Page 26 of Stolen Mafia Vows
Sienna eases herself off the chair, supporting her belly with both arms as she stands, crosses the room, and fills two mugs with steaming black coffee. The aroma fills thekitchen, and my tummy growls. For the past nine days (I’m still not sure how I feel about the two days we lost tangled up in knotted sheets and sweaty limbs), Eoghan and I have eaten when we realized we were hungry and burned off way more calories than we consumed. Now I’m suddenly starving.
“Depends on what you’re going to tell them.”
She takes the cream from the fridge and adds it to the mugs, spooning brown sugar into both without asking if I want any. I can forgive her for being distracted, I lost forty-eight hours for fuck’s sake.
“I’m not going back to college.” I wait for her to sit back down before I mumble the confession from behind my cup of coffee.
She’s silent for a while. Finally, she says, “Talk to them. Please. You might find that it isn’t anywhere near as painful as you think it’s going to be.”
I snort, coffee spluttering from my mouth and over the new clothes that Eoghan bought for me when we stayed in Dublin. “Have you met my mom?”
Sienna chuckles. “It’s a big decision though, Em, and you should try seeing it from their perspective before you speak to them. They’ve put you through college. They’ve probably spent the last three years putting money aside to set you up in your own veterinary practice. And you want to give it all up for a guy you just met.”
I hear her, but when she puts it like that, my stomach drops through the floor. They’ll never agree to it. I’d go so far as to say that they’d rather keep me locked up for the rest of my life than let it happen. But it’s also unfair. We’re not Victorians. I don’t need a chaperone to protect my reputation andeligibility to marry into a wealthy family with a solid background.
This is the twenty-first century, and I can do what I want with my life.
“Just make your argument convincing, is all I’m saying.” Sienna sits back in her seat and sips her coffee.
“Maybe I’ll speak to Kyle first.” The coffee is sweet, but I instantly crave more sugar. I get up and fetch the biscuit barrel which is filled with shortbread.
“Meanwhile,” she pauses for dramatic effect, “you can help me move into a little cottage by the sea.”
“Why?” I feel my brows knitting together. I don’t understand what’s wrong with staying here.
“Why not?” She shrugs. “I want to be close to the sea when the baby arrives, and Kyle found the perfect cottage for me.”
I don’t answer. I know I’m being selfish, but helping Sienna to move to another house means less time spent with Eoghan. And yes, she’s pregnant, but it suddenly feels as if she’s saying one thing and doing the opposite. Conspiring with my family to keep us apart.
“Emily.” She places her cup on the table and reaches for my hand. “If he cares about you, he’ll wait as long as it takes.”
“Like Kyle waited for you?” It comes out way harsher than I intended.
“Yes. We were always meant to be together.”
I sniff loudly. “So, you spent five years waiting for him to come back to you.”
I hear the suspicion in my tone, and I don’t try to take it back.
“Subconsciously, yes. I always knew he was the only one for me.”
I must be a sucker for a love story because I believe her. “I don’t want to wait five years.”
“I’m not saying you should, Em. In fact, I don’t recommend it at all.” She tries to gloss over her words with a smile. “I’m simply saying: don’t do anything rash.”
“I won’t.” I don’t cross my fingers behind my back when I say it even though running away with Eoghan looks like the best option right now.
She buys it though. “I can’t wait to show you the cottage, Em. It’s perfect. There are roses climbing up the outside walls, and wildflowers in the garden,and the beach…”
I tune out of the conversation. I’ve already made up my mind. I’m staying in Ireland, with Eoghan, no matter what my folks say.
Sienna takes me to the cottage the next day.
I sleep for twelve hours and wake up to the aroma of grilled bacon and fried eggs. We eat in the kitchen with the doors and windows wide open to let in the scent of the earth scoured clean by yesterday’s rainfall, and Sienna talks relentlessly about living by the sea, and potentially adopting a dog after the baby is born.
I listen, but my mind is elsewhere.
At least my emotions are under control. It must’ve been a combination of tiredness, the disappointment of returning toa house that felt empty, and the space at my side where Eoghan should’ve been.
