Page 56 of Yours

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” I said.

This was the one weekend she disappeared every month just to get away from everything that was her life: the constant protection, the surveillance, and what it meant to be the little sister of a big-time Irish mafia boss in New York City.

I remember the first weekend she’d done it. She’d come to me with a proud look on her face before she left.

“Listen, I’m going off the grid for a couple days, Kiera,”she’d said, grinning like a kid sneaking out of school.“Me and this girl from my gym are going glamping at this lodge up in northern New York. No tracking, no stress—just fresh air, campfires, and s’mores. I know you’re not into all the dirt and mud, so I figured you wouldn’t want to come.”

When I’d stared at her blankly, she’d laughed and handed me a scrap of paper with a burner phone number scribbled across it.

“Call me on this if it’s urgent. And don’t lose it, okay? Ronan doesn’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way,”she’d added.

At the time, I’d rolled my eyes and shoved the paper in my purse for safekeeping.

“Good. See you soon, Kiera,” Leena said into the phone, and we said our goodbyes.

When the call ended, I dropped the phone onto the couch and let out a shaky breath. I pressed my hands to my face, trying to figure out what my life had become in the span of twenty-four hours.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

Ronan’s voice, smooth and low, sent a jolt through me. I pulled my hands away to find him standing in the doorway, his dark hair slightly mussed as if the wind had toyed with it, his piercing gray eyes fixed on me with a flicker of amusement.

“Do you always sneak up on people like that?” I shot back, though my pulse quickened at the sight of him.

He smirked, stepping further into the room. “Only when they’re lost in thought.” His gaze drifted down, lingering for a moment on the oversized shirt I’d borrowed. “Nice look, by the way.”

I tugged at the hem instinctively, suddenly aware of how much of my legs were on display. “It was the only thing I could find.”

“I’m not complaining.” His smirk widened, but there was something warmer in his eyes, something that made my cheeks flush.

Ronan closed the distance between us, his steps unhurried, but deliberate. When he reached me, he slid his hand into my hair, fingers tangling gently as his thumb brushed my temple.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice softer now.

My body betrayed me with the way it leaned into his touch.

“Good morning,” I managed, my voice a bit too breathy for my liking.

His eyes dropped to my lips, and for a moment, the air between us felt impossibly heavy. Then he leaned down, brushing his lips against mine in a kiss so gentle it was almost maddening. It wasn’t the kind of kiss that demanded—it was the kind that lingered, teasing, making me crave more even as he pulled away.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, his tone casual, as if he hadn’t just scrambled every coherent thought in my head.

I blinked up at him, still dazed. “Uh… no. Not yet.”

He smiled faintly, the kind of smile that felt like a victory I didn’t quite understand. “We’ll fix that in a bit. But first, there’s something you need to know.”

His hand slipped from my hair, and I felt its absence keenly as he stepped back, folding his arms across his chest. He looked completely at ease, but there was finality in his tone when he spoke next.

“My men went to your apartment this morning. Collected your things.”

I nodded, not telling him that Leena had already told me.

“Why?” I asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.

“Because you’re moving in here,” he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I stared at him, my brain scrambling to catch up. “I… what? No, I’m not.”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression amused, but firm. “Yes, you are.”

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