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Fuuuuuck. I’ve never lied to Kieran. The mafia foundation is built on loyalty and trust. We take it as seriously as we would marriage vows. But damn, he might put a bullet in my head the moment I tell him the truth.
“Of course, I like her. She’s family.”
There. That’s not a lie. She might not be Irish, but she is part of our family because she’s related to Kieran.
He pulls the SUV over. “We’ve been best friends for nearly all of our lives. If you think I can’t read every fucking emotion on your face by now, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought. You like her more than just family.”
I slowly turn to him. The vein in his forehead is popping out. Never a good sign. I exhale deeply and run my fingertips over my temple. I need an aspirin. Or a drink. Maybe both. Down the pills with some whiskey straight from the bottle.
“You have to know I would never act on it. I respect you too much. I’ll only ever treat her as family.”
He doesn’t say anything, just puts the car in gear and starts driving again. I hate myself right now. I’ve probably pushed away my closest friend. Not that I blame him. Declan, Ronan, and I are just as protective over our sister.
“How long?”
I furrow my eyebrows. “How long, what?”
“How long have you wanted her?”
Shit.
“Since her eighteenth birthday party. I never acted on it, though, and I never will.”
“That’s seven fucking years, Bash. You’ve liked her for seven goddamn years? And you kept it from me?”
“I was never going to act on it. I knew it could never happen, so I tried to forget about her. Tried to keep my distance at family events when I could.”
He shakes his head and scowls.
We fall silent for several minutes. I’ll be devastated if this fucks up our friendship. I’m closer to Kieran than I am to anyone else.
“You need to make her yours,” he finally says.
My head snaps up to look at him so fast that I might need a neck brace later. “What?”
“Out of every man in this world, I trust you the most. I know you would never harm her, and I know you can give her what she needs. I’m her brother. I can’t give her the things her Daddy can. You have my full blessing.”
I’ve never been so stunned in my life. “Kieran.”
He shakes his head. “I mean it, Bash. You’re a good man. One of the best. And she’s an amazing woman. I can see you two together. She’s going to run circles around you and drive you up the wall, but you can handle it.”
I don’t know what to say. It’s not very often that I’m speechless, but I need a minute to process all of this. Luckily, my phone vibrates, giving me the time I need. When I pull it out and unlock the screen, it opens the tracker app that sent the notification. Maybe I should feel guilty for downloading a GPS tracker on Chloe’s phone last night. It was a stalkerish thing to do, especially considering I had no plans to make her mine. That’s the thing about me, though. There are very few things I feel guilty about. And this isn’t one of them.
The app shows she’s at work. Safe and sound. The muscles in my neck finally release some tension. Kieran gave me his blessing, which means I’m responsible for her safety now. Good thing I’m already ten steps ahead. Without his blessing, I would never act on my feelings for her, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have kept an eye on her to make sure she stays safe. Especially after last night.
If anything goes down inside that coffee shop, the men I have keeping an eye on the surveillance cameras will let me know. I need to send a thank you card to the owner for already having a system in place. Saved me the time of having to do it myself in the middle of the night. I close the app, slide my phone into my jacket pocket, and then look at my friend.
“I want to make her mine.”
The corners of his lips twitch slightly like he’s trying not to smile. “It goes without saying if you hurt her in any way, I’ll slit your throat myself and give her your head.”
“I’d put a bullet in my own head if I ever hurt her.”
This time, he does smile. “I know you would. That’s why you have my blessing.”
7
CHLOE
