Chapter Twenty-Eight
Shauna and Stephanie rocked in place on the dance floor, completely wrapped up in each other during their first dance as a married couple.
Kieran was happy for them. It was hard to believe how much Shauna had grown from the stubborn little girl who drew all over herself in marker to the woman she was now—still covered in ink and even more tenacious.
And now she had the love and support of her wife and family.
His sister was finally stepping into the kind of life they’d only dreamed of as kids.
His siblings deserved that kind of life. Maybe he did, too.
It seemed his siblings got along well with Lily, and she hadn’t run screaming when he’d told her about his past. Maybe if they could sort out their careers, there’d be room in their lives for each other.
Kieran ducked off the main dance floor and wove his way through the tables. Lily and Danny sat at the family table with Maeve and Saoirse. Danny had an earbud in and his phone in his lap, and Lily was helping Maeve re-pin Saoirse’s curls since several wild wisps had broken free of her ponytail.
“How’s my girl doing?”
“Good!” Both Lily and Saoirse answered at the same time, but only Lily’s cheeks tinged red.
His girl. He could get used to that.
Saoirse squirmed in her seat and pointed to the dance floor. “I wanna dance!” Her bottom lip dipped in a pout.
“You have to wait until the DJ says everyone else can dance, sweetling.” Maeve kissed her daughter’s cheek, keeping her hands on her waist. Probably to stop her from bolting to the dance floor.
Lily pinned the final curl. “All done!” She tickled the little girl, eliciting a happy shriek. “Who do you want to dance with?”
“Kiki!”
Kieran chuckled and held out his hand as the DJ opened the floor. “Come on, Saoirse. You better not step on my feet though.”
With a mischievous grin, Saoirse wiggled her way off the seat in all her fluffy pink dress glory and rushed to his side.
Lily stood from her chair, the slinky fabric of her navy dress pooling around her strappy heels. “I’m just going to step out for some fresh air.” When she glanced at him, her expression softened. “Save a dance for me?”
That softness soothed the raw ache still reverberating in his chest from their morning discussion. “For you, Princess? Anything.”
On the dance floor, just as he expected, Saoirse fitted her little hands into his and climbed right onto the toe boxes of his shiny black loafers.
He never wanted to forget moments like these.
Saoirse grinning up at him while they danced, completely at ease and unafraid of the world around her.
Maeve, safe and happy as she watched them from the table.
Danny, for once, not staring at his phone, a giant smile spreading across his face. Shauna laughing with her—
Wait, what the hell was Danny so excited about?
Kieran’s gaze whipped back to his brother, but Danny was out of his seat and moving.
He checked Danny’s trajectory. He was heading toward Lily, who stood by a garland-lined exit, standing next to an older man in a rumpled button-down shirt and jeans.
The man rolled his shoulders, his dark eyes sweeping over Lily.
Recognition spread through Kieran’s veins like an oil spill.
“Why’d we stop?” Saoirse’s voice rose, and she shifted on his toes as if to inspire movement.
“Let’s go see your mam.” His throat splintered. He lifted his niece into his arms, ignoring her little whine, and sped back to their table.
Maeve lowered her phone. She must’ve been videoing them. “What’s wrong?”
Kieran set Saoirse in his sister’s lap. “Brennan’s here.” The truth of it fractured within him, splitting him between the man he was and the boy he’d been.
Maeve jerked back as if he’d slapped her. Her face twisted into a scowl. “The hell is he here for?” she hissed.
He didn’t have an answer, but he sure as fuck was going to find out.
Danny had made it to Lily and their father.
His back was to Kieran, and over his shoulder, Kieran could see Lily.
Her expression was guarded, and she had a hand on Danny’s shoulder.
As if at the least provocation, she might drag him away.
Brennan’s posture was the most relaxed of the three, and his attention wavered between Danny and Lily, lingering longer on Lily each time.
The ten seconds it took to get to them was an eternity, but it took no time at all for fury to claw its way up his throat and lash out as soon as he was within swinging range of his father.
“What are you doing here?” he growled and dragged Danny behind his back by his arm.
Lily inched closer to his side but not behind him. If he didn’t have to worry about Danny ripping out of his hold, he would have shielded her, too.
Danny shoved against his back. “Kier, let me go. I wanna talk to Dad.”
