Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
CALLUM
T he next week flew by in a haze of church meetings, suit fittings, and family dinners.
Mam and Aislynn flew into New York. They wanted to get to know Maeve and make sure I had my shit together, which, frankly, I didn’t. I mostly met with Paddy to ensure business matters were in hand.
It was Thursday, the day before I was about to say my nuptials and Donovan and Tadhg’s flight was due at any minute. They were coming for the wedding and my bachelor party that night, the same Bachelor party I didn’t want to even attend.
It wasn’t like this was a real wedding, and it wouldn’t be a real marriage, so I didn’t see why I couldn’t just grab Maeve and a couple of witnesses and go to City Hall.
Instead, Mam and Aislynn took Maeve to every store in New York to try on dresses and do bridal shit, and every conversation centered around a ceremony I had no interest in.
Honestly, I was surprised I didn’t bolt. I stayed because the night I went to Paddy to formally agree to the marriage, I saw Shannon trip Maeve down the stairs, and I almost blew up. If Patrick hadn’t taken his bitch daughter in hand and called her out, I would have, except I would’ve taken her by the arm and thrown her through the door after I cussed her ass the fuck out.
The instant Maeve aimed her huge, bright blue gaze at me, I couldn’t breathe. I’d never seen her without her thick glasses, so I’d never noticed how stunning her eyes were.
When I was a boy, I saw a picture of the planet Uranus, and it stunned me for much the same reason Maeve’s eyes did—it was the purest, other-worldly blue I’d ever seen. The white swirls around the planet gave it an ethereal look. The silver swirling amongst the blue of Maeve’s orbs did the same, and when you added in the hint of violet there, too, they were utterly mesmerizing.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about them.
It was mad how a girl I’d never given a second thought to—a girl who I’d never looked at twice—was suddenly dominating every thought—or at least her goddamned eyes were.
The terminal at LaGuardia Airport, where Donny and T were due to come through any minute, was packed, but I still spotted them immediately. It was hard to miss two good-looking, burly bastards striding through the arrival hall.
“Didn’t take long,” I commented, gripping Donovan’s arm and pulling him in for a man hug before doing the same to Tadhg.
“The joys of traveling light,” T drawled, throwing his large travel bag over his shoulder. His eyes went to a group of three young women who walked past us, and he smiled.
“Call me, Donny,” one of them said with a giggle, throwing my bro a kiss.
“Later, sweetheart,” he called over.
Tadhg shook his head, glaring at Donovan. “He just railed her in the restroom on the damned plane. Met her in the departure lounge and was fucking her two hours later. He’s a goddamned whore.”
My stare slid to Donovan. “How has your dick not dropped off?”
He shrugged. “I always wrap up Big Daddy. You know my motto: no scabies and no babies.”
Tadhg chuckled quietly.
“Well, make sure you keep Big Daddy to yourself while you’re here, asshole,” I told him. “The last thing we need is a war with the Irish Mafia because you couldn’t keep your hands off a mobster’s wife, sister, or daughter.”
He grinned, giving me a mock salute. “At your service.”
“Smartass,” I muttered, heading toward the doors, Donovan’s laughter following me.
After loading up the rental car, I drove out of the airport and through Queens, heading for Manhattan, where we were staying at one of Patrick’s hotels.
My mind wandered to Maeve while Donny and T shot the shit.
Mam had told me earlier that Orla had taken over all the preparations. She said the bride was legally her daughter, so it was her responsibility to help Maeve get everything organized.
Aislynn wanted to go shopping with my fiancée to help her glam up for her big day, but Orla wasn’t cooperating. Eventually, she told Ash that Maeve was wearing her mother’s wedding gown, with a few updates, of course.
My sister and Mam were convinced she was up to something.
And so was I.
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” Tadhg asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.
“I don’t get involved. My days are spent in Patrick’s office, going over bar stuff. He’s got suppliers he says I should use because they’re cheaper.”
“And probably crooked,” Donovan retorted.
I nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
Donovan leaned forward from the backseat. “How long has he given you to come up with the cake Da borrowed?”
“Twelve months from the day of the wedding,” I told him, indicating to take a left. “One year to turn the place around and get it jumping like it used to, and also turn over enough profit to pay the man back. I got some ideas, but first, I thought I’d ask Carbine if he’d do a live set with his band every month. Maybe get another local band to play some weekends, too. Even thinking about using that distillery we built out back to make my own beer.”
“I’ll help out,” Donny offered. “Maeve will, too. You’ll need her when you sack Saskia.”
I glanced at my brother briefly before turning my eyes back to the road. “I’m not sacking Saskia.”
His face scrunched up. “You can’t have your fuck buddy working alongside your wife.”
“And what kind of asshole would that make me?” I demanded. “Firing a girl because I used to fuck her is all kinds of wrong, not to mention probably illegal.”
“Used to fuck her?” T inquired with a glance. “So that’s over now?”
