“Since we were kids. I was in the same class as Declan. My best friend and him were sweethearts.” Her smile was pained, and I read into it easily.
“You loved him too?”
“I did. It was stupid. Just a crush, but I never could let go of it.”
“Why was he so mean to you?”
“That’s a long story.” She blew out a breath. “I just wanted to tell you that Eoghan’s a good man. Even if…”
“Even if, what?”
“He looks a lot harder than he used to be, but people don’t change that much.” Her mouth tightened, and I got the feeling she was talking more about Declan than she was Eoghan. She seemed to shake off her thoughts by running a hand through her hair. “I need to make a call. Is there somewhere I can talk privately?”
“Of course. There’s a bedroom behind the second door in the hall.”
She smiled her thanks at me before she followed my directions.
Turning my focus to the others, I stepped over to Amaryllis, and asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”
A laugh escaped her, and I wasn’t surprised it sounded a little crazed. “Do you have a few gallons of tequila that will make this night a blur?”
“I think we might,” I muttered, thinking about the liquor cupboard in the kitchen.
“I wouldn’t bother,” Finn stated calmly. “This won’t take long.”
There was tension in his shoulders from earlier, and I got that his pride was pricked, but he really did have different priorities now.
In my world, it didn’t matter if a man had a newborn and was about to go into danger. But this world was different.
I knew it.
From the bottom to the top of the ladder, I knew the Five Points were family oriented.
I stared at Aoife, who was gnawing on her bottom lip as she watched her husband, whose back was to us, his gaze out on the city ahead.
She’d taken a seat in the armchair and was slumped into it as Jacob continued feeding.
I eyed the sight with soft eyes, never having seen it before. That kind of thing went down behind closed doors, but I’d seen her do it at Lena’s, albeit, that had been in the kitchen when it was just the women around.
It was in my nature to make things better, to soften things, even if, of late, I’d been a tad more aggressive than usual, and the urge to go over to Finn and try to smooth things over was fierce. But I also knew that where a man and his pride were concerned, nothing would soothe it.
Except maybe a blowjob.
And I wasn’t that willing to make peace in my living room, I thought with an inner laugh.
Maybe it was stupid, but I moved over to Aoife, and said, “We have another bedroom.”
Her eyes flared as she got my meaning before she snorted out a laugh. “I don’t think he’s in the mood.”
“Aren’t men always?” I asked, with a frown.
She tilted her head to the side. “No.”
I thought about all the things I’d seen as a kid, on nights such as this…how Mama had dragged Papa away, and we knew not to disturb them.
Tugging at my bottom lip, I just shrugged. “The offer is there.”
“Thank you.” She grabbed my hand. “Do you have decaf coffee?”