Chapter 3 #3
My eyes drifted back to Atlas, who stood to his full height, holding a pint glass of cider in one hand with the other straight up in the air, and was rolling his hips and shoulders like some kind of big, hairy assed biker version of Barry White.
His shirt was long gone (God only knew where), and he was down to just his cut with his dress pants and biker boots.
The fucker was surrounded by Sophie, Kennedy, Cara, and Maeve (still in her wedding dress), who all gyrated on him like he was some kind of hip-hop god and they were his video bitches, while they giggled and whooped it up.
A hand rested on my shoulder, and Callum muttered, “Think I’ve lost my wife to the Coke Can over there.”
My face scrunched, and I twisted my neck to look at him. “The what?”
“Nothin’.” My brother jerked his chin toward the dance floor. “Looks like Maeve’s gonna pass out the second I put her to bed. So much for our wedding night. Just as well I took her to the barn earlier, lifted the back of her dress, and slid my di—”
“TMI,” I barked, lifting my hand. “I get the gist, bro.”
Callum smirked, his stare sliding right, then back to me. “What’s goin’ on with you and Rosie?”
I shrugged casually. “Not as much as I want, but I intend to change that.”
His eyes drifted again and rested on her. “She’s a fine-looking woman.”
I grinned. “Yep.”
“Always thought she was your type.”
My grin widened. “Yep.”
His eyes searched my face, and he cocked an eyebrow before he declared, “You like her.”
My teeth flashed.
“If you get in there, Ma’s gonna go to Church and spend an entire day sending up prayers of thanks to sweet Mary, mother of Jesus, and all the angels. This is gonna send her loo-lah.”
I rolled my eyes. “She needn’t bother. I’m probably gonna fuck it up.”
“You sound like I used to,” he said thoughtfully. “Why so pessimistic?”
“Well, you did fuck it up,” I reminded him.
“And I’m thirty-five, never had a girlfriend, and I’ve lived my life sticking to my three-fuck rule.
” I leveled him with a glare. “Thanks for telling the Speed Demon boys about that, by the way. It went a long way in helping Atlas decide he wanted me nowhere near his beloved sister. If it wasn’t for Sophie using sex as a weapon, he never would have given me the green light. ”
He winced slightly. “Sorry, bro. Told Bowie a while back about it. Never thought you’d be going after one of their women, though.”
I rolled my eyes exasperatedly. “S’okay. Just keep your mouth zipped in the future, or I’ll start telling Maeve some stories.”
“There's nothing else I can do that can piss her off, Donny. She knows the worst of me, and she still agreed to let me slide a ring on her finger... again.”
“True,” I answered. My hand went to my brother’s shoulder, and I squeezed. “Congratulations. You got your bar and, more importantly, your girl. Couldn’t be happier for you, Callum.”
“Don’t fuckin’ set me off,” he rasped. “Been bawling all day. Missed Da somethin’ terrible and it’s got to me. Never been happier, Donovan. Maeve brings me so much joy that I can’t put it into words, but it’s bittersweet, ya know?”
The burn hit the back of my throat, and I croaked, “Yeah. I know.” I cleared the emotion from my throat and asked, “You all ready for the honeymoon?”
“Yep. All packed. Luggage is here. Gotta car coming for us in about ten minutes, which will take us to the airport hotel, then we fly to JFK at eleven A.M. before catching our flight to Belfast.” His expression took on a serious look.
“You sure you’re gonna be okay looking after the bar and the gym? ”
I waved him off. “I’ll be fine. Adam’s trained to manage, so if I need a few hours off to take Rosie out, I can rely on him. The staff know their jobs so well that they don’t even need me. I’m just there to keep an eye on things and jump in if they need extra help or in case someone gets sick.”
“They’ll be fine,” he agreed. “We’ve gotta good team.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We have.”
“So, unless disaster strikes, we’re good.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You’re a lucky bastard. Wish I was jetting off to Ireland for a month.”
His eyes drifted in Rosie’s direction. “Oh, I dunno. I think you’re gonna be fine here.
In fact, I’m thinking there’s nowhere else you should be right now.
” His hand squeezed my shoulder. “Give it a chance and get to know her. I like Rosie, and I think you two would be well suited. God knows she ain’t the type to put up with your bullshit. ”
My gaze rested on Rosie, who still stood with Layla but was talking animatedly to Lexi Meadows with her arm around Gabby. They were laughing at something, and her carefree expression made me smile, as if her happiness was infectious.
“Jesus,” Cal breathed. “You really like her.”
