Quinn #2
Daithí steps forward next. He pulls me into a quick hug before resting his hand on my shoulder.
"You look happy," he says.
I blink. "Is that a surprise?"
He shrugs. "A little."
"Rude."
The corner of his mouth twitches, then all humor disappears. "You look tired," he says.
"I slept fine."
"Not what I meant."
I sigh. "Daithí—"
"What?" He lifts a shoulder. "I'm just saying."
I stare at him, but he stares right back with his unwavering gaze. "You're annoying."
"So I've been told."
I roll my eyes and he grins.
Conn is next. He steps up, hugs me, and for a second, neither of us says anything, then he steps back and frowns.
"What?" I ask, feeling a little self-conscious.
"You're shorter than I remember."
I stare at him in disbelief. "I'm the same height," I grind out.
He raises a brow as he glances down at me. "Hmm."
"Conn," I snap.
"Hmm."
I swat his arm, and the corner of his mouth lifts. "There she is."
Valentina shakes her head. "You all are impossible."
"We've been told that before," Caden says.
"Frequently," Daithí agrees.
Val sighs dramatically. "Come on. We can sit in the library before Marco starts questioning why there's a crowd blocking his hallway."
"Now that," Conn says, "sounds like a threat."
"It is."
I laugh as we head toward the library together.
Caden drops into one of the chairs and looks around. "Of course you'd find the library."
I grin. "What does that mean?"
"It means you've been married for weeks and somehow managed to find the room with the most books."
"I found it on my first day."
"Of course you did."
Valentina points at him. "Leave her alone."
"I'm complimenting her."
"You're annoying her."
"Same thing."
I laugh and settle into my chair while Joe appears carrying trays of tea, sandwiches, pastries, and enough food to feed far more people than are currently in the room.
"Thank Christ," Caden says, reaching for a sandwich.
"You've been here ten minutes," I point out.
"It's been a difficult ten minutes."
I glare at him. "It really hasn't."
He nods, his eyes glued to the food. "It has."
Valentina rolls her eyes, but takes a seat beside me. I know that she’s wanting to stay close after what she uncovered this morning.
I didn't realize how much I'd missed my brothers until they walked through the door. As we talk and catch up, I notice that they all keep watching me, and it’s putting me on edge.
I lower my cup. "What?"
Three pairs of eyes turn to me.
"What what?" Caden asks.
I point at Daithí, who’s watching me again with curious eyes. "That,” I say as I point at my eldest brother.
Daithí doesn't even pretend not to know what I'm talking about. His jaw tightens slightly, and the room goes quiet, and I know that something's happened.
I look between all three of them. "What happened?"
Caden swears under his breath and my stomach drops. "What happened?" I repeat.
Daithí sets his cup down. "Lorenzo came to the house."
For a second, I don't understand.
"What house?"
"Our house, Quinn. Our home."
Oh. My chest tightens. "When?"
"Two weeks ago," Daithi tells me as he sits back in his chair.
I stare at him. "He went to see Da?"
Daithí nods.
"Why? What happened?"
The three of them exchange a look. I hate that look. It's the same one they've always used when they're trying to figure out how much to tell me.
"Daithí."
He sighs. "Lorenzo paid Da a visit."
I frown, I know this, but I don’t know what happened. "Okay?"
Nobody says anything and my stomach twists. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Because it didn't go well," Caden says.
"Define didn't go well."
Conn snorts into his tea, that's never a good sign.
I look between them. "What happened?"
Daithí leans back in his chair. "He found out about Da hurting you on your wedding day."
I stare at him. "Lorenzo already knew about that."
"He knew you'd been hit," Daithí says. "He didn't know Mam slapped you when you told her what Daire did to Orla."
The room goes quiet and I feel my chest tighten. "Oh."
"Yeah."
I look down at my tea. "What happened?"
Nobody answers immediately, which means it was bad.
"Daithí, please tell me."
He holds my gaze. "He broke Da's hand."
Everything inside me goes still. "What?"
"He broke Da's hand."
I blink, and then blink again. I’m certain I've misheard him. "He what?"
