We get to the house, and Darcy gasps at our three-story provincial Victorian home sitting at the end of a long, narrow block with a cemetery behind us. “This is where you live?”
“We just flew over dozens of skyscrapers with penthouse apartments. This isn’t that big.”
“Bigger than my house, or anyone’s that I know.” She unbuckles Sadie.
Darcy doesn’t seem to expect much. She has a simple charm Kieran will appreciate, but she has an edgy streak, which he’ll enjoy in the bedroom. Fuck, I love that about her, too.
Shite, this already feels complicated because I don’t want to let her go. It’s anyone’s guess how Kieran will react. He has no idea why I went to Waterford. If he agrees to marry her, I have no idea when he’ll want Darcy and Sadie to move in.
My chest goes tight, thinking of handing Darcy and Sadie over to him. Especially since we’re here in Astoria and not three thousand miles away. Here, it feels very real.
“Welcome, Darcy!” Ma bounds out the front door and rushes down the stone steps to swallow Darcy in a warm hug. “I’m your Grammy Norah.”
I must be raw, open, and exposed, unlike the tight, closed-off bloke who left here two weeks ago. Hearing Ma call herself Norah makes me think of my sister. It’s common for Irish mothers to name their first-born daughters after themselves. They just never think they’ll bury their child.
“Hello, Grammy Norah,” Darcy mumbles, crushed against Ma’s generous bosom.
It dawns on me how Darcy never directly addressed me as Uncle Ewan, only for Sadie’s sake.
“She needs air, Ma,” I say and pry her from my mother’s grasp.
“Oh my, is this Sadie?” Ma finally lets go to see the little girl who’s holding Darcy’s hand.
“Aye.” Darcy grips Sadie by the shoulders, and now, as Ma looks down upon the child, the fearless look Sadie usually wears fades.
It’s a lot to take in, and fuck, that makes me want to protect her. Protect them both even more.
“Welcome home, Sadie.” Ma points to the house, and Sadie’s eyes behind her glasses go wide, taking in all the stories. “Aren’t those little spectacles adorable on you.”
“Say hi, Sadie.” Darcy gives her a nudge.
“Hi.” The girl’s voice is faint, but she obeys her mother.
“This is your home now. Well, until we get you both squared away.” Ma steers them toward the steps. “Whatever you want. This whole place is yours.” My mother leans in to me. “Glad you’re home, son. Your da’s in a state. Been giving me a dose of it. Has been ever since I told him what you were up to when he asked where you were. Took him several days to realize you weren’t home.”
“Aye.” I’ve brought him a granddaughter he never intended to meet. Hell, he’s never met Rian in person. Just exchanged letters. Something I need to remedy.
Ma keeps talking to Darcy as they climb the stone steps leading to the front door. “We have a big backyard, and we’re members at the pool club. Do you swim, little one?”
“Yes, she does,” Darcy answers. “I taught her at our local county pool.”
“Great!” Ma hugs them both again, and I see now how she misses Sabine. How she misses Norah.
I hope all of Ma’s attention isn’t too overwhelming for Darcy.
As my mother practically carries them into the house, and the driver brings their bags into the living room, Connor pulls me to the side. “Have anything to tell me, lover boy?”
My throat goes bone dry. I avoid lying and keeping secrets. I’d rather tell the truth and stand by my decisions with strength. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“Holy shit. You fucked the girl you want Kieran to marry?” He didn’t call Darcy out as our niece, and I wonder if, like many people, Connor doesn’t care about that because Rian is our half-brother, and we’ve grown up so distant from each other.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Connor scrubs a hand through his shaggy, reddish-blond hair, following me inside the vestibule.
The house smells of fresh lemons from Ma’s daily polishing, even though I pay for a team of cleaning ladies to show up once a week. The scent hits me, and I finally feel like I’m home. As much as I enjoyed every inch of my cock sliding into Darcy, I ache for my own bed.
I just don’t want to be in it alone.