Page 17 of Liam

Laughing, I clap his shoulder, “You’re lucky I put a stop to it, but Da wanted to have them over for dinner last night to meet them.”

Johnny chuckles and gets in behind the steering wheel. I go to the passenger side and open it, laughing as Adam walks to his vehicle, muttering under his breath about matchmaking old fools.

Once we’re on the way, it doesn’t take long to get to the office, even with stopping to open the gate and the girls messing around. Adam unlocked and drove through while Johnny pulled over to let the girls out. I get out and wait for them to pass through, blowing a kiss to my girl as she drives past and then laughing and shaking my head as each of her girls blows me a kiss as they ride past. Johnny follows along behind them, waiting for me to secure the gate and get back in. He's sniggering when I sit back in the passenger seat and shaking his head, “Jesus, Liam, I’m not sure we’re ready for those girls. They’re hilarious.”

“They are,” I agree. “They’re not going anywhere, though; the five of them are tight and have each other’s backs.”

“What’s with JoJo? She seems the odd one out.”

“Not sure yet, other than she’s a widow.”

“That’s fucking sad, Liam; she’s pretty young to be a widow.”

“Yeah, makes you think, doesn’t it? Don’t waste time when you’re given a chance at the one who makes you happy. Grab on and don’t let go. Rhett and Noni showed us that.”

He nods his head in agreement, “I hear you.”

We’re quiet for the rest of the journey. It’s not until we park that Johnny says, “I’m happy for you, Liam. Sera’s going to be good for you. We can already see the change.”

“The last few months have been good changes for all of us, Johnny. Finally, after years of shit, we’re slowly coming out the other side. Jesus, would you look at that?”

Johnny barks out a laugh at the scene in front of us. Sera and Adam are standing, watching the shenanigans that Sera’s squad is getting up to. Adam’s got his fingers pressed to the bridge of his nose as if he’s in pain, until I see his shoulders lifting up and down, and I know he’s laughing.

Sera puts her fingers to her lips, letting out a shrill whistle, and I watch in amazement as her girls fall into line, with JoJo bringing up the rear, shaking her head at them.

“It’s like herding cats,” JoJo calls out to Sera, who throws her head back laughing.

‘Fuck me, she’s beautiful.’

Getting out, I hurry to where she’s standing, waiting for Adam to unlock the door. Wrapping my arm around her, I press a kiss to her temple. “You’re gorgeous when you’re happy,mo bhanríon.”

Tunnelling her fingers through my hair, she pulls my head towards her and whispers in my ear, “Thank you, Liam; it’s you who makes me feel beautiful.”

“Come on, you two, don’t make me get a jug of water,” Adam shouts.

“Fucking brothers, I’m sure I didn’t give them a hard time when they met their women,” I grumble, letting Sera go only to catch her by the hand instead and pull her towards the office, saying to Adam, “Keep your knickers on. We’re coming.”

Sera snickers but doesn’t say anything. It’s only when we get in the office that she puts her foot down. “Uh-huh, you stay out here with my girls. I can’t have you in the office with me.”

My eyes widen at her words. I’m just messing with her, though I’d expected it, and had sent a message through to Adam earlier this morning to say I’d show her girls squad around and the stock we had.

Slapping a hand to my chest as if she’s wounded me, “Mo chroí, you wound me.”

Sera rolls her eyes at me and pushes me towards where her squad is gathered, smiling at us, “Here, take him and have him show you around. Make me a list of whatever stock is there, and I’ll go over it this evening.”

“No need,” Adam says, pulling a sheaf of papers from a folder he’s holding and handing it to JoJo. “This was last month’s stock take, but I’d check it’s correct because we have used some stock, and I’m not sure if the lads logged it out like they should have.”

“Stock room is through there,” I motion down a second passage. Originally, this warehouse had housed two companies with their own offices; they only shared the reception area and the kitchen. Adam hadn’t rented the other part out, mostly because he didn’t trust anyone and didn’t particularly like most people. It would seem he was right because this way we could keep the two companies separate, the bonus being there was a small warehouse at the back that we kept the stock in.

I got to follow on behind Sera’s squad, but I’m brought to an abrupt halt by Sera. Looking over my shoulder at her, a smile curves my lips because she’s tapping hers, “Kiss, lover, before you take off. I’m not sure how long this meeting is going to take.”

O’Shea men aren’t stupid, and when their women demand their kisses, we give them what they want. I’m glad to know that Seraisn’t embarrassed to ask for what she needs; unfortunately, I also know we’d have to keep it short and sweet if we want to get anything done today.

Tilting my head, I press my lips to hers in a soft kiss. Lifting my head, I smile as her eyes flutter open. Pressing one last kiss to her lips, I tell her, “I’ll see you later,mo bhanríon,” before turning and sauntering down the passage to where her girls are waiting, a decidedly jaunty bounce to my step. Nothing like the love of a strong woman to set an O’Shea up for the day, and something tells me that I’d lucked out and got myself one of the best.

CHAPTER 9

SERA