Chapter 21 Mia
twenty-one
Mia
"Are you ready?" Kieran asks me, holding his hand out.
I look one last time in the mirror, making sure that my clothes fit okay.
Imogen had my clothes from the first night I showed up, cleaned.
They’re nothing special, just a pair of jeans with my favorite graphic tee that says I would rather be reading.
Refusing to wear Kieran’s clothes to breakfast or shopping with his mother, I threw them on.
"You look amazing. Come on," he encourages.
I look over at him and can see the appreciation in his eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, I take the chance and place my hand in his. Before I can blink, we're walking down the stairs. You can hear the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen along with voices talking to one another.
Kieran is still pulling me along when we come face to face with everyone, every single eye on me.
I glance around the room to see a man who looks similar to Kieran but older, a woman with blonde hair that looks like it’s never been out of place, and lastly, a younger man who has dark brown hair.
All of them, sitting on one side of the table, staring at us.
My lungs seize up in my chest and I feel like I can't breathe. Kieran squeezes my hand like he knows I need him. "Have a seat, Mia."
Still trying to figure out how to breathe normally, I listen to Kieran and sit down. Everyone begins talking again but it all just sounds like buzzing in my ears.
Kieran sits down next to me, leaning his arm on the back of my chair before leaning in to whisper, "Breathe in." I follow suit. "Breathe out." I follow his direction again. He continues a few times before he pulls my face to his. "Feel better?"
"Yes," I breathe out. "But now I feel really embarrassed."
"You don't need to be embarrassed, mo bhanphrionsa," he tells me before pulling away. "Let me introduce you to my family."
Pointing to the man who looks like him, he says, "This is my Da, Brian."
"Nice to meet you," Brian says, giving me a soft smile that instantly puts me at ease.
Kieran then moves to the woman sitting next to Brian. " This is my Ma, Maeve."
"Hello, darling. I'm excited to go shopping with you today.
But I must say I do love your shirt," she says, while placing her hand on top of mine. Her voice is so calm, her eyes smiling at me, that makes any nerves I had swirling around in my stomach, disappear. I don’t remember a time when my own mother was able to put me at ease with just a simple touch.
"Thank you," I say to both of them.
"Lastly, this is my best friend and right-hand man, Henry," he says, pointing to the man at the end of the table.
I recognize him as being the one who was outside talking with Kieran. That's when everything clicks. When he was waiting outside, he must’ve had to tell him something to do with the business. The only thing I can’t figure out is why Kieran was so mad about him seeing me in the ripped boxers.
Henry smiles at me. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. O'Sullivan."
His response pulls a laugh out of me. "You don't need to call me that. Mia is just fine."
"No. I like Mrs. O'Sullivan," Kieran says, making me turn to him.
"You’re married?" Kieran's mom interrupts us.
I just stare at his parents like a deer caught in headlights, because how the fuck did my so-called-husband not tell his parents we were married, before they came over for breakfast.
"I thought we were just meeting your girlfriend," his dad replies, unnaturally calm.
Kieran's mother is quiet, just sitting there as if she is waiting for a bomb to go off, leaving me a little confused as to why everyone is so tense.
I look over toward Kieran to see if he can give me any answers, but when I do, I'm even more confused. He is staring into space with his jaw clenched, as if he’s trying to keep his anger at bay.
What the hell?
That's when Kieran stands up. Everything around us goes eerily still as he grits out, "Did you not tell me that I could marry whomever I wanted?"
That's when my head swings over to where Brian is sitting, his hands are on the table as before, the only difference is that now, they are clenched. "I did. I thought you might give us the courtesy of being able to watch our eldest son get married. Or at least notify us.
"I didn't think it mattered," Kieran replies, sitting back down in his chair, allowing some of the tension to leave the room.
Kieran's mother places her forearms on the table leaning forward, her tone laced with concern. “Son, why would you think we wouldn't want to be at your wedding."
