Page 93 of Not Another Yesterday
Shane flashes his teeth. “Good things only, I hope.”
“Definitely not,” I deadpan, loud enough for him to hear.
He snorts a laugh while my grandma swats at the air like she’s shooing my remark away like a fly. “Yes, only ever good things. Goodness, you are such a blessing to my baby boy. Thank you for being such an amazing friend to him.”
Shane turns to me with a foul grin, mouthingbaby boylike he’s memorizing it for future blackmail.
Fuck you, I mouth back, flipping him off.
“Yep, those boys are as close as brothers,” Seamus drawls, giving me a fatherly pat on the back.
My grandma nods, all misty-eyed. “Your son is truly heaven-sent. He’s always been so good to my Ran,” she tells Seamus, giving Shane the kind of fond look usually reserved for puppies and war heroes.
I groan. “Okay, Morai, stop. I still gotta go home and work with this asshole. You’re going to make my life unbearable if you keep feeding Shane’s ego.”
Shane doesn’t miss a beat. “Don’t be jealous,baby boy.”
“Not jealous,” I shoot back. “Just concerned for your already-inflated head. Wouldn’t want it to pop. You’ve got a business to run, remember?”
My grandma reaches up and pats Shane’s cheek. “Oh, Shane seems to have a very good head on his shoulders.”
I blink. “Uhh, you’re supposed to be onmyside, Morai.”
Shane slings his arm over my grandma’s shoulder like he was born into this family. “Forget it, Ran. She’s my Morai now.”
I narrow my eyes, smirking. “Careful, Shay. I know where you live, and I’m not above telling Tori aboutthe donut incidentfrom when you were fourteen.”
Tori perks up immediately. “Whatdonut incident?”
Shane’s face darkens. “You wouldn’t,” he growls. “That’s take-it-to-your-grave material, Ran.”
I just shrug, grinning. “No one’s grave is safe, pal.”
Seamus’s deep laugh reverberates in my chest. “Okay, boys, before the testosterone gets out of hand, how about we drop off the luggage and then someone can tell me where to find the groom.”
My grandma launches into her usual welcome spiel, giving the O’Connor guys and Tori a quick tour of the main house before I take them to the cabin they’ll be staying in until Wednesday. Five days—that’s all Seamus and Shane could spare from work. Restaurants don’t run themselves, after all.
“Jack running things at Murphy’s?” I ask after we drop Seamus off with my dad and grandpa at the barn that’ll serve as the indoor venue for the wedding on Tuesday. Yes, a Tuesday wedding because, one, why the hell not, and two, it’s April fourth—supposedly a special date for my dad and Penny. I haven’t asked specifics. Don’t plan to.
“Sure is,” Shane says, an elbow propped on the open truck window as we bump along the dirt road between pastures. “My mom’s doing the bank drops and stuff, but Jack’s got the rest.”
A soft throat-clear emanates from the backseat before Tori’s head edges between Shane and me like she’s tiptoeing into a minefield. “So uhh, Cat’s here, right?”
How is it possible that five simple words manage to throw off my heart’s rhythm? Up until this moment I was doing a pretty decent job pretending Cat and I weren’t occupying the same space at the same time. And then Tori had to go and say her name—reckless, like lighting a match in a dry field—and just like that, every part of me remembers how desperately I want her. Need her.
“Yeah, I… She should be. I haven’t… I haven’t seen her yet,” I say, my throat tight. I swallow hard. “I… I actually wanted to talk to you guys.”
I don’t need to look at them to know I have their undivided attention.
I take a deep breath. “I fucked up.”
“Duh,” Tori mutters.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Everyone has opinions about my breakup with Cat, and they’re usually not favorable to me.
Shane just nods. “Uh-huh.”
“I need to talk to Cat, but—”
