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I laugh as I follow her out, to find three beautiful women looking at us in a very knowing way. Eliza grins, her eyes moving between us before she points to Louisa. “The store is open, and you’re fooling around with your…lover?”
Not only does Eliza’s question make me grin, but the way she says “lover” is a treat. She sings it as if she’s Taylor Swift herself, but tone-deaf. Before I can correct her, tell her that Louisa is my girlfriend, I think I kind of like the word lover. Reminds me of my favorite Hades and Persephone retelling. That works for us, given how this all started. Hm. I glance over at Louisa to find her eyes on me. “I kinda like lover,” I tell her, and her lips quirk a bit.
“Very Persephone and Hades.”
I nod. “I was thinking the same thing, and it works.”
“It does, but isn’t it a step down from girlfriend, though?”
I shrug. “Or a step up?”
Now she’s grinning, and so am I. She smacks me playfully before going to greet her sisters, hugging them one by one as I watch. It’s apparent they all love one another greatly. Each of her sisters’ gazes is full of admiration and awe toward their eldest sister. A pang of jealousy runs through me. I never had that. My siblings don’t talk to me or even acknowledge me. It’s disappointing, but I’ve accepted it as it is. My mom and grandma love me enough for all eight of my siblings.
When Louisa reaches for Eliza, her younger sister pauses, grabbing Louisa’s face in her small hands. They all favor one another, but each one is different in her own way. All so beautiful, yet, for me, Louisa is by far the most stunning one of the siblings. Eliza sets her sister with a look. “Were you crying?”
“Yeah, but no big deal.”
At once, three sets of eyes narrow at me, and if I weren’t terrified of being jumped by Louisa’s sisters, I’d laugh. For such small women, they look like they could tear me limb from limb.
Thankfully, Louisa quickly says, “Not his fault. I was being emotional about something.”
They’re still glaring at me. The baby, Clara, blows her dark bangs out of her eyes before asking, “About what? Did he cause it?”
“Don’t worry about it. And no,” Louisa says, waving her sister off. “I’m fine. Stop and let me introduce you to my lover.”
My cock twitches to life as Louisa side-eyes me, a grin playing on her sweet lips. Their glares falter as excitement takes over their faces. I hold out my hand, and Clara takes it to shake and then Elliot.
“Ciaran, these are my sisters, Elliot and Clara.”
“It’s great to meet you,” I say and then look at Elliot. “I’ve seen you around.”
“Yup, and you’ll see way more now that you’re captain. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
I grin at Eliza. “We’ve met.”
“A time or two,” she says with a wink. “I’m excited to see that this played out how I assumed it would.”
I feel a blush move across my cheeks at her words. I feel like Eliza always knew I had eyes for her elder sister. She’d catch me watching Louisa, and instead of calling me out, she would just flash me a knowing look. Almost like she was urging me to make a move. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, but I know it was for the best. Louisa was worth the wait.
“Me too,” I agree as Louisa steps closer to me, and I reach for her, snaking my arm around her waist.
“I have to say, you claim you don’t look good in orange, but I think you look great,” Elliot says. “And is that a Carter number four jersey? Hmm, so he’s marked you.”
Eliza scoffs. “You make it sound like he pissed on her leg.”
I scoff as Louisa teases, “He did and then put the jersey on me. It was quite eventful.”
Elliot’s eyes are playful. “And then you got it on the bathroom while your shop was open? How scandalous and totally how the town sees you.”
That has them all giggling, but I can’t help myself and mutter, “Fuck this town.”
Clara’s green eyes sparkle. “Oh, I like you, ’cause I feel the same way.”
“Same,” Elliot agrees, and Eliza rolls her eyes.
“They’re old-school Bible pushers here. Relax. Louisa can handle herself very well, except when she has preorders that need to be sorted and she leaves them all over the store for anyone to take.”
