Page 19 of Aidan

She makes some small noise. “And your cousin Caitlín lives here with her fiancé, who also works for your Da?”

“Yes. Her brother Nathan and his wife and kids live here as well. Lucia works at the National Museum of Ireland. Not sure exactly what her title is, but from what I understand, she pretty much runs it.”

Sorcha puts the pan in the oven and comes to sit near me at the table.“The National Museum? That’s incredible. It’s one of the most prestigious museums in the UK, aside from the British Museum.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” I huff out a short laugh. “Now you know all the immediate family.”

“I’m already overwhelmed and I’ve never met any of them.” Sorcha clenches her fingers together.

“We’re all normal people,” I try to reassure her.

She snorts. “Normal people don’t run the Irish mafia.”

“Almost normal, then.”

Approaching footsteps draw our attention to the living area where Carson walks in. He glances over at us and waves. “Hey.”

I nod in greeting. Sorcha gets up and sends him over to the table while she gets juice out of the fridge and fills a glass for him. Minutes later, Kellen and Aisling trod in and she pours their drinks as well. The three of them are seated and chatting amongst themselves. I glance over at her as she cleans up. She’s always taking care of everyone.Who takes care of her?

Sorcha finishes up and finally takes her seat. “Breakfast should be ready soon. But while you’re all here, I—we—wanted to talk to you about something.”

Their gazes bounce between us and the three of them are unusually quiet. Probably remembering the tension from yesterday and the way I’d left. Sorcha’s eyes dart in my direction before focusing on her siblings again. She hesitates then opens her mouth and closes it, like she’s unsure where to start. She takes a deep inhale.

“Aidan asked me to marry him,” she blurts out. “We wanted to tell you first and see how you feel about it.”

Kellen and Carson are quiet, but Aisling wiggles in her seat.

“Does that mean Aidan will be my brother?”

Sorcha glances at me. “Yes, I guess it does.”

The little girl jumps down from her chair and runs around the table to throw herself in my arms. “Woohoo! I get another brother.”

I squeeze her back. “And I get another sister.”

Aisling steps back. “You have a sister?”

“Her name is Imogen.” I nod. “I also have two brothers, Cian and Finn. So you’ll really be getting three more brothers and another sister.”

She turns to Sorcha. “Did you hear that? I’ve got more brothers and a sister.”

“I heard. That’s exciting.” Sorcha smiles at her, but her eyes hold worry as her gaze flickers to her brothers. “What about you two? How do you feel?”

Kellen speaks up first. “Does this mean you won’t have to borrow money for the pub now?”

His sister startles. “Where did you hear that?”

“I overheard you talking on the phone last week.”

Sorcha’s face flushes.

“Yes, it means she won’t have to borrow any money,” I speak up. “I told you I’d do what I could to help.”

Sorcha sputters. “You two talked about this already?” Her pitch rises with each word.

“The boys were worried about you.”

Her mouth snaps shut, but I can tell she’s upset about it still.

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