Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
RONAN
Kieran leans into me. “I would’ve bet good money on you never getting married once, let alone twice.”
I look down the aisle to where my bride will soon walk through. “I would marry Ciara a thousand times over.”
Brennan chuckles. “Such a sap.”
“Shh!” Cormac hisses.
Kieran scoffs. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
I shoot my brothers a look.
I was tempted not to have any best men this time around, but Ciara insisted. Though, it’s easy for her to say, she doesn’t have to stand beside them and listen to their endless bickering while we wait for the ceremony to start.
The chapel is quiet except for the soft hum of whispered conversations. It’s small and intimate, tucked away inside one of New York’s most prestigious hotels. The heavy oak pews are polished to perfection, and the afternoon light shines through the stained-glass windows.
It’s not nearly as grand or flashy as our first wedding, but that’s not what today is about. Today is about a fresh start.
My heart starts pounding in my chest as the string quartet begins playing, and the doors at the end of the aisle open.
There she is.
Ciara.
The moment she walks in, everything fades away until it’s just her. The silk gown she chose is simple and hugs her swollen belly, and her blonde hair is swept up in a loose, messy bun with a few strands framing her face.
My knees almost buckle at the sight of her.
Her eyes catch mine as she walks toward me, and she offers me a smile that makes my world stop spinning.
It takes all my restraint not to charge down the aisle, wrap her in my arms, and take her straight upstairs to the honeymoon suite.
As if she can read my thoughts, Ciara’s smile widens, and I find myself grinning back.
When she finally reaches the end of the aisle, she lets go of Callum’s arm to take my hand.
I offer her brother a nod, which he returns.
If Ciara had her way, he wouldn’t have made the guest list, let alone walk her down the aisle. But despite their differences, Callum is the only blood relative Ciara has left. I knew she would regret it if she didn’t invite him.
I lean in her ear as I lead her up the few steps toward the altar. “You look stunning.”
She chuckles, her breath warm against my skin.
I growl. “How the hell am I going to keep my hands off you until tonight?”
Her breath catches, and I smile. I love how much of an effect I have on her.
She smiles. “The wait will make it even more special.”
God, she’s irresistible.
The room hushes as we turn to face each other in front of the small crowd of close friends and family.
Ciara’s eyes shine with tears, and I catch the slight tremble of her hands as I hold them tightly in my own.
This moment isn’t just about renewing our vows. It’s about acknowledging all the broken pieces we’ve picked up and glued back together. It’s about promises we made and kept. And promises yet to come.
I take a deep breath and pull the folded note from my jacket pocket. I ended up writing my vows in the early hours of this morning, unable to sleep due to the empty space in the hotel room bed beside me.
Even though Ciara and I are already married, she wanted to be traditional and spend the night before the vow renewal apart.
I tried my hardest to persuade her against it, taking the opportunity to show her multiple times what she would be missing out on. But my wife has a will of steel. I should have known better than to think a night of mind-blowing sex would tempt her to change her mind.
“For so many years, I have slept alone. I went to bed alone and woke up alone, and I never once felt like anything was missing. Until I met you.”
Ciara’s eyes well with tears.
I smile. “I never thought I would want to say the words ‘I love you’ to anyone until you, and even then, those three words don’t come close to what I feel for you, Ciara.
You and the babies will always be my number one priority, and I promise to love and protect you until my dying day.
You are my home, my family, and my heart. ”
Tears flow down Ciara’s cheeks, and I reach out to wipe them away.
“I love you, Tine Bheag,”
“Stupid hormones. And how am I meant to follow that?” Ciara mutters, and soft laughter rings out through the chapel.
I flash her a wink. “I think I win at the vows.”
Mila steps forward to hand Ciara her vows, which she holds with surprisingly steady hands.
“Ronan… Where do I begin? You are my biggest supporter and my biggest challenger. When we first said I do, I honestly thought it would end in divorce, or murder, not a vow renewal.”
I choke on my laughter.
Kieran scoffs. “I second that.”