Kieran lets out a sigh. "Because all I've heard is how I need to get married. Nothing about love. Nothing about wanting me to be happy, just married. So, that's what I did. I got married, but I made sure that it would be to someone I love."
My heart skips a beat when he mentions loving someone. Does Kieran love me? Is that what he’s trying to say? Better yet is Kieran someone I could love? Or am I already falling in love with him? I'm not even sure if I know what love is.
"You should've told us—" Brian begins but Maeve holds her hand up, cutting him off by staring at him, her eyes filled with anger.
The look she's giving him makes me shiver.
Fuck, maybe she's the scary one. They have a stare off, obviously, having some kind of conversation that neither of us are privy to.
After a few beats, Brian lets out a sigh then his gaze drops down to his hand.
Maeve turns back toward Kieran, placing her hand on top of his.
My heart drops when her eyes become glossy, and she mutters in a solemn tone.
"We always want you to be happy. I’m sorry that you felt like we wouldn't want to be at your wedding.
Maybe we can have a family get together to celebrate?
" She pauses, her gaze moving to me, before continuing, "I'm glad you’re in love. "
"Thanks, Ma," Kieran replies, but I can tell it's an automatic response.
That's when I step in. "We would love to have a celebration, Maeve."
A smile spreads across her face, her eyes misty once again as she mutters, "Thank you, Mia."
The room goes silent, nobody is sure what to say next when Henry stands up from the table, announcing, "I'm going to help Imogen bring in the breakfast dishes."
Thankfully, his announcement releases more of the tension in the room, and I feel my shoulders relax. Seconds later, Henry is walking in with a dish in each hand, and a petite woman, whom I assume is Imogen, following.
They place the dishes on the table, and I take in a big sniff. "Mmm...that smells so good. Thank you, Imogen."
Imogen looks over at me with a soft smile, replying, "Thank you," then she turns and heads back to the kitchen.
Kieran picks up the plate that is in front of me and starts piling food onto it. My eyes go wide when I see the amount, and that he's still trying to put more food on my plate. Placing my hand on his arm, he looks over at me. "I think that's enough."
"Sure?" he asks me.
"Yeah," I say as I grab the plate from him, putting it down on the table.
This time I reach out and grab a plate for him and start piling food on top of it. I keep piling but Kieran never says anything. He just watches me with his signature smirk, and I lift one of my brows challenging him. But he just lets me go. Finally, I stop and just place it down in front of him.
"Thank you, wife. I love it when you take care of me," he says softly, then places a kiss on my cheek, before picking up his fork and diving in.
I glance around the table, noticing that everyone is now eating, not paying attention to us, which gives me the confidence to eat. When I take my first bite, I can't help but groan because the food tastes better than it smelt.
We all eat in silence when Maeve pipes up, "Mia, where do you want to go shopping?"
I finish eating the bite in my mouth before answering, "Uh...I'm not sure of any places around here."
"I was thinking you could take her to a few places that you go to," Kieran interrupts.
Maeve lets out a giggle, though, shaking her head. "I'll text Suri. She can tell me where to go for young girls."
I watch as she pulls out her phone, making me wonder. "Who is Suri?"
Kieran replies first, glaring at everyone at the table before responding, "Suri is my ex-fiancé, but she is now engaged to my brother, Brendan. They wanted to wait until her business took off before getting married.”
"You have a brother?"
"Yes, he's two years younger than me. He used to be our enforcer, but left the family business so he could marry her."
Within the last hour I've been given so much information, I feel like my head is spinning. Kieran grabs the sides of my face. "Listen, Mia. You are my only one, my wife. I just need you to go with my mom and get some clothes. My treat."
"Okay," I say, because even though Kieran has been keeping things from me, he's also the man who has never made me feel safer.
Maeve stands up with a huge smile, holding her phone up. "Suri just texted a few places. Let's go. I can't wait to get to know you, Mia."