“Yes. I should be proud, shouldn’t I? She doesn’t want or need my money.”
Smiling, I looked up to the sky. “Feminist then.”
“God forbid.” He spat over the cliff’s edge and I simply laughed, opening my arms and allowing the wind to blow past me again.
For miles, all I could smell was fresh grass and seawater. It made me want to fly…it was like I was flying.
“Careful, ma’am,” he whispered, grabbing onto my waist.
“Shh, Jinx,” I muttered, pushing his hands away. “I’m on top of the world.”
It was peaceful on the edge. My life was even more chaotic than I had ever imagined.
“Wife.”
And just like that, my peace was gone.
Turning, there stood my husband, in nothing but jeans and a white button down shirt. The wind blew through his hair, pushing it back, making his eyes look glazed over as he glared at Jinx.
“Go help Fedel. Now.” He snapped at him, nostrils flaring.
Jinx looked to me, eyebrow raised, before walking off toward the house. Liam watched him like a lion stalking its prey, cautious of any sudden movements. It wasn’t until Jinx was far out of earshot that he gave me his attention again.
“Have you slept with him?” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Seriously? He’s jealous? “I haven’t slept with him since you entered my life, husband.”
Brushing the side of my cheek, he hovered over my lips, stealing the air from the small bubble surrounding us. “That’s not an answer, wife.”
“It is an answer. Just not the one you want to hear,” I said before closing the gap between our lips. He pulled me closer to him, grabbing my ass and hair.
“You…”
“Let it go. Liam. My past is my past. Yours is yours. You don’t see me giving all the women you’ve slept with the evil eye.” If I did, my face would be stuck in a permanent scowl.
“With the exception of Natasha.”
“That wasn’t my fault, she came for seconds.”
“I don’t want you to be alone with him.”
And we were back on Jinx.
“Too bad,” I replied, breaking free of his arms and walking towards the house.
“I’m serious, Melody,” he hollered. He was just going to have to get over it. I could feel him stomping through the grass behind me. I could always feel him, even when I didn’t want to. The men of my past were none of his concern. He knew damn well I wasn’t a virgin when I met him. The stupid double-standard-having misogynistic asshole.
“Trouble in paradise?” Declan asked innocently, leaning on the frame of the cabin door, wiping his hands with an old rag.
“You call this paradise?” I asked, glancing around the home that had once belonged to Shamus. It was nothing but a three bedroom stone cabin parked on top of a grass cliff with a few sheep and chickens. I now knew why Coraline hated it here and wanted the castle. It wasn’t by any means glamorous; it was like stepping back into the dark ages, or becoming Amish.
All the furniture was handcrafted and the only light came from candles. This morning, Evelyn had milked a sheep, and I half expected Sedric to go hunting with some form of Irish militia. It was funny, you could always spot a cop or a mobster by where they chose to live. Shamus made sure he could see the town from his front door and nothing but open sky at his back.
“Sometimes, getting away from the city is paradise,” Declan whispered, taking a deep breath.
“For the weak maybe.” For those like me, the cities were paradise. The only place you could find heaven and hell on the same block.
He shook his head, gazing at his brother. “What have you done to him now?”
“Nothing, but remind him what decade we’re from.”
“Yes, the one where women fuck their employees and wonder why they don’t get any fucking respect,” Liam snapped, brushing past his cousin to get inside.
Declan glanced at me before walking away quickly. At least one of them was smart.
Deep breaths, Mel.
“What the fuck is your problem, Liam!” I snapped, following him.
“What the fuck is my problem?” he roared from the kitchen table. “I come outside to find my wife, MINE, laughing and smiling with another man like an airheaded teenage girl! Not your fake smiles either, your real ones. The ones you give me and me alone, not some homeless prick you hired years ago! It was disgusting—”
I didn’t even try and stop myself. Instead, my fist connected with his nose and I reveled in the pop that sounded after.
“You are walking a fine line!” I screamed, as he held his nose, the blood dripping down his hand. “Nothing you say, and no matter how loud you say it, will change my past, nor do I want it to. Did I sleep with Jinx? Yes. Was in love with him? Did I draw hearts around our names and daydream about marrying him? No. It was sex. It was years ago.”
“Have you slept with all of them?” he asked, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve.
“Fuck you,” I hissed as someone knocked. “Go away!”
“Come in!” Liam countered.
We glared at each other before Fedel opened the door.
“Have you ever fucked my wife?” Liam asked.
“Don’t answer that and get OUT!”
“STAY!”
“I swear to God Almighty, Fedel, I will cut you up and feed you to the damn chickens if you answer that question!”
He could only stare wide-eyed between us before turning to Liam. “We found the Briars, they’re in the foothills just north of here. Monte went ahead to make sure they didn’t try to flee.”
With that, he left as quickly as possible, leaving only silence between us.
“You want me to be ashamed of myself? You want me to say I’m sorry? No. I won’t, because then I would be lying to you.”
“If you will excuse me, wife, I have to go find out about my mistress, at least with her I can expect to be screwed over,” he said before leaving. “And I’m taking Jinx with me!”
Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. “Aren’t I supposed to be the hormonal one?”
“Don’t mind him,” Sedric laughed, walking down the stairs with Evelyn at his side. “He’s cursed with the Callahan jealousy.”
“First, the what?” I asked. “And second, where are you both going?” It was the middle of the afternoon and they were both dressed as though they were going to see the queen.
“We’re going to the festival tonight in town and the curse is more of an excuse Sedric uses to justify why he always lost his mind when another man touched me when I was pregnant.” Evelyn laughed, as she slipped her ruby earrings into their place.
“I did not lose my mind,” he huffed, trying to fix his bow tie, “I expressed my displeasure with those who came too close.”
“You almost broke the hand of a host who took my coat!” Evelyn chuckled.
“The only reason why a man would take that long to help you out of your coat is if he had a shoulder fetish.”
“I was seven months pregnant, Sedric, it took him so long because I could barely move.”
Shaking my head, I took a seat at the table. “I’m sorry I asked.”