Chapter Thirty-Two
In which Sloan finds her allies.
Sloan…
“This is very nice of you all.”
Smiling uncomfortably, I take a sip of orange juice. I’m the only one who didn’t want to add champagne to their glass. Just the thought of it made me shudder.
“Well, while we know this wasn’t the plan, you’re family now,” Catriona says. I know by now that she’s the leader of this gang. “As it happens, our clan history is rife with all kinds of not entirely enthusiastic unions, but they’ve all turned out rather well in the end.”
The others look at each other and snicker.
“You have no idea,” Kenna says. “When you’re ready to hear about them, you’ll be laughing your ass off too.” Her accent’s different, Canadian, I think.
“But back to you,” Catriona says, “things are wildly out of control, aye? Ya dinna know what’s going on half the time, ya dinna know who you can trust.”
“You have no idea,” I agree, rubbing my stinging eyes.
“Well, it’s nothing that’ll get sorted in one lunch,” Edin says, “but let’s make a good start, aye? This is why ya have family so ya can burden them with your issues and anxiety.”
That makes me laugh and they all join in. “Oh, we’re not joking,” Kenna says, “soon, you’ll be forced to hear about all of our woes. But today, it’s your turn.”
I look down at the grilled chicken salad the waiter just delivered. It looked simple, like it wouldn’t make me nauseous but this anxiety is worse than my hangover. “You’re all very kind to me, I just don’t…”
“Ya dinna trust us yet,” Catriona says matter of factly.
“No offense.”
“None taken,” she smiles and the other girls nod, too. “It’s weird as shite but eventually you’ll be comfortable with us. In the meantime, let’s do a deep dive into the man who made ya marry him, aye?”
“You know that?” I ask, half startled and half humiliated.
“Well,” drawled Kenna, “if it wasn’t so sketchy, you’d be married at the MacTavish estate. Since this was a sudden thing late last night with no one there but his right-hand man, yeah. We gathered as much.”
Catriona puts the bread plate in front of me. “Maybe start with something simple, it might settle your stomach.”
Meanwhile, Edin signals the waiter to bring another round of mimosas. “Ya want one, new cousin? Hair of the dog and all that?”
I put my hand over my mouth as my eyes water, and she nods sympathetically.
“Let’s start with the basics,” Catriona continues, “I can tell ya unequivocally, now that you’re married to Ethan, no one will touch ya. I dinna care who took the contract from your stepda-”
“How- how do you know?” I feel so exposed.
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “My brother Michael canna keep his mouth shut. I can drag any secret out of him.”
“Aye, that’s right,” the other girl chorus, sipping their drinks, “must be a twin thing.”
“So back to it,” Catriona says, “ya should know that Ethan is your living, breathing bulletproof vest. There’s not a crime syndicate in existence that would go after a MacTavish. Our Uncle Cormac established a very stern precedent about ‘two eyes for an eye’ if one of our own is hurt.”
“Is that why we had two SUVs following us with that giant cluster of bodyguards?” I look pointedly at a table three feet from us where four enormous men are perusing the menu and pretending they aren’t there for us.
Eilidh laughs, “Trust, but verify? Nah, that saying dinna work in this case.”
“Well, because that turns it around and makes it look like they dinna trust us,” Elin says seriously, “so no.”
“Well, I’m not sure Da does trust us,” Eilidh is still trying to make her point.
“Maybe don’t show up on campus skinny-dipping in the fountain in front of the President’s building?” Kenna suggests, signaling for another mimosa.
“That was one time!” Eilidh says crossly.
“Rein it in ladies, this is Sloan’s turn,” Catriona says. “Everyone, tell her somethin’ about Ethan.”
“He’s got a strong game with the ladies,” Elin offers, before looking appalled. “Ah, shite. Wrong compliment for the new missus. He’s very kind to children. The littles climb all over him at family dinners.”
“Unlike Cat’s brother Michael , Ethan will come to pick ya up if you’re in a spot of trouble and fix it without yelling at ya,” Eilidh says.
Kenna pats my hand. “You likely know this, but the man is insanely strong without being a gym rat and hanging out by the weights all the time. I hate those sort, flexing and taking selfies in the mirror-”
“Oh, yeah,” Elin chimes in, “I canna stand those types.”
Catriona deftly drags the conversation back to me. “Here’s the most important thing we can tell ya. You’ve heard some of the horror stories about him, I can tell.”
“It’s hard to avoid them,” I mumble, “they usually include a lot of blood and body parts.”
“Aye, he does tend to make an example of the arseholes,” she agrees, “but believe me. They deserve it. That’s why he brought ya here and not to that skobie of a stepdad.”
“What’s a skobie?” I ask.
“A scumbag,” Catriona says. “Ethan would never follow through with a kill order on an innocent. I know ya dinna feel like you can trust him, but I’ll tell ya, when I brought those clothes over when ya were sick, he looked mighty rough. I dinna think he slept a minute for four days. He was that worried.”
Thinking back, I remember Ethan looking rumpled and unshaven with bags under his eyes.
“He cares about ya. If the clan just wanted to protect ya, they’d put ya up in a safe house until this mess got cleared up. He married ya because he cares,” Catriona says. “And if he’s promised ya something, I am telling ya he will follow through. Ethan is a man of honor.”
“All the MacTavish men are,” adds Kenna. “That doesn’t mean they’re not complete assholes sometimes, but you can count on them.” She polishes off her drink.
They order another round of mimosas and the conversation turns to giving me an extremely detailed rundown of the aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins and who can’t hold their drink and who’ll steal your boyfriend if they have a chance. After another hour, I’m laughing uncontrollably at a holiday mishap involving a blizzard, too much rum, and some random guy named Jamal.
“Please,” I groan, “this is starting to hurt.”
“Shite! I forgot about your ribs.” Catriona does look sincerely upset and signals for the check. “Dinna worry, there’s so much dirt to share, we have plenty of time to let ya heal.”
"You know what's funny?" I look down at my wedding ring, laughing. "My scumbag stepfather was always telling me that he was making an 'advantageous match' for me, like it's the sixteenth century or something." The girls look at each other but keep listening. "Now that I'm married... I'm just wondering if it's possible for him to keel over just from thwarted rage."
"Hear hear!" Catriona calls, "to imminent death for those who really deserve it!" They all toast me, cheering happily.
The ever-present knot in my chest has loosened and I feel like I can finally take a deep breath. It’s not like I trust these girls yet, but they’ve taken me in without any hesitation, and their praise of Ethan feels very sincere. In this moment, listening to them laugh and tease each other, it feels like slipping into a warm bath, or licking a big spoonful of cookie dough left in the mixing bowl, or the feel of the fire warming cold feet.
Comforting.
One of the bodyguards finally rises with an air of utter resignation. “Ladies, there are requests for your safe return from many different sources. Can we?”
He and Catriona lock eyes. He’s sturdy and handsome with short blonde hair, and I can smell the pheromones from here. Those two have things to discuss.
We ramble out of the restaurant, my to-go box filled with something called a Tunnocks Teacake. I’d taken one bite of the chocolate, biscuit, and marshmallow bliss and scooped them all off the table. I may not be able to eat real food when I’m hungover, but there’s never a bad time for sweets.
The exhausted-looking bodyguards pack us all back into the SUVs and we head back to Ethan’s. Catriona nudges me. “I have a feeling you’re gonna fit right in.”
When was the last time I felt like I belonged somewhere? My memory brings up the New Year's Eve crash with vicious, vivid recall and I push it away. Not today. Today, I get to be happy.