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I heard the concern in his voice, and though I didn’t have to wonder why, I knew he was under more pressure than I’d imagined if he figured Aidan would bring Lena out when he, too, was on edge.
“Nothing,” the older man said, beaming a grin our way. Conor rolled his eyes, and I realized how alike the two of them looked. Finn, though he was definitelynotfamily by blood, bore a striking resemblance, too—with their Black Irish locks, silky skin, and stark blue eyes, they were all handsome brutes.
Magdalena and I, by comparison, were everything they weren’t. The men were tall and lean, their bodies a weapon. Under their coats, guns bulged—even Conor who, I knew from what little Finn had mentioned, worked mostly behind a computer—and though they all wore expensive clothes, they still managed to look more dangerous than stylish.
Lena wore a simple white sheath dress that skimmed over her generous curves. Her hair was tied back in a loose chignon, and she had kitten heels that took her from five feet nothing to five-five nothing. She clutched a purse in one hand and Aidan’s arm with the other.
I, on the other hand, was not dressed appropriately for the occasion. My ring cost three million straight. My entire outfit cost three million and twenty bucks. Yup. My dress was Primark, a gauzy, floaty thing that I’d paired with ballet pumps and a denim jacket.
My wardrobe needed an overhaul if I wasn’t always going to feel like the poor relation.
“I wanted to go out for coffee with Aoife,” Lena declared, “and my husband and son decided I needed an escort.” She tutted. “You can come with us, but you’re not sitting at the same table.”
Her words were a decree, too. She meant it.
I had to hide my smile as Aidan shot her a mulish glower at which Conor, again, rolled his eyes.
Finn blinked at her statement. “That can be arranged.”
“Oh, I know it can,” she told him sweetly, and then she waved a hand my way. “Come on, Aoife. Leave the men to talk.”
Shooting Finn a grin when he grunted with displeasure at her dictate, I moved toward her. She detached herself from Aidan’s side, ignoring his grumble—I mean were all the men in the extended O'Donnelly clan this possessive?—and together, we walked down to the end of the street where there was a small coffee shop.
The men stuck close to us as we took a seat, but they did take their own table a few feet away. From this angle, they could hear us, and we could hear them. That was why when Conor stated, “I swear, you two are so pussy-whipped,” Lena called out, “Better to have a pussy than no pussy at all.”
Conor glowered at her. “I have girlfriends.”
“Imaginary ones,” Lena retorted sweetly. “Let’s face it, sweet boy, you can’t get laid by a computer.”
Conor ground his teeth but apparently, decided not to engage in open battle across a coffee shop. I smirked at Lena who beamed a self-satisfied grin at me.
“There, now they’ll know to keep their voices low and won’t be interested in what we have to say.”
I tilted my head at her. “You manage them very well, don’t you?”
She busied herself by picking up the menu. “I wouldn’t say so.”
“I would.” I snorted when she looked at me from under her lashes, amusement brimming in her wide hazel eyes.
“It takes practice,” she admitted, tapping her nose with her finger. “They’re all stubborn, but eventually, you can wrangle most things out of them. Just know what you want, don’t waver, and aim for it like you’re a heat-seeking missile.”
Her comment made me wonder if she knew Finn had asked me to reconsider opening the bakery. “I didn’t waver, Lena.”
“Whatever do you mean, child?” she questioned, but I hadn’t been mistaken.
“You know what I’m talking about. Finn told me there’s too much danger to have a storefront at the moment. I heeded his caution.”
Lena’s head tilted to the side in surprise. “He told you that?” She frowned as she looked at her husband. “What else did he say?”
“Not a lot,” I stated, uneasy now. Hadn’t Aidan told her of the threat the Colombians posed?
She tutted. “He tells me nothing.”
“There isn’t much to know,” I replied honestly. It wasn’t like Finn had spilled the beans to me. What I knew was incidental mostly. “But the bakery is only on hiatus. Just until things calm down.”
Though she nodded, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Aoife’s an unusual name, isn’t it?”
“I suppose,” I replied, surprised where she’d taken the conversation.
