Page 23 of Into Temptation

“I know the timin’ isn’t great, but we couldn’t put our life on hold. We’ve already spent so much time—”

Now I’m the one to butt in. “I know. You’re right. There’s no need to explain.”

Rory places his hand over mine, his love for me reflecting in his poignant green eyes. He and Punky are opposites. Punky always had the bad-boy image down pat, while Rory was more conservative. I guess that’s why he, Punky, and Cian became best friends—opposites attract.

Rory’s father, Cormac Walsh, comes over, not hiding his distaste for me. Rory assures me he does like me, but we both know he’s lying. I think it’s because he thinks his son is too good for me, and he’s right.

His son deserves someone who isn’t as fucked up as me.

“We’re away to the ballroom. Let’s toast the happy couple.”

Rory nods while I smile, trying my best not to alert Cormac that I’m trembling inside.

Cian, Amber, and Hannah appear, wearing strained smiles on their faces. I know how hard this has been for Cian. He and Punky were always closer than Rory and Punky. I’d hate for him to think he has to pick a side.

Cian has been through so much. When his father took his own life, a part of him died too. We’ve all lost so much, and that’s thanks to the man I refuse to acknowledge as my father.

He may have met his end of the deal, but that doesn’t mean I’m grateful for what he did. He ruined our lives, and for what? For greed. He makes me sick. No wonder my mom wants nothing to do with him. And now that he’s the most powerful man in Ireland and Northern Ireland, he thinks he can buy my love.

I have no idea what he wants.

He has Erin and Liam, children who actually want to know him, but that hasn’t stopped him from sending flowers or texts, expressing his remorse for how things ended between us. He’s delusional if he thinks I’ll ever forgive him for what he did.

Thinking of his other child, Punky, the knot in my stomach only tightens.

Darcy and Punky make their way down the staircase, laughing about something. I hide my jealousy because he’ll never laugh like that with me. We lock eyes before he dismisses me, returning his attention to Darcy, who looks stunning.

They look amazing together. On his arm, she shines.

Punky says something into Cian’s ear. He laughs in response.

He doesn’t seem too upset to find out that I’m marrying his best friend.That’s a good thing, I remind myself. So why do I feel like bursting into tears?

I know the reason—because I don’t feel the same way looking at him and Darcy together. I want to claw out her eyes.

I need to get over this. I need to remember that Punky is my half-brother.

A waiter zips past, but I stop him and grab two glasses of champagne off his silver tray. Rory thinks one glass is for him, but he’s wrong. I throw back both, making a face as the alcohol hits my empty stomach.

“Let’s go,” Rory says, gently kissing my cheek, and when he does, I see something which pleases me immensely—Punky narrows his eyes, eyeballing the fuck out of Rory.

The sight gives me hope that he does care, that this is as weird for him as it is for me.

We know we can never be together the way we once were, but to see his mood sour this way shows me that I still affect him. I don’t know why, but that makes me feel better. I don’t feel like everything we experienced was all in my head.

Rory leads me toward the ballroom with our friends following close behind. I snare another glass of champagne from a waiter as we enter the room.

The moment we do, the room falls quiet before it explodes into joyous clapping. Everyone passes their congratulations onto us as we walk through the crowd, and suddenly, I feel claustrophobic. It’s all too much.

I’m on autopilot, smiling and acting the part of the happy fiancée, but on the inside, I’m moments away from falling apart. Rory doesn’t seem to notice and leads me to the front of the room where his mom and dad stand.

There is an elaborate white cake, feet away, and I suddenly realize, the next cake I’ll see of this size will probably be my wedding cake. Sweat gathers along my brow as I wet my suddenly parched lips.

Our guests wait for us to speak, but Cormac takes the lead. “Thank you for comin’ ’ere tonight to celebrate the engagement of our only son and his beautiful wife-to-be, Camilla.”

The crowd erupts into applause while I try to smile even though I know Cormac is lying.

“Aileen and I are proud of you, son. Y’ve never backed down, and shown true strength in whatever life decisions y’ve made.”

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