Chapter 36
thirty-six
MAGS
Work had gone well today. The sunshine had been weak most of the afternoon, but whatever golden tendrils there were managed to heat the glass of her workshop and shine on the intricate pattern she’d spent several uninterrupted hours working on.
Sitting back in her worn-out office chair, Mags sighed with satisfaction. This was one of her largest pieces, and she hoped to deliver it to her client before the Chamber of Commerce party next week.
She’d already given Eze his mother’s fan, which he planned on flying home in a few weeks to deliver personally on her birthday.
She’d gotten a few orders for embroidered cuffs thanks to Jina’s artist girlfriend, Anna. Mags’ heart thumped, barely able to contain her happiness.
What reasons were there not to be pleased?
Her embroidery business might actually have a chance at something great. Jonathan O’Faolain was her boyfriend, and most importantly, her mother was cancer-free and coming home.
“She better stay that way,” she threatened the empty room. Her mom’s cancer had been a weight dragging her soul down for months, and now that it was over, hopefully for good, she felt as light as the clouds skittering in the breeze outside her window.
Nasir should be picking her up any minute to head back to Eze’s, where her bags were already packed for Scotland. Jonathan was picking her up. However, they weren’t going straight to the airport.
“God,” Mags moaned and rubbed her eyes. Before they headed to the airport, Jonathan had told her only that morning that his family hoped they could stop by the O’Faolain building and have a drink.
The thing was, she shouldn’t be nervous.
She’d known his family her whole life. One of her best friends was an O’Faolain for heaven’s sake.
She’d set aside her worries about whether they would accept her dating Jonathan so that she could work, but now that her hands were at ease, her nerves were back.
Her phone pinged.
Jonathan: Stop worrying.
She grinned and shook her head. He made her ridiculously happy, and she’d come to realize that they never would have made it had they gotten together when they were younger.
They both needed the time to grow up, and even though she would never admit it to him, he needed to date all those women, and she’d needed Rory.
Otherwise, how would they have ever discovered that nothing was better than what they had together?
Mags: Easy for you to say. They’re your family.
Jonathan: They loved you before you were mine.
Her body warmed with his words. They loved you before you were mine. God, but she loved being his.
Her phone pinged again. Nasir was outside waiting to get her safely home. She messaged Jonathan back while she threw all of her hundreds of bits and bobs into her giant tote.
Mags: You’re mine now too. Are you nervous about seeing my family?
Jonathan: Point taken. I’m picking you up early. I miss you. Get your ass home so I can make out with you in the back of the car.
Mags: Yes, sir – except for the making out part. I WILL NOT show up at your parents’ house with swollen lips.
Jonathan: We’ll see.
She carried that warmth with her all the way back to Eze’s flat—through the quiet ride, through her shower, through the simple act of changing clothes. It lingered, steady and grounding, even now as she wrapped her arms around her roomie in the foyer.
“I’ll be back in a few days. I’ll miss you,” she said, squeezing him tight. Somewhere along the way, Eze had stopped being just a friend and become something essential—someone she relied on without even thinking about it.
He only grunted in response, not one who was comfortable with an overshare of emotion and instead gave her a solid thump on the back.
Mags pulled away with a grin. “Do something for me?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Of course,” he growled, and she had to bite back a smile. He had a soft spot for her, no matter how much he pretended otherwise.
“Forgive Nasir.” She lifted a hand before he could interrupt. “No—listen. He messed up, yeah. But so did you. You never said how you felt.”
His expression darkened, but he didn’t argue.
“Say it now,” she pressed gently. “While I’m gone. Tonight.”
She leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before he could deflect again. Then she grabbed her weekend bag, flashing him one last look.
“Think about it,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed out, leaving him standing there—brooding, stubborn, and, hopefully, considering every word.
Jonathan was already waiting in the lobby when she arrived. The second he saw her, he stepped forward, taking her bag without hesitation and sliding the tote from her shoulder onto his with a quiet grunt that earned him a sheepish smile.
He followed her into the Uber, giving the driver the address before the door had even fully shut.
“I missed you today,” he admitted, his voice softer now as he pulled her into his side.