“My marriage isn’t real, but I’m not going into it fucking other women. I told Sass I was getting married before I left,” I admitted, giving him big eyes.
“What did she say?” Tadhg asked.
I stayed silent, grimacing slightly.
“Thought so,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Watch that one doesn’t cause you any shit.”
“Amen,” Donny interjected from the backseat.
I barked a laugh. “We weren’t love’s young dream. I fucked her here and there, and her me. No ties, no commitment. Granted, she cussed me out when I told her it was done, but she probably wasn’t expecting me to turn around and get married to another chick, so I kinda get her issue. She’ll get over it in about a week. It’s just her ego that’s bruised, is all.”
“Riiight,” Donovan drawled.
“Asshole,” I muttered, lips thinning.
Tadhg chuckled. “You all set for tonight?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “Though God knows why they want me to have a bachelor party when it’s a marriage of convenience.”
“Jesus, Cal, will you shut your damned mouth with that shit,” Donny snipped. “Every time the wedding’s brought up, you make it clear it’s not a real fucking marriage. It’s disrespectful as fuck, and if Maeve overhears you, it’ll upset her.”
“It’s true,” I challenged.
“Maybe it is,” he conceded. “But you’ve made the choice to do it, so accept it or back out now.” He shook his head, grumbling, “I think you’re trying to convince yourself as much as you are us.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I bit out.
“You shut the fuck up,” he threw back.
“I’ll kick your ass,” I vowed.
“You could try,” he challenged. “You wouldn’t get far.”
“Now, now, boys,” Tadhg interjected. “It’s supposed to be a happy occasion. Kicking the snot out of each other will piss Mam off, and Patrick will shoot Callum if he’s got a black eye in the wedding photos. We’re brothers, and we gotta stick together, especially as we’re welcoming a Mafia Princess into the family.” He grinned, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “Plus, tonight it’s our big brother’s bachelor party.” He turned to me again and inquired, “Is there gonna be strippers there?”
I pursed my lips before replying, “Lord knows. Liam organized it.”
“There’ll be strippers there,” Donovan declared.
“Yeah,” Tadhg agreed. “Liam can’t help himself.”
My lips curved at the thought of my last night of being single and, if indeed, strippers would make an appearance. Liam owned an upmarket strip club just outside the city, so the chances of encountering some were high.
Maybe I could indulge in a night with a hot dancer one last time before I became a married man?
As the thought entered my brain, a sudden memory of bright blue eyes flashed behind my eyes, and my stomach clenched with unease.
I ground my molars together.
It seemed my shy little wife-to-be was affecting me, which was a new feeling because no woman ever had before. Maeve was sweet, but on paper, not my type. Except, whenever I thought about how she fell to her knees when she was tripped and how her bitch stepsister could’ve injured her, my lungs set on fire.
Maeve Monroe may not have been the woman I would’ve chosen, but the fact remained she was going to be my wife, and with my name came my loyalty.
And nobody fucked over an O’Shea.
I was still smarting about Maeve’s treatment hours later, sitting in a gentleman’s club owned by Liam. I was sprawled out next to Tadhg on a red velvet couch, watching a tall, statuesque blonde jiggle her fake tits in time to an R Da knows it. Hell, even my mam and bitch sisters know it. Why else do you think they’re so fucking shitty toward her? I just hope one day, you know it, too, Cal, because I’m always gonna look out for her no matter if she’s in NYC or Wyoming.”
I’d always gotten along well with Liam, but there was no mistaking the note of warning in his tone or the threatening look he sent my way.
Fuck.
“You know this isn’t a real marriage, right?” I checked.
“I’m not a fuckin’ idiot,” Liam retorted. “But Maeve’s the only sister I fucking like. You’re a decent man, Callum, but I also know you dip your dick without much thought. From tomorrow, you’ll need to have a thought for your wife. You get me?”
My eyes narrowed. “What kind of asshole do you think I am?”
His mouth twisted. “I know you’re not an asshole; if you were, I wouldn’t allow Maeve to walk down the aisle tomorrow, but still, I look out for my sister. She’s funny and smart, but she’s also inexperienced. You need to be patient with her.”
“If you want Maeve to be happy, why did you pick me for her?” I asked curiously. “I’ve never had a relationship or even a girlfriend before. Fuck knows why you’d saddle her with a guy like me. I’m not exactly a family man, and what I know about partnership and compromise you could write on the back of a damned postage stamp.”
Liam sat forward, elbows to knees, with his hands dangling between them. His eyes bored into mine, and he bit out one word, “Honor.”
My forehead creased.
“You know, four men have approached my da for Maeve’s hand,” he informed me.
My lungs twisted.
“He didn’t want them for her. Each one begged Da for Maeve, but he turned every one of them down.”
Despite the stab of unease in my chest, I asked, “Why?”
