Page 22 of Lucky Strike

He ate the last of his pain au chocolat. “K-dramas?”

“But of course.” She pointed the remote at the TV, scrolling through Netflix’s offerings. “I’m introducing Bria to my faves.”

“Poor Bria,” said Tristan, dodging a throw pillow to the face. He caught it, cuddling it as he dropped onto the other couch.

Maeve pouted, turning her attention to me. “You’re enjoying them, right, Bria?”

“I am.” I stroked Keeva, who’d wandered over and put her head in my lap. “Although the food scenes are making me hungry.”

Tristan chortled. “Yeah, they’re always eating in these shows.”

“You sound pretty familiar with them,” I teased.

“Oh, he is,” Conlan said.

“I’ve seen a few,” admitted Tristan, playing with the throw pillow. “Lola likes them.”

“His girlfriend,” supplied Maeve, glancing at me. “Who has great taste. Do you want fantasy or rom-com next?”

“How about that thriller?” I asked, nodding at a particularly dark-looking drama.

“Girl after my own heart,” Conlan murmured, sendingmyheart into overdrive.Did he really not remember me?“I’d watch that.”

“Hmm, yeah.” Maeve paused, scanning the synopsis. “It does look good.”

“Popcorn?” Tristan tossed the throw pillow back at Maeve.

“I want real food. Let’s order from Dan Jan Dan Jan.” Conlan pulled his phone out. “What d’you guys want?”

Maeve and Tristan immediately began shouting over each other, giving their orders. Conlan looked over at me, thumbs poised over the screen. “What about you? Do you like Korean food?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I’ve never had it.”

“What?” He laughed, scooting closer. “Here, look.” I eyed the menu on his phone as he described his favorites, trying to concentrate on his words and not his clean, soapy, boy smell. “Or we could just, you know.” I looked up just as he did. His eyelashes were so long. “Order for you.”

“We’ll order a bunch of stuff so you can try everything,” Maeve said, snatching the phone from between us. “You’ll love it.”

Maeve frownedat her ringing phone. Callum had been texting, and she’d been avoiding him, so he’d graduated to calling. “I guess I should talk to him,” she said. “You go ahead. I’ll be there in a bit.”

Knowing she was going to be wrapped up in boy-drama for a while, I grabbed a towel from the linen closet in the hallway and went downstairs. The house smelled incredible, like pie and roasted meat and all of the other delicious things the Kellys had started making for tomorrow. We’d helped for a bit, but eventually Sloane and Owen had shooed us away, telling us to go relax.

The pool was at the opposite end of the house, in a spacious room full of windows and skylights. Leaving my sweatpants and t-shirt on a lounge chair, I stepped into the warm water, shivering in pleasure. I’d always loved to swim, but I didn’t get to do it very much.

After knocking out as many laps as I could, I floated around, gazing up at the skylights to the dreary, overcast sky. Maeve still hadn’t shown up, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to have some time to myself. Then thedoor across the room opened and in walked Conlan. I floundered a bit, coming to stand in the shallow end as he tossed his towel aside and dove in.

A moment later he popped up, slicking his hair back. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I leaned against the wall. We’d spent hours together earlier, eating Korean food and watching movies with Maeve and Tristan, but that was a different dynamic. A group dynamic. One I’d enjoyed, as I’d gotten to know him better, but now we were alone, and the mood felt charged. My gaze drifted over his body.God. He was perfect. He had a couple of other tattoos besides the little shamrock on his wrist: a detailed Celtic cross on the left side of his chest, and a small quote written in script on the inside of his right forearm.Nár laga Dia do lámh. I pointed to it. “What does that mean?”

His eyes stayed on mine. “May God not weaken your hand.”

“Is it Gaelic?”

He nodded.

I glanced at the shamrock. “Your friends call you Lucky, huh.”

A mischievous smile spread across his face as he waded through the water. “They do.”

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