Ciara grins. “But over these past few months, getting to know you and learning to love you has been… the greatest honor of my life—”
Ciara’s voice breaks, and my throat tightens as I fight the sudden wave of emotion that hits me.
Her eyes meet mine. “I promise to stand by your side through every joy and challenge that life throws our way. I promise to cherish you and our twins, and to build a life filled with laughter, love, and unbreakable loyalty. You are my everything, Ronan Sullivan, and I love you.”
After we exchange our new wedding bands, I take Ciara’s face in my hands and kiss her like my life depends on it.
The cheers and applause that break out around us are almost completely drowned out as I lose myself in Ciara’s touch.
She tastes like home, and I don’t think I will ever be able to get enough.
Dinner is a complete blur.
I hired a private dining room in the hotel to host the evening reception. It’s intimate, which is exactly what Ciara wanted, and whatever she wants, she gets.
We sit at one of the round tables in the corner of the room with my brothers, surrounded by empty champagne bottles and whiskey glasses.
The room has its own bar, and I stupidly put my card behind it.
Now my brothers have taken it as a personal challenge to see how high a tab they can rack up by the time the night is over.
From how drunk Brennan is, I’d say it’s pretty high.
Ciara is nestled against my side, her head resting on my shoulder as she listens to yet another story Kieran is sharing with her from our childhood. Her body shakes with silent laughter as Kieran drawls on, and I lazily stroke my fingers over her shoulder, watching her skin pebble beneath my touch.
Kieran turns to Cormac. “Do you remember when Ronan got sent home from grad school for beating that kid up?”
Ciara looks up at me under her lashes. “You beat up a kid?”
“I was a kid, too.”
Cormac nods. “In Ronan’s defense, this asswipe of a kid was beating up a little girl, and Ronan stepped in.”
Ciara chuckles as her hand moves to rest on the swell of her belly. She’s not even halfway along yet, but I guess carrying twins means she is showing a lot earlier than if it were a normal pregnancy.
The sight of her carrying my children will never cease to amaze me, and it also makes her even sexier, which I didn’t think was possible.
“So, he’s always been ridiculously protective?”
“No need to be jealous, I married you, didn’t I?”
Ciara scowls, and I grin at her before kissing her forehead.
Brennan groans as he tugs at his tie to loosen it. “Get a room.”
“Oh, I intend to,” I murmur in Ciara’s ear.
As Kieran picks yet another story to share with the table, my focus remains on Ciara.
She looks radiant tonight. She untied her hair and let it hang loose around her shoulders, and I lean in to inhale the sweet scent of her shampoo.
I can’t help but think of our last wedding and how she could barely stand to be anywhere near me, let alone trust me. And now she’s here in my arms, pregnant with our twins, and listening to my brothers tell tales from our childhood like we’re a proper family.
As Kieran and Brennan get locked in a heated discussion over the name of the girl I took to senior prom, I’m lost on her, until she looks up at me and catches me staring.
I flash her a wink, and her cheeks instantly flush.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because you’re fucking amazing.” I lean down to brush my lips against hers.
She smiles shyly as she reaches up to stroke my jaw.
“I think you’re amazing too. Life is pretty perfect right now, huh?”
“It’s hard to imagine it getting any better. But once these twins are here…”
She chuckles, shaking her head. “It’s going to be chaos.”
Brennan lifts his overflowing glass of whiskey in the air. “I cannot fucking wait to be an uncle!”
The drink spills all down his white shirt and over the tablecloth, which I think was also once white but isn’t anymore.
I swear, I cannot take my brothers anywhere. “You are not going anywhere near my kids. I don’t trust you.”
“You better be joking.” Brennan looks at Ciara. “Right?”
She holds up her hands. “I’m not getting involved.”
Kieran smirks. “Don’t worry, Bren, the favorite uncle position goes to me anyway.”
“Why?”
“I’m the oldest uncle; therefore, I automatically become the favorite.”
“Yeah, but you’re also the dumbest.”
Cormac chuckles under his breath, and Kieran shoots him a murderous look before turning his attention back to our youngest brother.
