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Shay’s gaze flickered around the circle we made, not landing for long on his uncles until he came to a halt on mine. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I appeased with a gentle smile. Somehow, that deepened his frown.
Apparently, I didn’t have Aoife’s skill of soothing with a smile.
“You ever thought about the future, bud?” Brennan asked.
“Sure, Uncle Bren, most of the time. Stops me wanting to beat the crap out of kids in my class who piss me off.”
Brennan chuckled, but Declan queried, “What do you think about? College?”
Shay snorted. “No. But I’ve had to think about it more since the guidance counselor looped me in on the extra credit I’ll need to get into Harvard.
"It’ll suck but it’s a good launch pad. I can make the right connections, especially if I make it into a fraternity.”
Aidan scratched his chin. “You’ll make it into a fraternity.”
Shay’s frown was stark. “You don’t know that.”
“You’re a wealthy man, Shay. Not just because of your dad, but because of your mom. She’s a famous artist. You think they’re going to blackball you?”
“Anything’s possible. I’m not exactly popular in my school now.”
“You have time to iron out the creases, and what you can’t iron out, we can help you with.”
“The question is,” I inserted before Aidan could bury himself in his own grave. “How much are you willing to sacrifice to get where you want?”
The question floored him. “Sacrifice?”
I nodded. “Sacrifice. Everything’s a sacrifice, Shay. You don’t know me well, and to be frank, you don’t know anyone in this room as well as your mom. But think about it. To raise you right, she had to make a sacrifice. Love is a sacrifice; honor’s a sacrifice.
“You can play dirty, or you can play straight. Either way, it’ll cost you. You’re the one who decides how expensive something is and whether or not you’re willing to pay the price to achieve your goals.”
As he studied me, I noticed that the others faded out of the conversation. I wasn’t sure if that was smart, but no one said a word, letting him formulate his own answer because that was what mattered here.
At this moment, Shay had a choice that few sixteen-year-olds would be capable of making. That few teens would ever get either.
“What are we talking about here?” was what he eventually said.
Clever kid—he knew something deeper was going on, just didn’t know the minutiae and wasn’t willing to kick himself in the ass by speaking out of turn.
“Your future,” I told him calmly.
“Why isn’t Victoria in here too?”
“Because Victoria isn’t an O’Donnelly. Victoria isn’t you.”
“She’s family,” was his stout retort.
“She is, but she has her own path.”
“Will Camille and Inessa talk to her about it?”
Brennan stirred long enough to say, “They will when she’s ready.”
“What makes you think I’m ready?”
Declan cleared his throat. “Do you remember last year when I gave you a choice?”