None of this seemed to bother Brennan. In fact, there was an unmistakable glaze to his father’s eyes. Kieran’s fists balled even as his heart thundered in his chest. The fucker was high.
Brennan’s smirk offered a brief glimpse of his yellowed teeth. “My baby girl invited me, didn’t you know?” The man chuckled, cocking his head to the side. “Found me on MyBook. Paid for my bus ticket to get here.”
No way would Shauna invite this bastard to her special day. But how else would he have found them?
Danny pushed against his back again with a grunt. “If you don’t let me go, I’ll—”
Kieran turned, his skin crawling with warning from turning his back on his father. “Go to our table, right now. You hear me?”
Panting from his fruitless pushing and pulling, his brother aimed a petulant glare at him. “No way. I wanna see Dad.”
Memory flared within him, roiling with need to protect the boy in front of him. He was fourteen again, desperately shushing a tiny Danny whose only words were Mama and Dada. Not that their parents could respond while unconscious or would have cared if the opposite were true.
Kieran shook off the echo of their childhood and bared his teeth. “Go. Sit. Down.” He’d deal with the consequences later. As long as Brennan Sullivan was in the same room as his family, he’d do anything to protect them, even if it meant they’d hate him for it later.
Danny must’ve sensed he meant business, because he turned with a huff and stalked toward Maeve.
When Kieran turned back, he found Brennan’s gaze oozing over Lily as he combed his fingers through his gray-streaked brown hair. She stiffened at his side.
His father smirked. “I was just introducing myself to this beautiful woman. She a friend of yours?” He reached for her hand.
“You keep your fucking paws off her.”
Understanding flickered in Brennan’s eyes. “Ah, that’s my boy. Go for the prettiest girl in the room. It’s the Sullivan way.”
Bile burned in the back of his throat. He was nothing like Brennan.
A hand closed around Kieran’s arm, and Shauna appeared at his other side. “Dad! I didn’t think you’d be able to make it.”
“And miss my favorite girl’s big day?” Brennan groused. He jerked Shauna into a hug. “Never. Now, where’s your lovely wife?”
Every muscle in his body screamed to rip Shauna back and slam Brennan against the wall. Lily’s fingers slipped between his, her hesitant touch short-circuiting the violence in his hands. His fingers spasmed before relaxing around hers.
“It was,” Lily hesitated, “nice meeting you, Mr. Sullivan. But this man owes me a dance.” She tugged at his hand, guiding him away from the edge of the room.
He followed, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Brennan and Shauna—not even when they crossed the room to meet with Stephanie and her family. He didn’t miss the wariness in their expressions as they shook hands and Brennan smothered Stephanie in an embrace.
“Hey,” Lily intoned softly, easing him onto the dance floor. She threaded her fingers through his hair and tilted his head down so she could rest her forehead against his. “You still with me?”
A breath shuddered through his chest, but it did nothing to ease the mounting tension. He struggled to soften his voice. “He shouldn’t be here.”
“But it’s your sister’s day, and she wanted him here.” She smoothed the pads of her thumbs over his temple, with each sweep drawing the dangerous parts of him back into his quivering body.
“Why would she want him here, though?” Shauna hadn’t been immune to Brennan’s abuse. Surely she remembered the bruises and the refrigerator full of beer and little else.
Lily shook her head, the tiny movement drawing him back into her orbit. “Maybe she looked him up while drunk. Maybe it was last minute. Who knows. You’ll have to ask her yourself. Preferably when you’re not on the verge of shoving your fist through his skull.”
Kieran lifted her hands from his face and kissed each of her palms. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this, Lily.
” How was he supposed to breathe knowing that his father had every opportunity to tear down each wall he’d built to protect his family?
What if they welcomed Brennan back into their lives?
After everything they’d gone through together.
She guided one of his hands to the silken blue fabric covering her waist, pulling him from his thoughts, and she maneuvered his other hand into holding hers.
“Then do what you know you’re supposed to do tonight.
” She rested her free hand on his shoulder.
“Dance with me. We’ll figure everything else out after. ”
Kieran slid his hand around the curve of her back, pulled her in until her chest was flush with his and bowed his head, resting his brow against hers.
Amid the chaos of the evening, Lily’s presence in his arms was the only part that made sense.