She agreed with her friends that their family and friends would be pissed when they found out. When Mags explained that her parents would be back in Scotland in a few weeks, and that she was showing all signs of having beaten cancer a second time, and that they wanted to break the news to everyone themselves, they had agreed to not tell their parents.
With liberal cold water splashed over everyone’s eyes, they’d finally found their way to the kitchen and dug into the glorious spread Jol prepared.
She explained her relationship with Eze and that he was truly a knight in shining armour. They agreed and couldn’t wait to give him hugs. Eze would not be happy.
As Mags’ needle thrust and wove through the fabric stretched in her hoop, she couldn’t help grinning. Who knew that honesty could feel this freeing?
Had her friends been hurt at first? Yes, just as Mags would have been had the situation been reversed, but now she had people in her corner who knew her struggles and would be nothing but uplifting.
Her friends promised to keep Mags’ family drama a secret from their parents. Still, Gray and Bébhinn were absolutely firm on telling their husbands. She understood and agreed. If Magshad a relationship like they did, there would never be room for secrets.
Mags’ hands flew over the cream linen in nothing short of joy. Jol had given her a strict curfew to be home. Eze’s flat was home now, which made her smile widen.
If she shied away from wondering what woman would be hanging off Jonathan’s arm tonight, she just as quickly remembered she’d actually be on the arm of a gorgeous Nigerian prince.
Suck it, Jonathan O’Faolain.
thirteen
“I guessyou got what you deserved, and in your case, you got what your body was worth. Nothing.”
“The girl is practically skipping and shitting flowers down the footpath.”
“We’re going to take over, you dumb bitch. At this rate, the budding artist will bloom all over fucking Europe while you eat your weight in chocolate.”
She gritted her teeth and took the criticism. She had miscalculated the drunken lout’s effectiveness. A mistake she wasn’t prepared to let happen again.
“I said, I’ve got it under control,” she growled under her breath as she watched the seriously undertalented girl waltz into one of Dublin’s most exclusive Eircodes.
How had she climbed from the bottom of those stairs only to walk into a better life minutes later? She needed to escalate her plans before the voices did.
“Forgive us for underestimating you. Your track record of disappointment is legendary at this point.”
“We know you’re waiting for the gallery’s exhibition to make your so-called move. Surely, you know we don’t trust you anymore.”
“Headless birds? Christ, but you are an idiot.”
“I have a plan for the exhibition. Give me more time,” she begged.
“Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.”
“Give you more time? Your finances are finite, cow. We have just enough to exact revenge on Mirren Morrow-MacGregor Campbell before we need to turn our attention on your waste-of-breath mother.”
“Consider your free will revoked.”
fourteen
MAGS
Mags metEze in the flat’s foyer. His formal attire left her all but speechless. He was wearing a black bespoke suit that fit his large frame to perfection and custom-made leather loafers. That wasn’t the head-turning moment of his look, though.
He chose to wear a large, and by large, she meant the size of his broad chest, coral and gold beaded necklace, and a black silk traditional cap with black beads sewn in a stunningly beautiful pattern.
“Oh, Eze, wow,” she announced as she entered the foyer. “Your necklace and cap are works of art. Let me study the beadwork on your cap later. Christ, that had to have taken hours upon hours. Does the necklace represent anything special?”
Eze began to shake his head ‘no’ when Jol joined them. “It denotes his royal status.” Eze frowned at his house servant and obvious longtime friend.
“I feel woefully ordinary,” Mags laughed.
