubs his thumb back and forth across my knuckles, feeling as if the worst might truly be behind us, like we might really get a chance at a proper future together.
We’re just turning onto the freeway when my phone buzzes in my bag that I tucked down by my feet, and I reluctantly let go of Cormac’s hand to search for it.
He returns his hand to the wheel so he can move across to the fast lane.
“That better not be Brennan,” he teases as I pull out my phone.
When I say nothing, Cormac turns to look at me.
“Fiona? What is it?”
“It’s not Brennan…” I mutter.
Cormac’s hands tighten on the wheel, his knuckles turning white as he realizes who it is.
Lorcan.
All traces of amusement are instantly gone from his voice. “Read it.”
I swallow and open the message, but when I speak, my voice sounds like I’m underwater.
