Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
He turned to Keira. “I’d congratulate the bride, but that hardly seems appropriate given the groom.” Another glare at her husband.
Thank God for Callie. Teague’s pregnant wife slipped between Teague and Dmitri, giving him her hand the same way a queen would bestow knighthood. “Dmitri, you’re playing a dangerous game.”
“The only kind there is.” He kissed her hand and released her immediately.
She studied him for a long moment. “I see.”
Keira wasn’t sure exactly what her sister-in-law meant, but Callie had always been something of an enigma. Teague was savvy when he needed to be, but his emotions got the best of him sometimes. His wife rarely had that problem—except when it came to her family. They hadn’t brought their daughter Moira tonight, and Keira didn’t blame them. She moved forward and held out her hand over Callie’s belly. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not.” Callie took her hand and placed it against her baby bump. “Your newest nephew is being rambunctious tonight, so maybe he’ll grace you with a kick.” She lowered her voice and smiled. “Did Aiden tell you that we’re naming him Devlin?”
The baby chose that moment to kick, and Keira’s throat closed. It took her several tries to get a word out. “That’s wonderful.”
Callie didn’t look away from her face. “You seem happy. Perhaps a bit more comfortable in your skin.”
“I am.” The baby kicked again, and she managed a smile even though the room swam around her. It was good and right that Teague would name his son Devlin, but that didn’t make it easier for Keira to hold it together. “Thank you for coming tonight.”
“My father was delighted for the chance to spend some time with Moira and spoil her rotten.” Callie’s expression was soft, but there was depth to the words.
Not all the power players had left Boston tonight.
“He’s a fierce little thing, isn’t he? Takes after his auntie.”
Keira looked over as her oldest sister strolled up. Carrigan wore a short, fitted dress that would have looked downright uncomfortable on anyone else, but she managed to pull it off. She swooped in and pressed a quick kiss to Keira’s cheek. “First Sloan running off with Jude MacNamara, and now you walking down the aisle with Romanov. What am I supposed to do with you two?”
That surprised a laugh out of her. She should have known Carrigan wouldn’t respond the same way as the rest of her family—she never had. “You have no one to blame but yourself—you ran off with the enemy and made it the cool thing to do.”
Her sister laughed and pulled her in for a hug that whooshed the air from her body. “God, I missed you. You really do look good, Keira. And you’re—dare I say it?—sober.”
“I am.” No reason to talk about the fact that she could tell exactly how many steps stood between her and the minibar. Keira didn’t know much about addicts, other than being one, but she didn’t expect that awareness would ever go away. She felt like her body was a water dowser, but for alcohol. She didn’t miss weed all that much, but liquor? She could only hope that craving would get easier to bear as time went on.
“Go figure. I’m going to be in New York in a couple weeks for some business. I’m stealing you for the day.” Carrigan released her and pressed both her hands to Callie’s belly. “You’re coming too, Callie. You’ve been so damn occupied with babies and business, I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Callie gave a small smile, her blue eyes sparkling with humor. “I suppose I could clear my schedule.”
Keira eyed the careful way her sister touched her sister-in-law’s stomach. “Am I sensing baby fever?” She made a show of leaning over and eyeing Carrigan’s toned body. “Are you and James going to start giving me nieces and nephews?”
“Maybe.” Carrigan shrugged. “Maybe not. But we’re having a hell of a time practicing.”
Homesickness hit Keira with the strength of a freight train. She hadn’t felt it in the O’Malley house, but that building wasn’t more than a physical representation of a loss she still hadn’t fully dealt with. It wasn’t home. This was. Her family.
Before she could fully process that, Carrigan turned to face Dmitri. The happiness fell from her face. “You.”
“You’re looking well, Carrigan.”
What she was looking like was a woman willing to kill. James Halloran moved up and pressed his hand to the small of her back. He was all golden giant shadowing Keira’s oldest sister Carrigan. The man was attractive in a chiseled sort of way, but he looked about as comfortable as a lion surrounded by hunters, his blue gaze flicking around the room and seeming to catalog all the threats before settling on Dmitri.
Keira tensed to move between them, but Dmitri stayed her with a slight movement of his hand. He looked into her sister’s face and simply said, “I love her.”