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Until then, she could only hope—wonder—if her last remaining family wanted anything to do with her. “See if he’ll give you his contact information to pass on to me. Please.”
“Of course.” Then, with a polite goodbye, the attorney hung up.
Liam cupped her shoulders. “You look shocked, love. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“So many things.” She blinked at him, grateful to have his beloved, comforting presence to anchor her. “He moved out when I was nine. I know almost nothing about him or his life. The last memories I have of River are him and Bill screaming about his teenage hell-raising and their ugly, parting fight. But I don’t know him.”
“He’s your brother. He’s family. Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“I think so.” She sighed, trying to sort through the barrage of her emotions. “But maybe there’s a reason it’s been so long since we’ve spoken.”
Liam frowned. “I can’t imagine what. If I hadn’t seen one of my sisters in years, I’d be elated to clap eyes on her again.”
“If you had one, I can see that.”
“Actually, love…” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I’ve got six of them.”
At that, Raine stiffened. Her fingers went numb, and she dropped her phone. As it clattered to the floor, her eyes bulged. “Six? You never told me.”
“Well, they live in Ireland. My parents are Catholic, love. So we’re a prolific bunch. I assumed you’d know I have siblings.” He shrugged. “Honestly, the subject never came up.”
“Never. Came. Up?” Raine swore her head was going to explode. Her temper shot up with her blood pressure. She couldn’t take much more. She might be over a foot shorter than her men, but her temper could tower over them both. “So I’m the only one who has to cough up all the nitty-gritty details of my life? While you two hide all kinds of shit? And don’t talk to me about language, Liam O’Neill.” She wagged a finger at him. “First, it’s Hammer and his suicidal, pregnant wife. That might have been important for me to know. And now you have all these sisters I’ve never heard a word about?”
“Raine, I suggest you take it down a notch.”
When monkeys flew. “Tell me their names. Are they married? Do they have kids?”
“A passel of them. I’m the youngest of the family, mind you. So they all have children.”
She put a hand over her belly. “Our baby will have cousins. And I didn’t need to know that?”
“Don’t be angry. I didn’t intentionally try to deceive you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, bouncing between hurt and fury. “You once said that I needed to tell you everything, including what I wanted for breakfast. You threatened me with a jar of pickles. So you not telling me about major branches of your family tree is a fucking problem for me.” She stomped her foot. “Maybe you didn’t tell me because you never intended to introduce me to them. Or our child.”
“That was never my intention. Don’t think you haven’t met them because I’m not proud of you, love. We’ll go to Ireland, if you like.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “The truth is, they’re a bit overwhelming.”
“So you were sparing me, is that it?” Raine wanted to believe him…but at barely ten a.m., she had already reached her drama quotient for the day.
“A wee bit, yes. You’ll see what I mean someday. Ask Hammer. He’ll tell you.”
“He’s met them?”
“They came to New York for Christmas one year. I think one or two had a crush on him, but he was married at the time,” Liam explained, then sent her a hopeful smile. “You look adorable when you’re mad, love.”
“Don’t you dare try to sweet-talk your way out of this. Cough up the details. What else don’t I know?”
“Well…” Liam hesitated, as if realizing that he might not be able to charm his way out of this mess. “Caitlyn is the oldest. She’s a bossy, wee thing. Meg will always be in your business. Full of questions, that one. Shauna and Rosaleen are twins. They’re two peas in a pod, finishing each other’s sentences. Funny thing is, they married brothers.”
“Twins?” Was he kidding? She looked down at her stomach. “Twins run in your family?”
“Don’t worry. Multiple births depend on the female. It’s to do with the number of eggs and…” He grimaced. “The next sister is Aisling. She’s the quiet one…mostly. But she’ll talk your ear off if she’s a mind to. And Maeve is a bloody handful. I almost feel sorry for her husband.”
Raine was glad she was sitting or she might have fallen down. “Wow. So many.”
“They’re more overwhelming than I can even explain. Be grateful they’re not here. But we were talking about River. Now that he’s reared his head, do you want to find him?”
