Page 525 of Lodestar

I gave her the side-eye then returned my focus to Aoife. “He could have made me suffer and be miserable, but he didn’t.”

“What did he ask of you?” Aela queried, her tone cautious.

“I tend to think I can only do things myself,” I admitted gruffly. “That I’m a team of one. He wanted me to change the way I think. He wanted me to include him. That was what he needed from me and I’ve done that. Do I fuck up? Sure. But did I open up to him too? Yes.”

“Our relationship is different though,” Aoife argued.

“Duh,” I retorted. “But what do you want from him?”

A silence as powerful as a loaded gun slipped between us as the others waited with bated breath for Aoife to answer.

Eventually, when the sound of a pin dropping would have been as loud as an atomic bomb blast, she whispered, “To be his priority. Always. Above his family. Always. To take my side. No matter what. Over everyone and anyone, including his brothers.”

“I-I think he does that now, doesn’t he?” Inessa queried. “After everything, I mean?”

“Yes,” she said softly, her eyes locking on mine though, not Inessa’s. “He does.”

“Okay, so maybe verbalize that to him?—”

“I might have told him that in some variation.”

“Men need reminders,” Savannah tacked on. “Never does any harm to repeat something until it’s set in stone.”

“Very true,” Aela agreed with a hard chuckle.

“So verbalize it again and then say you would like to give Sunday dinner a try with the family.

“And while I’ve no desire to help the old bitch, I’d like to suggest that you think about how you need Lena to atone too.

“Before you say she can’t, I know that, but I think I’m the only one who’d find it entertaining if you blank Lena at her own dinner table.”

“It wouldn’t be fair to everyone, would it?”

“Nah, not really, but as I said before, that doesn’t mean you have to make it easy on her.

“Did you know Conor used to have nightmares as a kid and she wouldn’t comfort him back to sleep?” I sniffed. “I’ll deal with her, but I won’t sort out her fucking kitchen.” If that was pointed at Savannah, then so be it.

She took the hit with an eye roll.

Aoife bit her lip. “I need to think about it.”

“Be odd if you didn’t.” I patted her arm. “Your life’s been in stasis since everything came out. Some things going forward, and others going backward. We both need to embrace the future because we can’t do anything about the past.”

“Wise words,” Camille intoned gently as she held out a plate for me to take. Seeing as mine was still full, I shoved it at Aoife.

“Eat,” I directed. “They might not be as good as yours but they’re still good.”

Her eyes were slightly dazed. “Thank you.”

“No worries.”

“No,” she repeated, tone firmer, her hand reaching for my free one. As she squeezed, she said, “Thank you.”

My lips quirked in a half-smile. “My pleasure.”

“I-I have an apple pie over there for Conor,” she mumbled.

“He’ll appreciate that,” I said softly, aware she was still reeling from the unintentionally emotional conversation we’d just had.

---