Page 88 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

We all watch as he places his hands behind his head, so Jaine can more easily admire him. She does so more for his male pride than anything else. He’s of no interest to her. At least not in that way. It doesn’t stop my jealousy from riling me. I want to punch him in the gut for flirting with her, but that won’t fit in with my need to appear a happily married man.

Eoin glares at him but says nothing. Aidan’s clearly pulled this stunt before. He does have a fancy for Jaine, but I reckon it’s done primarily to wind my big brother up. Eoin shouldn’t be reacting anyway.

When she did reach out to him, he slammed the door of second chances in her face.

His reaction came as a surprise to us all. We expected them to settle their differences and work together to find this missing balance of theirs. According to our Dylan, it’s their third or fourth chance, not their second, so maybe Eoin decided there was no point in continuing to flog a dead horse.

“Dylan. Cillian.”

She nods at both before turning her attention to me. “Padraig.”

Her expression is impassive, but I can sense her disappointment in me. I’ve not been in contact with her since her frank admission and chaste kiss. She’ll think they’re the reason behind my prolonged silence.

Do I tell her about my pact with Sophia? Jaine and I used to tell each other everything, but that was before she became involved with my brother and before she became part of my family.

Where would her loyalties lie these days, I wonder? To me? To him? To them?

I’ve not told anyone apart from Dylan as I’ve no idea how the rest of my family will react to the fact that I’m trying to escape the clutches of the wife they went out of their way to hand-pick for me. And trying to preserve Jaine’s life while I do so.

Then again, they didn’t care about how I’d react when they entered me into an arranged marriage with her in the first place.

“Eoin.”

She finally turns her attention to my eldest brother, and he stares at her like he wants to eat her alive.

He worships her. He adores her.

He may try to hide it from the others, but he can’t hide it from someone who’s worn that same look for the past twelve years. From someone who also worships and adores her.

“And what brings you here today, Jaine?” Da asks the all-important question.

He’s had another chair brought to the table and had it placed on his right-hand side. The chair to the right of Dylan is also vacant, as Jessie is in Nevada visiting Lucifer. The chair to Eoin’s right is also empty, as it’s where Jaine usually sits.

She glances around, then takes her usual spot to Eoin’s right.

He gives nothing away, but I know he’ll be surprised by that move.

What he doesn’t realize is that she’s not doing it because she wants to sit next to his pompous arse. She’s doing it to let him know that the fact that she dumped him, and then he dumped her straight back, has left her unaffected. She shelved her love for him the same as she’s shelved her love for me.

She has far more important things to concern herself with right now.

“I’ve just had a meeting with Rod. It was local to here, so I thought I’d drop in to discuss the same matter with you.”

“And that is?”

She side glances at Eoin before turning her attention back to Da. “A conversation I had with Nate Hawke.”

“How is Nate?” I smile as I ask the question.

“Was that the conversation that took place the very same evening he intimated that he wanted to sleep with you?” Eoin tosses in.

“My, my. Two questions at once.” Jaine smiles at me, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Nate’s the same as he’s always been. As sharp as a tack and wondering what’s in it for him.”

She then turns her attention to Eoin. He doesn’t even get the fake smile. “What wasn’t in it for him was the opportunity to fuck me.”

I watch Eoin’s hand as he grips his Montblanc pen, no doubt imagining it to be the District Attorney’s neck.

“So, what did you converse about, darlin’?”

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