Ciara gasps like she didn’t expect me to announce that. “When?”
“In two weeks. I need to tell Dr. Chan. We’re waiting for Sadie’s visa so she can travel.”
Ciara hugs me. “It’s a better life for you and her. I vote yes, so long as I can visit.”
“Absolutely.” I cuddle against my best friend. “I fully expect this Kieran to reject me. I’ll live in the Quinlan family mansion until I have a job and get a place for Sadie and me. I already checked, and kids start public preschool in New York at five. I’ll just make part of my demands that I be allowed to take surgical classes.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”
I pull my lower lip between my teeth and nod softly.
“What?” Ciara gives me the evil side eye.
“There may be one more complication to all of this.” I brace myself for the real bomb to drop.
“And that is?” Ciara’s face turns grim.
“Remember I told you how I lost my virtue? That night at Carney’s with a stranger?”
“I still hate that ball-bag Callum for lying to me. Making me strand you like that. You’re lucky you didn’t get killed.” Ciara smiles, though. “But you have your angel, thanks to that night.”
I smile back, always appreciating the gift I was left with. “I now know the bloke’s name.”
“Now?” Ciara tilts her head at me like a puppy. “Out of nowhere, the same week your uncle…” She gasps, jumping a few steps ahead of me. “Are you telling me this mysterious bloke from New York…”
For the first time, I consider what would have happened ifKieranhad brought Norah’s ashes to Waterford? Then bedded me and made Sadie.
“No, my uncle.” I dump my head in my hands. “Ciara, I slept with my uncle that night, and he got me pregnant. Now, he’s planning to marry me off to another man.”
“Holy shite.” She hops off the step and paces. “You found Sadie’s dad.That’swho you should be marrying. And you’re not really related to him.”
How it’s so clear to her astonishes me. It sends a zing of electricity through me, getting someone’s permission for how I feel about him. And that what we did wasn’t so awful.
“My dad considers him my uncle, Ciara. I’m sure he does, too.” I have to remind her. “Our family will frown upon what we did.”
“You’re adopted. He’s not blood. And you didn’t know who he was when you had sex with him.”
“That’sanotherthing.” I groan, feeling awful for laying so much on this woman in one twenty-minute lunch break. “Ewan doesn’tknowI’m adopted. Yet. I’m sort of keeping that card close to my chest. He wants a Quinlan married off to Kieran.”
“Youarea Quinlan.”
“Those people in Astoria might be sticklers for pure bloodlines.” I stand up to throw away my juice box. “Can you handle one more confession?”
Ciara stares into the gray sky. It should have been raining locusts by now. “Go on.”
“I saw Ewan naked this morning, and I can’t get the vision of my uncle’s…cock out of my head.”
“He’snotreally your uncle!” Funny how she snagged on that detail and not the naked man sporting a hard cock part.
CHAPTER NINE
Ewan
Ieasilyfoundawireless store that sells routers. I paid extra for their best speed plan. Even though I only need it for two weeks.
Sadie is surprisingly self-sufficient, buckling herself in and out of the booster seat. In the store, the sales guy drags on with the plan description and setup instructions. I let him keep talking, even after I tell him I run a security firm in New York City. The whole time, Sadie sits in one of the big leather chairs and reads a book from her backpack without a peep.
After the wireless store, we head to a toy store. I don’t know much about kids, but I know adults score points when they buy toys. Seeing her eyes light up at the massive selection, I realize the flaw in my plan.