I nodded slowly because I was starting to realize he wasn’t wrong.
Lexi looked over at us, noticed Callum, and tapped her watch pointedly.
His hand dropped from my shoulder. “Looks like it’s time to go grab my little Pussycat Doll off the dance floor and get her the fuck outta here. Belfast awaits.”
I clapped his back. “Happy honeymoon, brother. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Well, that opens up the playing field,” he muttered under his breath.
I grinned, my eyes locking with Cal’s. “Have a great time and look after yourselves.”
“I will. And thanks for being my best man. Gotta admit, you did okay. Even the speech went down well. Maeve loved it.”
I laughed. “In her words, I was fuckin’ awesome.”
He sighed. “Yeah. You did good, Donovan. It’s been the best day of my life; glad you were such a big part of it.” He glanced at the dance floor where the girls and Atlas were doing the Cha Cha Slide alongside John Stone, Kady, and Sunny. “Can you keep a secret?”
My neck twisted toward him. “If it’s important.”
His eyes welled up. “Maeve’s pregnant. I’m gonna be a dad.”
All the air left my lungs, and I felt my eyes mist over too. “Jesus, bro. That’s amazing.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
“Is she okay to fly?” I asked.
He jerked another nod. “The OB-GYN says it’s fine.”
“Congratulations, Cal,” I croaked. “I’m fucking overjoyed for you.”
“Don’t tell Ma yet. She’s already gatecrashing our honeymoon. If she finds out about the baby, she won’t wait the two weeks before she flies out to meet us. We’ll get on the flight, and she’ll be there already, sitting on the seat between us with a glass of fucking celebratory champagne.”
I made a zip gesture across my mouth. “Won’t say a word.”
“Thanks.” Callum jerked his thumb toward the dance floor. “Gonna go sweep my wife off her feet. See you in a month.” He leaned in for a man hug then pulled back and headed toward his wife.
My throat heated because I couldn’t help thinking that it seemed like the end of an era.
Callum had been married for six months already, but it had been a long and drama-filled road for him and Maeve to get to a place where they were solid.
Now they were married (again) and he’d already managed to knock her up.
It seemed like a lot of change to deal with in a short space of time.
Just seven months ago, Da was still with us, and my brothers and I were all enjoying life as single men.
Times had certainly changed.
I felt a presence beside me, and a hand slipped into mine just as the scent of expensive, musky perfume wafted under my nose.
“You hanging in there?” Rosie asked.
My chest warmed at the concern in her tone. “I’m just thinking how much everything’s changed in the last six months, and I dunno how I’m meant to feel about it,” I admitted. “It’s overwhelming.”
She burrowed into my side and slipped her arm around my waist. “It’s life, honey. We can plod along for years without much changing, then suddenly, one big, profound thing happens, and it has a domino effect. Before you know it, everything seems upside down.”
I moved my arm across Rosie’s shoulders and pulled her in close. “How can I get everything the right way up again?”
“You don’t. You just roll with it and try to hold on to what’s real. That way, when the world tilts back to its rightful place, you tilt with it, no worse for wear.”
I looked down into her beautiful eyes and her pretty, exotic face, and smiled. “Are you real?”
She shot me a sexy little wink. “I’ll always be real with you, O’Shea.”
A chuckle escaped me. “Thank fuck.”
She jerked her chin toward DJ and Gabby, who were hugging Atlas and Sophie on the dance floor, obviously saying their goodbyes. “Things are wrapping up. I’m gonna call a cab and get the kids home. It’s been a long day for us all.”
“You’re not calling a cab, Posy,” I stated, “I’ll take you.”
Her head tilted to one side. “You’re sure?”
Our eyes locked, and I murmured, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure about anything.”
She knew I wasn’t talking about the ride because her lips parted slightly at my words, and then she smiled, showing her pretty white teeth. “Thank you for everything you’ve done today. Though FYI, I could’ve done without the bathroom incident.”
I deadpanned. “Tell me about it. My mam will be dining out on that tale for weeks.”
She laughed softly before murmuring, “Gonna say my goodbyes and round up the kids. Give me five.”
She pulled out of my arms and made for the dance floor, throwing a dazzling smile back at me over her shoulder. My eyes swept the length of her, but that time, it wasn’t her incredible ass that took up all my attention. Instead, my mind filled with everything she was on the inside.
My chest contracted with the same tangible feeling as it did earlier, and that was when it hit me like a storm surge.
I’d only gone and caught feels for a woman.
God help me.
And more to the point, God help her.