Page 5 of Primal

Warm crimson creeps up my neck and over my cheeks. I drop my gaze to the floor, so I’m not looking him in the eyes when he realizes the effect he just had on me. Even with my eyes focused on the tiled floor beneath my feet, I know his heated gaze is still on my flushed cheeks.

“I’m so sorry. These babies and my bladder are fighting for space, and my bladder is definitely not winning.” Quinn returns, breaking the awkward silence. “Can you help get Fiona into the car?”

“I’m done giving Father O’Flaherty his heart attack for the week.” He chuckles. “Let me take her so you two can enjoy your lunch.”

“Are you sure?” Quinn asks.

“Always. I’ll steal your car seat and take my little peanut over to the club. You and Rory can swing by after your lunch to pick her up.”

She stretches up onto her toes and places a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

With Fiona in one arm, Finnigan uses his other to hold open the church door for the two of us to exit. As he walks her toward a sleek black sports car, he gestures toward a tall red-headed man standing near the black Tahoe parked beside him. The man reaches into the SUV and climbs out with a car seat in hand, which he promptly installs into the backseat of Finn’s car.

“Is your husband joining us for lunch?” I ask.

“Rory?” Her voice ticks up in confusion, and I give a quick nod. “He’s not my husband.”

“Oh,” I murmur as I climb into the backseat of the Tahoe.

After sliding in behind me, she clarifies, “Rory works for my husband and his brothers.”

“Like your driver?”

“And then some.” Quinn reaches between the seats and gives his arm a tender squeeze. “But he’s like family. Isn’t that right, Rory?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiles at her in the rearview.

“We’ve talked about this,” she teasingly scolds him. “After all we’ve been through, you get to call me Quinn.”

We make casual small talk as Rory drives us to a little cafe a few miles from the church. “You had said you were having a hard time meeting people, so I hope you don’t mind, but I invited a couple of people to join us.”

“I don’t mind at all!” I exclaim. “I’ve been here a little over a week and you are literally the only person I know besides Uncle Sean.”

While I love Uncle Sean to pieces, it would be nice to have someone just a tad closer to my age to spend some time with.

CHAPTER FIVE

FINNIGAN

“Where the fuck have you been?” Declan snarls as I walk into the lounge of the club, not realizing I have Fiona in tow.

“Really?” I nudge the still-sleepy Fiona walking beside me. “You don’t yell at him for saying that?”

Still groggy from her nap in the car, Fiona merely shrugs.

“A stóirín, what are you doing with Uncle Finn? Where’s Quinn?” Declan asks, his tone noticeably softer with Fiona than me.

“I dunno,” she mumbles through her yawning stretch.

“I offered to watch my peanut while Quinn went to lunch with thiscailín deasI would like to take for a ride.” I wink at him as a smile spreads across my face when my thoughts momentarily drift back toward Catlin.

I usually have gorgeous women on my mind, but Catlin has been the primary source of my thoughts from the moment I met her. She’s barely left my mind since leaving the church. The feel of her soft, porcelain skin isn’t the only thing I’m thinking about.Although that also seems to keep creeping in.As a rich and powerful Evans brother, women practically fall at my feet. But not her. She sees right through my flirtatious bullshit and wants nothing to do with it.

And fuck, do I ever love a challenge.

“You mean Father O’Flaherty’s niece?” he clarifies with an arched brow.

“No. Catlin,” I correct him. “The gorgeous-as-hell new parish secretary.”

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