“The fucking gall of that guy…” I muttered under my breath as I put on my coat.
“Got the impression that boyfriends and girlfriends and loved ones in general are frowned upon around here.”
“He just doesn't like me.”
Eamon's eyebrows drew together. “How is that possible?”
“Not everyone likes me.”
He pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “I adore you. That's got to count for more than whatever that British prick thinks.”
I closed my eyes and drew in his beguiling smell. “I’d much rather have you. That's for sure.”
“It’s an argument for marriage, y’know. Your jerky boss won't be able to give you such a hard time.”
Just like that, Eamon was moving too fast for me. “You don’t really mean that.”
“Maybe I do.”
“You just got back. We're just starting to get to know each other again.”
He took my hand. “Yeah. You're right. Speaking of which, Rachel is bringing Fiona to the city in a few days. I already told her we'd meet them.”
The Eamon train was officially a runaway now. He had a toe in every square inch of my life. It mostly made me happy, but these were all big steps forward, when for me even the tiny ones were scary.
Chapter Thirteen
A few days later,Eamon and I walked to the park in my neighborhood to meet up with Rachel and Fiona. It felt a bit as if I was marching toward my fate. I'd never been good at confronting the past. Now I was going to meet Eamon's. The leaves rustled in the cool November wind, some letting go of the branches that had been their home for months and fluttering to the ground.
“Last chance to tell me what happened between you and Rachel.” I didn't want to be so basic with the question, but we were closing in on the park and I wanted to know what we were walking into. I’d already asked him about it several times since he told me they were coming to town, and he’d dodged the topic at every turn.
Eamon cleared his throat and distanced himself from me—it was only inches, but it felt like a chasm. “It's complicated. And not terribly fun to talk about.”
I slipped my hand under his biceps and snugged him closer. I wasn't about to let him get away. “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”
“I usually write a song if I need to do that.”
“Humor me. Now. Before we get to the park.”
He sucked in a deep breath and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. It was chilly, but the way he had his shoulders up around his ears made it seem like we were out here in the depths of winter. “I was a terrible husband. That's all you need to know.”
“That's it?”
“I don't want to talk about it, okay? It's the biggest failure of my life.” He came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk and grabbed my hand. “If I have any chance of getting you to think about us as something long-term, I’m not helping my case by telling you how badly I fucked up the first time.”
“It only makes you human to fail. And it takes two people to end a marriage. There's no way it was all you.”
“Believe me, I was no help. No help at all.” He pulled back the sleeve of his coat and looked at his watch. “Come on. I don't want to be late.”
When we came up on the tall iron fencing surrounding the park, the sounds of children playing rang out between the other sounds of the city—impatient taxi drivers laying on the horn while unwitting pedestrians passed too close to cars and set off the alarms. A boy chased a ball past the park entrance. His mother yelled after him. That was when I saw Rachel. She was sitting on a bench, but the instant she looked up and spotted Eamon, a flicker of recognition crossed her face that was impossible to miss. She was still in love with him. I could see it.
She played it cool though, uncrossing her legs and rising from her perch. She took a few steps toward the play structure, cupped her hands around her mouth, and called for Fiona. From behind a slide, a shock of auburn hair popped up. There she was—the real light of Eamon's life.
Fiona turned and saw Eamon, then took off after him. He did the same, letting go of my hand and rushing up to her. He scooped her up into his arms and held her for a few heartbeats. Fiona was going to be like her dad—tall.
Rachel and I converged on them at the same time and I tried to ignore the way it felt like I was intruding in their lives. Yes, Eamon wanted me there, and I was going to have to meet them both at some point, but it felt as though I was treading on the sanctity of their history.
Eamon leaned down and kissed Fiona's forehead. “I want you to meet Katherine.”
