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“Well, yeah… but that’s only to some people,” she drawled. “For some reason, most families revere the lot of you.”
“That’s because Da’s conned them into thinking he’s the second coming.”
She sniggered at that. “I’m not sure that’s the exact reason, but they do treat him that way.”
“What’s the saying?”
“An O’Donnelly apologizes to no man.”
“That’s bullshit,” I groused.
“Is it though? When was the last time you apologized?”
“I’m not a rude prick.”
“You don’t have to be a rude prick to never apologize for your actions,” she pointed out. “You just have to be an entitled ass.”
“Isn’t that synonymous with rude prick?”
“Maybe. I taught Shay the value of an apology from the start because I knew, one day, when you hauled us back and/or tore us apart, he’d forget what it meant to say sorry.
“So, you apologizing to me means a lot. More than you know. It tells me that you don’t say any of this to be a dick. You’re not trying to be a pain in my ass.
“Circumstances are dictating how these things have to happen. I can work within those parameters if you really mean that apology, and I know you wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t. So that changes everything.”
I let that sink in before I took total advantage of her concession, “You won’t give me crap when I pull moves to heighten your security?”
“Not if you properly explain why you’re pulling those moves.Andnot if you go out of your way to make something happen when I need it—like tonight.”
“Tonight went against my better judgment.”
“And yet, because of tonight, you have a very happy girlfriend. Wasn’t it worth it?”
Instead of answering, I just grunted.
Girlfriend.
That label didnotreflect what she was to me.
Aela wasn’t a girlfriend.
She was my fucking everything.
As my mind whirred, I listened to her talk about the state dinner. About how the First Lady’s family name was Ó Cléirigh and about how she wanted some secret design on the glass withÉire le chéile go deoincorporated into it.
As I listened, I reached for my phone, and as always in times of crisis and cutting shit close to the wire, I texted the one person who’d be able to pull a miracle out of his hat.
Me:Kid, I need a favor.
