Page 21 of Mob Saint

“Thank you.”

I’m in an A-line dress that I love. I feel good in it, and I get compliments on it. But they’re about the dress. They’re rarely about how I look in it. I think I’m blushing now, too. I can remember my manners.

“That shirt suits you.”

Suits you? FML. But it does. It’s a deep cobalt blue, and it makes his eyes even greener. It’s snug in all the right places and is pretty much guy lingerie for how little it leaves to the imagination.

“Seamus?”

It’s the beautiful woman who was with him a moment ago. She’s even more gorgeous up close. She’s tall with the smoothest complexion I’ve ever seen, eyes that are riveting, and braids that hang down half her back.

“Hey, Ally. This is Tiernan. Tiernan, this is my cousin Finn’s wife, Ally.”

She sticks her hand out, and I almost don’t recover from my surprise fast enough. I shake and smile.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Shay, we’re going to go in. Here’s your ticket.”

I watch her hand him a slip of paper. We?

She heads back to where I spotted them when I came in. A man who’s almost too good looking to be real slides his arm around her and pulls her in for a quick kiss. I look back at Seamus. I prefer his looks. He has a baby face, but there’s nothing childish about him. I love how broad his shoulders are and how imposing his build is. His cousin is clearly muscular but leaner than Seamus—and Cormac, now that I think about it.

“Was that Suze I saw you come in with?”

I turn back to him. “Yeah. She just ran to the restroom.”

“Um, we know some of the cast. There’s a party afterward. Would you and Suze like to come?”

“I can ask her.”

“Ask me what?”

Suze walks up and smiles at Seamus. It didn’t thrill her to find us alone in the restroom because how long I was in there worried her. But she soon realized Seamus was no threat. Just the opposite. My knight in shining armor.

Seamus answers, but he’s watching me. “There’s an after party for the cast. My family knows some of them. I wondered if you would like to come.”

Suze glances at me. She must hear my prayers that she’ll say yes.

“That would be cool. Thanks.”

Seamus flashes her a smile, but his attention is back on me. It nails me to the spot.

“Wait for me here. I’ll come and get you. You can ride with us if you want. Or I can give you the address once I get it from Ally.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

The announcement comes through the speaker to find our seats since the curtain rises in five minutes. As I turn away, Seamus puts his hand at my lower back.

“You really are so beautiful.”

I turn my head, and we could practically kiss. I smile, then he’s gone, and I’m left staring. I could catch flies with how my mouth hangs open.

“You ready?”

I shift my focus to Suze, who’s watching me with a smirk. She says nothing else, but I can tell she has plenty she’d like to share. I respond with a jerky nod, and we make our way to our seats.

I spotted the O’Rourke men, Seamus and three other men with women I assume are their wives. Seamus seems like the odd one out. Not just because he’s alone, but because he doesn’t seem to watch much of the play. I’m trying to remain focused on the performers, but my gaze keeps drifting to him. He’s observing the crowd more than he’s paying attention to what’s happening on stage. He’s alert, like a guard dog patrolling a property. Except he never leaves his seat until intermission.

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