She hummed. “These men... the Irish... they’re nothing like the Russians, are they?”
“No,” I agreed, “but maybe we just know the wrong ones.”
“Perhaps,” she muttered doubtfully, and I couldn’t blame her.
I thought about our poor baby sister, promised to Maxim, my future freedom leveraged against a wedding band on her finger, and guiltily, I whispered, “We’re lucky.”
“We are.” She cast me a look. “Before I told him everything, about the rash… Eoghan told me he loved me. For the first time.”
Happiness filled me. “Oh, Innie, I’m so glad for you.” And I was. Inessa deserved all the love in the world. “Let me guess, that made him angrier with you?”
Her nose crinkled. “It did.”
I sighed. “Men.”
“Men,” she concurred, before she pouted. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Brennan?”
“We weren’t exactly chitchatting about each other’s love life, Innie. Why would I tell you anything when you didn’t want to tell me anything?” I hedged, which made her grumble:
“You could still have said something.”
My smile hid the truth in the lie. “It was too early to talk about it.”
“Not too early for you to marry him,” she pointed out with a laugh. “I know the O’Donnellys move fast, but Christ.”
I shrugged. “He liked it so he put a ring on it.”
She hooted at that, then said, “I gotta listen to that.”
Grinning, I watched as she leaped onto her feet, and when our house computer connected with her phone and Beyoncé blasted through the speakers, I danced a little as I finished with my make-up.
When the song came to an end, she asked, “You’ll come to Vespers with me tomorrow?”
“I promise. I doubt the invitation to the family homestead has been reinstated,” I said with a laugh, finding that I wasn’t all that concerned about Brennan’s parents’ reception.
Even if Aidan Sr. was insane, I didn’t think he’d hurt me like my father had.
She bit her lip, seeming nervous which had me waiting for a difficult question. Only, I didn’t get one. Inessa just asked, “Do you think it will be a late night?”
Everynight was a late night right now, but that didn’t stop life from churning on, or from Brennan being on constant call.
In the time I’d known him, he’d woken me up because he got in so late, and he left way before the sun had a chance to rise most mornings. He didn’t exactly live a good life, spending most of his time working, and not exactly at the job he loved.
I didn’t think being a made man could be included in that, ‘work a job you love and you never work a day in your life’ BS.
“I mean, I guess so. Why?” was all I told my sister. She didn’t need to know that the second Brennan did get home, he was on me faster than Usain Bolt.
“Well, the in-laws and me have a little ritual now.”
“You, Lena and Aidan Sr.?” I blurted out, aghast.
She sputtered out a laugh. “No! Are you crazy? Seeing them on Sundays is more than enough.” Her grin turned cheeky. “I meant the sisters-in-law.”
“Ohhh.”
“Yeah, ohhh. Well, we’ve started a thing where we go to The Plaza Palm Court and we have brunch together on Saturdays. Just a couple of times a month, you know? I’d like you to be there.”
God, it had been years since I’d visited the Palm Court. I’d never wanted to visit again, but turning down this invitation would be stupid when I was working hard to cultivate our relationship.