Page 130 of On The Rocks

‘Your perfect fiancé asked Da for me and then Erin before he was made to settle for you.’

“That’s another lie,” I cut out. “You asked Patrick for my sisters, didn’t you?”

“Not for any other reason except that I knew them better,” he explained. “We’d hardly spoken, and I didn’t think we had anything in common. When we went to Patrick’s house during the summers, I’d try to talk to you, and you’d clam up and run away. It wasn’t that I didn’t want you. I just reckoned we wouldn’t suit. Think back to when Shannon tripped you, Maeve. I helped you up, and you looked into my eyes, and I was gone foryou. Think back, do you remember that moment? I know you felt it, too.”

Callum was right; I remembered, and it was beautiful. I was in shock after falling. He helped me up, our stares locked, and time seemed to stand still.

Callum’s eyes were bright as stars that day, even though they were just a blur. I remembered how my heart swelled inside my chest while I gazed up at him in awe.

Now, my heart just ached.

“From that point on, it was always you, Maeve,” he croaked. “I wouldn’t have married anyone else. I didn’t know you before that day—we’d hardly even spoken. But I only had to look into your eyes once to know you were mine.”

“That’s not what you said in the car on our wedding day,” I snapped.

A sheepish look stole over his face. “I know, but Jesus, I didn’t have a clue. Thinking back, that was when I should’ve told you everything.”

“No, Callum O’Shea,” I clipped out. “You should’ve told me everythingbeforeour wedding ceremony.”

“I told myself I didn’t want you to back out because I’d lose the deal, but I know now that I didn’t wanna lose you. It was never about the bar, but I was too fucking proud and stupid to admit to myself and everybody around me that it was all about what I was feeling for you.” He leaned forward and rested his hand on my knee. “Bowie would’ve helped, and Mam, too, and I knew it. When I went to Patrick’s that night for dinner, I was still in two minds about what I was going to do. I thought I’d tell him to stick it up his arse and walk out. Then I looked deep into your eyes, and my heart made the decision for me, baby. After that, I searched for excuses to go through with the wedding instead of reasons to call it off.”

That part added up, at least.

The way he felt that night mirrored my emotions. We did have a moment, and everything changed as a result. Callum remained distant after that, but he wasn’t cold toward me like before. He was kind and thoughtful, and his newfound protectiveness toward me was obvious, like at the wedding when he told everybody to get out of the church.

I got it, and I understood, but there were still some questions I needed answers to.

“Tell me about what happened when we got back here,” I demanded.

His forehead furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You brought me into this apartment and went about your life.”

His lips set in a line. “I fought it, Maeve. At first, I didn’t want to develop feelings for you, so I held you at arm’s length. Then you went back to New York for a few days, and I realized I missed you being around. That was when I began to accept that you were different from every other woman I’d met.”

“So, what did you tell your friends?” I asked, keeping my tone deceptively casual.

“Everything,” he stated.

My heart gave a sharp, painful squeeze.

And there it was...

“So,” I bit off. “You managed to tell your buddies that you’d been blackmailed into marrying me and was even paid for your trouble, but you couldn’t tell me?”

Slowly, the color drained from his face. “Maeve?—”

“And there’s the rub,” I stated. “You told me days before you’d prove how deeply you respected me. Instead, you discussed important details about my life with people I didn’t even know and then lied about it.” I pulled my knees up to my chin and hugged my legs. “Did you all have a good laugh at my expense?” My voice raised an octave. “Did they say, poor Callum,having to marry the ugly girl to save his family's bar? Did you feel big and clever that you made a fool out of me just so you could get what you wanted?”

“It wasn’t like that,” he protested. “I never wanted to make you look bad?—”

I leaned forward and shrieked, “But you did! You’ve humiliated me yet again! You’ve blindsided me yet a-fucking-gain. We’ve been back hereweeks,and not once have you even hinted at any of this.” I jumped to my feet and began to pace the room, ranting as I went. “Jesus, Callum, Abe knew. Can’t you see how embarrassing that is? He doesn’t know me from Adam, butheknows more about my fucking marriage thanI do.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he repeated.

“Yes, it was!” I screeched, throwing my hands in the air. “It wasexactlylike that. You told your friends you were blackmailed into getting married, but you didn’t tell the one person who deserved to know—your fucking wife!Can’t you see how crazy this entire debacle is? How unbelievably wrong it is on every level?” I pulled in a deep breath, trying to cool the fire ravaging my insides. As I exhaled, my shoulders slumped, and all the fight left my body, leaving me hollow.

“I love you,” he breathed. “It doesn’t matter how we got together; it just matters that we did.”

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