AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She took another inhalation. “It was the molasses top note. I didn’t smell it at first.”
“How old is it, would you say?”
“Is this an episode of theAntiques Roadshow: Whiskey Edition? Because I didn’t sign up for this,” Eoghan muttered with a yawn.
Star, her gaze still locked on Aidan’s, ignored the interruption to answer, “Got to be at least seventy years old.”
“More like nearly ninety.” He twisted the bottle to show her then let her take it to study the label. “Only fifty remaining.”
She whistled under her breath and then returned it to him. “You might as well drink it. My mouth still tastes of Jolly Rancher.”
His nose crinkled. “What?”
“Star likes candy,” I offered.
Aidan shrugged but accepted the glass and poured the rest of hers into his. “If it weren’t seventy grand a bottle, I’d throw it out.”
“Nice to know you can think prudently,” she mocked.
His lips twitched. “Go on then. Tell us.”
“What? Our intentions?”
“No. What you know about us?”
“Aidan,” I argued. “This isn’t a job interview.”
“Yes, it is,” he retorted, dismissing me entirely. “She’s yours. You don’t think we’re going to make sure she’s the right one for you?”
“Like you asked for permission with Savannah,” I snarled. “Like any of your brides got this goddamn treatment—”
Star angled her head as she studied him. “Is this about making Conor feel like a child or out of a desire to protect him?”
“Conor isn’t a child. Conor hasn’t been a child since he was molested by that fucking priest. Finn and I stopped being kids that day too. This isn’t about making him look like he can’t make his own decisions. It’s about us protecting him. About us doing what we’ve always done—watched his back and taken care of his demons.”
“I don’t need you to,” I snapped.
Aidan’s gaze was cool as it landed on mine. “I will never know what you went through at that bastard’s hands. I will never know how it affected you because you won’t share it with us. Butyouwill never know what it meant for Finn and me to find you in that position. For us to see him do that to you. For us to witness it firsthand.
“We’ve been protecting you ever since. Who do you think told Da to fine you instead of beat you whenever you fucked up?” He pointed at Finn. “That was Finn’s idea. Who do you think encouraged Da to let you move into your own apartment? Me, via Ma. Because he’d have kept you at home for the rest of your fucking life, Conor.
“We all know what Da was. A bully. A psycho. But with you, he was different. You were his wunderkind. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t have treated you like the rest of us. If anything, I think it meant he was harder on you in some—”
Star pressed a hand to Aidan’s shoulder. “I have no desire to hurt him.”
“You already have. You left him,” Finn said flatly.
“You think you’re the only one who wants to protect him?” Star argued.
“Jesus Christ,” I spat, drawing their attention my way. “What the fuck about me made you think I need protection? Me, more than any of the rest of us? Because I’m a nerd? What is it that makes you think I can’t handle my-goddamn-self?
“Okay, I can’t kill someone from a thousand yards away and I have no desire to beat someone to death with my fists or string them up until they’re swinging in the breeze, but it doesn’t make me weak that I don’t choose to do those things.
“I don’t need you to grill my woman to ascertain whether ‘she’s right for me.’ I’m the one who makes that decision, and I made it—years ago. The first moment I recognized her skills, her intelligence, and learned what her purpose was, she had me hooked.
“This has nothing to do with any of you.Nothing. Sure, we watch each other’s backs because that’s what we do. We always have and we always will. I appreciate that we’ll always be that way, but I also have the fucking sense to recognize we alone know who’s right for us and Star is that for me.”
I knew they were surprised by my outburst, but Star broke the silence by saying, “I did do my homework on them, Conor. I don’t feel grilled. Just…” Her smile was for me alone, but it had me frowning. “…respected.”
