Page 58 of My Irish Mafia King

“My name is Nora,” she says. “I’m Killian’s mother, and I’ve wanted to meet you ever since he first mentioned you.”

“I’ve wanted to meet you too, Mrs?—”

“Nora, please,” she cuts in. “Would you mind if I put you on speaker so that his sister, Ellie, can hear you too?”

Before I can reply, Nora calls for Ellie. I laugh, leaning against the wall, a big grin on my face.

“Are youtheLucy?”

“Guilty as charged,” I say. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“What are you doing at his apartment?” Ellie asks. “Have you moved in?”

“Uh, no,” I murmur.

But is the idea as silly as it should be? Once upon a time, not even that long ago, it would’ve seemed like madness. But after the fire, and with all our love-filled declarations, it doesn’t seem impossible anymore.

“My bakery burned down. My apartment was above it. Killian is letting me stay here for a while.”

“Of course he is,” Nora says. “He’s always been a kind, caring boy.”

“Has he finally asked you on a date?” Ellie asks.

“Ellie!” Nora snaps.

“It’s fine,” I say, chuckling again. “Yes, we’ve been on a date. We…” I stop. What can I say?Yes, possible future mother-in-law, we had amazing sex last night and then ate pizza.“We’re close,” I go on. “Closer than I’ve been with anybody else.”

“Killian has spoken a lot about you since he first started going to The Celtic Crust,” Nora says.

“We’re so sorry it burned down,” Ellie adds.

“Yes,” Nora continues. “That’s absolutely awful.”

“He spoke about me?” I ask, then add, “And, yeah, thanks. Me too. But I’ll rebuild. I promised my mom I’d never quit on that place, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“That’swhat he said about you,” Nora says.

“I don’t follow?”

“He said you were the most determined woman he’s ever met. When he heard about your mom passing and you taking on the bakery by yourself, you should’ve seen the look on his face… These past six months, Killian has been different.”

“Not just different, Mom,” Ellie says. “He transformed. He’s like an entirely new person. Don’t get me wrong; Killian was never mean.”

“Oh, no,” Nora agrees. “But he lacked a certain enthusiasm for life. He was slow to smile, and even when he did smile, sometimes it was like he was doing it for our benefit and not his own. But after visiting your bakery, he always had a skip in his step. You make him happy.”

“He makes me happy too,” I say, wiping my eyes when tears form. After the hotel, the showdown, then the reconnection and the lovemaking, my emotions are close to the surface.

“It’s just so nice to finally hear your voice,” Nora says.

“You could’ve come by the bakery,” I tell her.

“Killianforbadeus,” she says, laughing ruefully.

“Really, why?”

“He didn’t want us to love you as much as he did,” Ellie says excitedly. “He didn’t want us to get attached, because…”

“Ellie,” Nora mutters.

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