Page 38 of Twisted Secrets
“No, it’s fine.” Though he was now even more curious as to her connections to the kind of life he led. Most people considered arranged marriages a thing of the past—at least in this part of the world—so for her to broach the subject spoke volumes. He forced himself to temporarily let it go. She’d tell him when she was ready and not before. He wasn’t going to ruin a good conversation by prying, especially since she was already cagey about coming out with him in the first place. “I’m not the oldest son, so I have some freedom from that sort of thing.” His value lay elsewhere, in his bookkeeping skills.
She raised her eyebrows. “Your family sounds charming.”
“You have no idea. There are definite perks, and they’re mostly good people, but my parents don’t let a little thing like emotional attachment get in the way of their plans.”
“You don’t sound particularly bitter.”
“I’m not.” Not really. Not most days. “Like I said—I made my peace with my place in the world a long time ago.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears. “And what would your family think about you being outwith me right now?”
He thought back to Sloan’s response. It hadn’t exactly been supportive, but that was more aimed at him than the woman across from him. He’d been telling the truth—when push came to shove, his skills with numbers were more valuable than any marriage he’d potentially make. That left him freer than most of his siblings. “It doesn’t really matter what they’d think. I want to be here with you, so here we are.”
For a second, she actually looked shocked before she managed to get an expressionless mask in place. Why was what he said so surprising? Sure, Irish mob families had a tendency to put family first and everyone else dead last, but as long as Olivia wasn’t some kind of sleeper agent or spy intent on bringing them all down in flames, there was no reason his family should have a problem with them dating.
In theory.
But he meant what he said. The more he found out about Olivia, the more he liked. He wasn’t about to give her up without a fight. Not now. Not until they’d had their fill of each other.
And what if that never happens?
He shoved the voice away. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it. “So, why don’t we try something easy? Tell me about your hopes and dreams and fears.”
She laughed again, the sound like the best whiskey. He could almost taste it if he closed his eyes. That night with her in the alley had been the first time he’d been with someone in…a long time. A seriously long time. Olivia picked up her water. “That’s your idea of small talk?”
“Sure. What’s wrong with that?” He knew damn well that it wasn’t small talk, but he liked that she was teasing him. Heliked it a lot.
“Oh, I don’t know.” She grinned. “Everything?”
“Sit back, sweetheart. I’m about to school you.”
“This should be interesting.”
She had no idea.
***
Sloan had never been a big drinker, but she was thinking now might be a good time to start. Keira certainly hadn’t felt that five thirty in the evening was too early to begin tipping whatever was in her flask into her drink when she thought no one was looking. She caught Sloan’s frown and grinned. “Don’t look so disapproving. It’s after five.”
That logic was flawed in a seriously large way, but since her sister shut her down every time she tried to actually talk to her, Sloan turned to face the room. When Teague had invited her to the Sheridan residence, at first she’d thought it was going to be just the two of them going over the last details of her extraction. But, no, he’d invited all the O’Malley siblings.
She hadn’t realized when he said all he meantall.
Carrigan caught her eye, and Sloan immediately turned back to Keira. “I can’t believe he invited her.”
“She’s still our sister, even if she’s pretty much a traitor.” Keira swirled her drink, took a sip, and then added more from her flask. “Though Teague obviously doesn’t agree with our parents on that.”
Which was probably why their parents were noticeably absent tonight. She wasn’t sure if they’d gotten an invite or not, but she understood why they’d chosen not to come if theyhadbeen invited. She might havedone the same if she’d known Carrigan would be here. “She’s with a Halloran. That’s inexcusable.”
“Is it?” Keira shrugged, taking another sip. “It doesn’t make Devlin less dead, either way.”
“Keira.”
“What? It’s the truth, isn’t it? We’re all so damn miserable. What’s wrong with one of us dredging out a little slice of happiness for herself? Maybe that’s why Mother and Father are so pissed—we’re so much easier to maneuver when we’re suffering.”
She was about to tell her sister not to talk like that, but she stopped herself. Wasn’t that part of the reason she was leaving? She was finally taking her future into her own hands and grabbing whatever happiness she could find. She nodded to where Teague stood with his arm around Callie’s waist. “Not all of us are miserable.”
“Well, duh.” Another sip. “You want to know the other thing that stands out with those two lucky little shits? They got out. Oh, notout-out.” Keira waved her hand. “But they aren’t under our parents’ thumbs anymore. Bet that helps with the whole happiness thing.”