The presence of the driver didn’t seem to register for Jonathan as his hand slipped into her hair, fingers threading through the loose waves as he tilted her face toward his and kissed her, like he’d been dying to taste her all day.
Stopping him wasn’t really an option.
Not when he touched her like that. Not when her body answered so easily, leaning into him, wanting him just as much. It was a losing battle, and she knew it.
Still, she managed—barely—to pull back, breath uneven, lips tingling.
“Jon,” she murmured, her voice a little breathless. “You’ve destroyed my lip gloss.”
He looked entirely unapologetic.
Shaking her head, she reached for her bag, rummaging through it in a hurry. If she was about to meet his family, she needed to look like she hadn’t just been thoroughly kissed in the back of a car.
“Mags,” he growled, placing a firm hand on her thigh and squeezing. “You drive me crazy.”
“Well, think of other things. They’re your family, so you don’t need to worry about first impressions, and thank God,” she shot her boyfriend a sharp look, “but I still need to, and you will not lead me astray again tonight. Until we’re alone again, that is,” she grinned as she touched up her lips.
Jonathan snorted. “My family knows how much you mean to me. You have nothing to worry about.”
Mags wondered how much she meant to him. They’d never said the words, though, if his dick could speak, it would surely say the L word, she thought with a sniff of irritation.
He clasped the hand not holding the lip glass and said, “After this trip, I would like to discuss our future.”
Inside, she was crowing in delight, but instead of letting him know how badly she craved discussing what he saw for them, she teased, “I’ll pencil you in.”
He didn’t laugh, only took her chin, moving her head until she was staring into his eyes. “Pencil me in for getting you naked. Often. Make a notation that I’ll use every part of my body to make every part of yours know how important our meetings are.”
Mags felt her body shiver, and without consciously telling her hand to move, she found it running up his thigh, needing to feel his…
“We’ve reached your destination,” the driver announced. “And not a moment too soon,” the woman added, chuckling, which had Mags’ cheeks burning and Jonathan laughing.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said as he opened things up.
“No. Thank you,” she said, still laughing.
Mags couldn’t stay embarrassed. They’d brought that on themselves, after all. She and Jonathan laughed all the way to the front door of his family’s four-story monster of a home. The massive front door soon loomed before them, instantly filling her with nerves again.
She whispered an “Oh God” as Jonathan opened things up. Christ have mercy. His mom and two sisters were in the front to greet them, with his father, Patrick, and his brother, Bran, standing behind the sisters.
River cried, “Mags!” before pulling her into a hug and away from Jonathan’s side and straight into a Byrne sister huddle. She caught Jonathan’s eye over his mom’s shoulder. His shrug had her head shaking.
River led her over to a table set up with finger foods and pitchers of water and tea. “I’m so glad you two could stop by before you go home.”
“We were all relieved to hear that your mother beat cancer a second time,” Raven said, patting Mag’s hand.
“I hope she expects an ass-chewing from her brother, Thomas, Cat, and Jo,” Rowan huffed. “I know she had to have had her reasons, but…well, I would have wanted to know.”
River sighed and leaned back in her chair, sipping a lemon water on ice. “We all love your mom, Margaret. We would have helped in any way…in every way.”
“Perhaps that’s why she didn’t tell, Riv. She wanted to do it alone. With Charles, of course,” Raven said thoughtfully.
Rowan sat forward and captured Mags’ attention. “Aileen had her reasons, and we all respect that. You, on the other hand, had no reason to leave the townhouse. You should have come to one of us while your parents were away. You should have never let finances come between our love and care for you.
“Hugh would have been devastated to find out that you didn’t feel as though you could stay outside of being a student.”
As soon as Rowan spoke Hugh’s name, her eyes became glassy, and then, like dominoes, River and Raven were blinking rapidly. Mags felt her own eyes become misty and desperately hoped to salvage the situation.
“He would have blistered my ears before personally moving my things back into the townhouse, and then he would have called every man in my family.
“Bébhinn is exactly like her father, and it was because of that that I kept things from her. I admit, I panicked and made mistakes, but I was trying to do my best by my parents, and I didn’t want to worry my friends.
“You three will be happy to know that I’ve since seen the error of my ways. I won’t keep secrets from my friends again.” Mags was happy to see that the sad moment had passed and the sisters were smiling again.