“Go fuck yourself, Brennan.”
I roll my eyes. “After dealing with these two, twins are going to be easy.”
Ciara laughs as she rests her hands on her belly, and I cover them with one of my own.
“You know what? Why don’t we skip the rest of this and go back to our room? I want to consummate this marriage all over again.”
Ciara giggles. “That wouldn’t be fair to our guests.”
She bites her bottom lip, making all the blood rush to my cock.
“I don’t care about the guests; I care about making you come—”
Mila appears out of nowhere. “Ciara, it’s time to throw the bouquet! The girls are all waiting.”
Kieran slaps Brennan on the back. “That includes you too, little bro.”
Brennan groans. “The next time you decide to get married, can you leave him off the guest list?”
Ciara climbs to her feet and presses a kiss to Brennan’s cheek. “I appreciate you putting up with your brothers for the sake of my wedding day.”
Brennan grins. “You could repay me by introducing me to one of your friends?”
“Not a chance.” Ciara laughs before sauntering away, arm in arm with Mila.
I swallow a groan as she leaves me with a rock-hard erection and no one but my brothers for company. “I’m going to get a drink.”
Kieran reaches for the bottle of Macallan whiskey. “We literally just got a fresh bottle for the table.”
The bottle is already empty, but I don’t care. “What I really mean to say is, I’m going to take a break from you lot.”
Brennan laughs, which earns him another slap around the head from Kieran, which I take as my cue to leave.
I wander over to the bar and order myself a whiskey, hoping to enjoy a moment of peace.
But it doesn’t take long for another member of my family to track me down. It turns out being the groom means that you have to spend the entire evening talking to people instead of upstairs in a hotel room fucking your new bride.
I swear, if Ciara and I ever decide to do this again, we’re doing it my way: she will be naked, and I will recite my vows while my face is buried between her legs.
I swallow another groan as my cock twitches.
Even one night away from Ciara has me down bad.
The mood shifts the moment I glance over the rim of my drink and see the look on my uncle’s face.
Lorcan’s presence grounds me, but his words to me a while back make me feel like I’m on thin ice.
We still have his ex-stepson locked away in my warehouse. Not that he knows that…
He slaps me on the back. “Congratulations again, Ronan. Your old man would be proud.”
I nod, smiling, and take another sip of my whiskey.
Lorcan’s eyes are sharp as he searches my face, though I’m not sure what he’s looking for. “My security team brought something to my attention.”
“Oh?” I lean against the bar and survey the room.
“Apparently while I was taking some personal time to grieve my brother, you, Cormac, and Brennan showed up on my doorstep but then left pretty quickly. You’re not one to do house calls, so do you care to fill me in on what that was about?”
I shrug before taking another sip of my drink. “We were worried. We hadn’t heard from you in a while, and with everything going on, we thought we would stop by, but a business matter pulled us away. You know how it is…”
Lorcan’s eyes weigh heavily on me, but I keep my expression neutral, almost bored.
He nods. “I appreciate the concern.”
I glance over at him and offer a brief smile. I’m not sure how much Lorcan knows about Finn or if he even still has a relationship with him, but he is still my uncle.
A hand claps me on the back.
My youngest brother smiles. “The boys are waiting to toast you.” Brennan offers Lorcan a toothy nod. “Good to see you, uncle.”
I turn to Lorcan. “We’ll catch up later.”
He raises his glass at us before Brennan leads me back toward the table where Kieran and Cormac are waiting. Though, in the few minutes I’ve been gone, the mood has shifted immensely, leaving my brothers with serious looks that instantly put me on high alert.
Brennan leans in, and the four of us huddle together, the reception forgotten behind us. “There’s something you should know.”
“What is it?”
Cormac looks around us discreetly. “My security found a bomb strapped beneath one of the cars outside.”
My hands tighten into fists. “Whose car?”
Kieran’s gaze hardens. “Mine.”
Thank you for reading Ronan and Ciara’s story! Kieran is up next, and the Sullivan brothers’ story is only getting started…