Caden sets his sandwich down. "He snapped it."
My mouth falls open. "No,” I gasp.
Caden nods. “Yep, and he dealt with Mam."
The look that crosses Daithí's face makes my stomach drop. "She put her hands on you when you told her about Orla," he tells me.
I go still. "And?"
Daithí's expression turns grim. "He slapped her. Did exactly what she did to you back to her.”
I can't catch my breath. The room starts to spin. All I can think of is that nobody has ever stood up for me, not like that, not ever. And I don't know what to do with the fact that my husband did.
The conversation eventually moves on, at least for everyone else, but my mind is still firmly on the fact that somebody finally chose me. Lorenzo stood up for me and he didn’t even tell me what he did. He kept it quiet and I don’t know why.
The library door opens. I look up to see Lorenzo standing in the doorway.
His suit jacket is gone. The sleeves of his white shirt are rolled to his forearms, exposing tanned skin and the watch he never seems to take off.
The top button at his throat is undone. His dark hair is slightly disheveled, as though he's run a hand through it one too many times.
He’s so damn handsome. It should be illegal to look that damn good.
My gaze lingers, which is a mistake, because the second it does, memories rise up before I can stop them.
Our wedding night, the way his mouth and hands felt as he touched me. The memory of waking up next to him each morning, the feel of the warmth of him beside me. The way I'd felt safe for the first time in longer than I can remember.
Heat floods my cheeks and his eyes meet mine. I watch as he smiles. It’s not a big smile, it’s just enough to let me know he caught me staring.
Bastard.
Daithí turns as he sees where my gaze is. "Lorenzo," Daithí says.
"Daithi," Lorenzo replies with a cool tone as he steps into the room and takes the empty chair beside mine.
I feel Caden watching him and I know that Lorenzo feels it too, because the corner of his mouth twitches. "Do I need to be worried?" Lorenzo asks dryly.
"Depends," Caden replies.
Lorenzo raises a brow. "On?"
"Whether you're planning on upsetting my sister."
The room goes quiet and I close my eyes.
For God's sake.
"Here we go," I hear Valentina mutter.
Lorenzo looks at Caden for a moment before the corner of his mouth lifts. "Not today."
"Good answer," Caden says.
Lorenzo shakes his head as he leans back in his seat and throws his arm over the back of mine, his fingers graze along my shoulder. "How's your father's hand?"
I freeze, my heart stammering and Conn immediately starts coughing into his tea.
Caden blinks, but a slow grin spreads across his face. "Still attached."
"Good."
"Good?"
Lorenzo shrugs. "I wasn't aiming to take it off."
Conn groans, but Valentina looks delighted.
Daithí rubs a hand over his face. "Why am I related to all of you?"
"Bad luck?" Caden offers.
"Definitely bad luck," Conn mutters.
Daithí ignores both of them and gets to his feet. "Right. We've seen Quinn, it’s time to go before I remember I've got responsibilities."
"You've had responsibilities for years," Caden points out.
"And I've hated every second of it."
Despite myself, I laugh.
"We’ll be back,” Caden promises as he pulls me to my feet and into his embrace. “We’re a call away if you need us,” he tells me as he gives a pointed look at Lorenzo.
Daithi hauls me toward him and holds me tight. God, I’m going to miss them but I’m glad they came. It was so good to see them all. Conn, included.
“We’ll talk,” Conn whispers when it’s his turn to say goodbye. “I have so much to say.”
I give him a soft smile. “We have time,” I reply. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
He presses a kiss to my cheek. “You’re amazing,” he says. “Be happy, Quinn.”
"Stay out of trouble," I call to my brothers as they reach the door.
Caden grins at me. "We make no promises."
They leave, and Valentina follows them out moments later, closing the library door behind her. The room suddenly feels quieter.
I lower myself back into my chair and glance across at Lorenzo. He's watching me.
My stomach does that stupid little flutter it's developed around him lately.
"So," I say, wrapping my hands around my tea. "That went better than expected."
One corner of his mouth lifts. "Your brothers don't hate me."