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“Okay. Promise me you won’t show up with blood on your clothes.”
I laugh, but don’t know if she’s kidding. “I’ll see what I can do. Thank you, Shea.” I’m about to hang up but ask, “Do I get her an engagement ring if we’re already married?”
Shea stays silent briefly, then drawls in the same lilt we all have, “Lachlan?”
“Shea-Lynne?”
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“I keep out of your lives there. But I know you… You’ve never cared about a woman before.”
“I’m thirty-eight, Shea.”
“Look, I got the whole story. You crashed her wedding, killed the groom because he hurt her, and you married her to keep her safe. Your honor astounds me. But…are youstayingmarried to this girl?”
“She’s awoman,” I bark and feel sick that I just spoke harshly to my sister. “I’m sorry.”
“You must care about her.” Shea sounds shocked, and that bothers me.
“Yeah, so?” My chest squeezes saying that, but it’s freeing as fuck.
Yeah, I fucking care about her. I’ve been living with her for a few weeks. She’s under my roof, under my skin. She’s an angel. Sweet. Smart. Not afraid of me, not afraid to challenge me. Likes the same movies as me. Takes care of me. Cares about me.
Funny how the incredible sex we’ve been having doesn’t rise to the top of that list.
The only negative mark in her column is that she might leave me.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Shea says darkly.
“Because she’s Russian?” I snap. “Isabella is Italian. No one consideredherthe enemy.”
“Lachlan, the Italians were never the same threat. The Russians tried to kill Riordan and what they did to Priscilla when she was seventeen… I’m sorry if I’m skeptical.”
“Katya’snotone of them. She’s half French, raised by her mother. Alexei took her in because she’s his blood, nothing more. Then he ignored her. It’s only because Stasia is missing that he tried to marry her off to a…” I bite my tongue. “A very bad man, Shea. Do you not trust my judgment?”
“Aye, as long as you’re happy.”
I laugh, knowing what drove my happiness for so long. Violence. Blood. Death. Katya is so opposite that. “I’m happy with her. She’s good for me. I deserve a wife, just like everyone else.”
“Absolutely. Maybe more, considering what you’ve been through.” Her voice gets low. She was a teenage girl when my life went to hell.
“I’d love to meet her.” Shea clears her throat. “I also know you’re nursing a serious knife wound. There’s a great Airbnb right on the water that came available. The couple got into a massive fight and left after a week. They booked the whole summer. It’s stupid expensive, so it’s still available. I know the owner, and I’ll see if she’ll book it for a week.”
I remember Katya mentioning wanting to visit Shea in the Hamptons. “That sounds like something my wife would love. I’ll let you know.”
“Great,” she says. “And as far as an engagement ring, if you’re like your older brothers, they love giving their women huge diamonds that say fuck you to our enemies.”
I roar with laughter. “Noted.”
We chat for a few more moments, and I smile when she tells me she loves me. I say it back, and wonder how my voice will sound saying it to Katya.
I stride to the jewelry store Shea recommended, getting there quickly with my long legs. When I open the door, a gasp from a woman behind a counter makes me grin, but a man in a suit quickly appears.
“Mr. O’Rourke?”
“Aye.” I fold my arms.