Liam grinned. “Because Da promised her father he’d look after her. You can say a lot about Patrick Doyle, but he keeps his promises. Pop’s well aware that every one of those men wanted to marry Maeve for the wrong reasons, and once they got her, they’d let her swing. This life is tough, and becoming the top guy’s son-in-law would give them instant respect. Every one of the men who asked for Maeve did it as a career move, a way to get into the inner circle.”
“I agreed to marry her as a career move, too,” I pointed out.
“You never approached Da,” Liam objected. “We approached you.”
I cocked my head. “We?”
He gave me a tight-lipped smile. “You were picked for Maeve the day she turned sixteen. Your da and mine arranged it then. The loan and the bar gave Da the opportunity to put the arrangement in place, but mark my words, it would’ve happened regardless.” Liam leaned forward, his eyes on the blonde dancer, and continued, “You call this a marriage of convenience, but really, it’s an arranged marriage. Your da sold you off to mine years ago, and they agreed then you’d be Maeve’s husband one day.”
I blinked.
My da used to always talk to me about Maeve. Whenever we visited New York, he’d try to push us together somehow, but I wouldn’t hear of it. He never hid the fact that he would’ve liked her for me.
I’d always resisted because I knew Maeve wasn’t like the girls I usually ran with. She was smart to the point of almost being intimidating, and no man wanted to feel like the dumbest asshole in the room, especially an asshole with an ego as inflated as mine. Plus, I liked my freedom and getting to know Maeve would herald the end of it, especially as my mam would’ve gotten involved and railroaded me the same way she did in my office when she walked in on me and Donovan arguing.
Jesus, my brother was right; I’d been manipulated by my own father, a man I’d loved and trusted, a man who should’ve had my back and not forced his agenda on me, especially when it came to picking a wife.
Now, I had to marry a woman I didn’t love or want, a woman who I wasn’t even attracted to, all because my father deemed it so. He’d taken the things that meant the most to me and twisted them into something ugly.
My respect for him.
And my bar.
A sick feeling washed through me, and my jaw clenched.
Fuck that.
“What’s the dancer’s name?” I demanded, lip curling.
Liam’s neck twisted. “Huh?”
I nodded toward the blonde. “What’s her name?”
His eyes narrowed at the same time as he growled, “Jade.”
My mouth hitched. “Maybe I do need a woman to help me say adios to my days as a single man, and it seems it’s Jade’s lucky night. Why don’t you make yourself useful and go set that up for me.”
Liam’s face paled. “You bastard.”
I cocked my head to one side. “That’s no way to speak to your future brother-in-law. Tomorrow, I’m gonna marry Maeve, but if you think I’ll roll over and let your dad have everything his own way, you don’t know me very well. I may not have a choice in this, but there are some things I can still control, including who I fuck.”
“It’s not Maeve’s fault,” he protested.
“Not mine either,” I threw back. “I’ll speak to my fiancée and tell her the score. We’ve both been forced into this shitshow, but we can still lead the lives we want when the wedding’s done and dusted.”
Liam shook his head disbelievingly. “I thought better of you.”
I almost rolled my eyes. “I always stay in my fucking lane, never stick my head above the parapet. Work hard, keep my mouth shut, and never cause shit for anyone. Still, I don’t profess to be a damned saint. Maeve and I never wanted to be forced into marriage. You wanna play with us, then I’ll play right back.”
Liam stood and gestured toward Conan before nodding toward the exit. “I know where you stand now, Callum, but when you’re balls deep inside Jade, think about the beauty you’re throwing away. Have a good night, and I hope you enjoy your empty fuck.” He shot me a withering glance and made for the door with Conan trailing behind.
The instant they left, I flopped back on the couch and scraped a hand down my face.
Pissing off the heir to the Irish Mafia wasn’t smart, but the second Liam let slip how both our das had played God with my life, all fucks flew out the window.
My aul fella had been moving me around a chessboard for years without my knowledge, and it sickened me. Now I was stuck with a wife I didn’t want, all because Da and Paddy decided years ago that Maeve should be mine.
But I had no choice but to fall in line. If I didn’t, I’d lose everything I’d worked my entire life for; plus, everybody I loved would suffer, including Ma and Aislynn.
I was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place because, in twelve hours, I had to get up, put on a suit, and make my way to my wedding.
My eyes fell on Jade, who by then had moved on and was gyrating her hips for a crowd of men sitting a few tables away.
All I had to do was click my fingers, and I could have her eating out of the palm of my hand. She was beautiful and statuesque, my type to a T. I hadn’t fucked a woman in weeks, months even, and the temptation to call her over and turn on the charm was bubbling to the surface.
It would’ve been so easy to shoot her a grin, offer her a seat, and talk her panties off, but instead, I picked my whiskey up from the table and drained my glass before rising to my feet and heading for the exit, all while thinking about how much I needed my beauty sleep.
After all, I was getting married in the morning.