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“Certainly.”
He handed me the flute and sat down. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
“Oh, to be a stranger amongst strangers. You look about as miserable as I feel. My name’s Aidan O’Donnell,” he said. “And you’re Evie, Kier’s fiancée.”
“Um, yes. Have you known Keir long?” I asked.
“No. Actually, I’ve never met him.”
“Really? You don’t work with him?”
“No, I just received an invitation to join the Circle of Kings,” he explained. “It was quite elaborate. It came in a wooden chest along with a mask. I had never seen anything quite like it.”
“The Circle of Kings. Keir mentioned it in his toast,” I said. “What exactly is it?”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” he said, smiling.
“I don’t know.” I looked at Keir, but he was deep in conversation with Sir Leonard.
“Well then, it’s a mystery for the both of us. I suppose we’ll have to wait to find out.”
For some reason, I felt an instant bond with him. Maybe it was the Irish accent.
“You’re from America,” he said, not asking a question but stating the obvious.
I nodded. “Yes. My mother and father were Irish, though.”
“Really? Have you been?” he asked, angling his body toward me on the couch until our knees touched.
“Just to Northern Ireland. My mom was from Ballymena.”
“Oh, aye. I’m from Belfast, not that far away,” he said. “I have a cousin in California. I’ve been to visit him a few times. Lovely place.”
It made me think of Cormac and my brothers, and I bit my lip, suddenly very homesick. California seemed so far away. Aidan rested his hand on my thigh. “Are you alright darlin’? You’ve gone a bit pale.”
“Um, yes. I’m fine.” I looked up to see Keir barreling toward us. Aidan gave my thigh a squeeze before removing his hand.
“I need to talk to you,” Keir said sternly.
“Keir, this is Aidan.” I hoped to cover up his apparent rudeness.
“Aye, I know. I hope we have the chance to talk soon,” he said, blowing the man off. “Evie?”
I smiled at Aidan, standing up. “I’ll see you later.”
“Of course,” he said, meeting my gaze and holding it a bit longer than necessary. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
Keir ushered me down the hall. “You two looked chummy.”
“Are you jealous?” I joked.
He laughed. “Hardly. I just don’t find it appropriate for him to put his hands on you, considering you’re my fiancée. He’s making a bloody mockery of me.”
“You didn’t have to be rude to him.”
“I could care less about him. We have a bigger problem. Sir Leonard is questioning the validity of our engagement, and you need to convince him otherwise.”
