Page 38 of My Irish Mafia King

Asurreal feeling grips me as we sit on the private balcony of the restaurant, overlooking the main floor, our eyeline meeting the chandelier. Soft Celtic-style music plays, and banners with nature colors hang from the walls. The restaurant is the sort of place without prices on the menus.

Killian is completely at ease here, smiling over at me… but still with that hungry look glimmering in his eyes. Two big shopping bags rest on a chair close to the table. I got a dress, a new coat, two new pairs of pants and a skirt, as well as the necklace. I tried to tell Killian it was too much… but that just resulted in more spanking.

Is it bad I’m liking it?

“Shall we start with some champagne?” he says.

“Sure,” I reply, “but order some water, too. I don’t want to get drunk.”

“Me neither,” he says. “I need my wits and instincts sharp.”

“But a little bubbly won’t hurt.”

He smiles. “Exactly.”

He orders the drinks, then the waiter tells us to indicate when we’re ready to order our meals.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, as I look around the restaurant, down at the men and women in their fancy suits and dresses.

“Just that fate is a funny thing,” I murmur. “We were the only two people on that part of the mountain. Mom was with the rangers, looking for me, and I thought I was going to be alone out there forever… and then you emerged from the fog. I didn’t even think you were real at first.”

“I was clearing my head, thinking about the future, my place in the Family. It was like fate sent you into my path to prove I could do some good.”

“And now we’re here. We didn’t keep in touch. I bet you never thought about me again.”

“From time to time,” he says. “I hoped you were okay. I hoped that you and your mom were doing well. But I won’t lie, rarely. When I walked into the Crust, it was one hell of a shock.”

“I guess it was different for us…”

I pause when the waiter brings two glasses of champagne and a jug of water. Killian raises the glass. “To tonight… may it last forever.”

I laugh. “To tonight.”

I might laugh, but there’s a bitter edge tinging the toast. Tonight is all we have, all that’s guaranteed. Once the war starts, or even after the war… he won’t want me anymore. He doesn’t think I can handle the mafia life. Can I?

“You were saying it was different for you?” Killian says, taking a sip of champagne.

I swallow down some bubbles of my own. “Yeah. The day I got lost, the day you found me and helped me reunite with Mom, that was when everything changed. She thought Dad had taken me. It turns out he was getting shitfaced at a bar. But for those few hours, she thought she’d lost me. That was when she plucked up the courage to leave him for good. He stayed in Ireland, turning the holiday into his permanent home. We never saw him again. She spoke fondly of you toward the end.”

“I wish I could’ve met her again,” Killian says. “I remember her as a loving, determined woman who was doing her best.” He picks up his napkin and reaches over, dabbing my cheek as a tear fell.

“Sorry,” I murmur.

“Don’t apologize for being human,” he says. “You must miss her a lot. She would’ve been proud of you, Lucy. If she saw what you’ve done with the bakery, working so hard, running the business alone, all while dealing with that Shane crap. If you need to cry, cry. I can’t imagine losing my mother.”

“Thank you,” I say. “Are you close with your parents?”

“I was close with my father before the car crash,” he says. “And yeah, I’m close with my mom. She’s an amazing woman. Kind, caring, supportive.”

I raise my glass. “To our mothers.”

I almost tell him I hope I get to meet his, but that would mean crossing a line better left uncrossed.

“What are you thinking of ordering?” I ask.

“What I want isn’t on the menu,” he says.

“Do lines like that work on all your girlfriends?” I tease, raising my hand to flash the turned-inward Claddagh ring.

---