I would’vegladly killed Robert ten times over. I’d been this close.Thisfeckin’ close. Except my wife had stopped me. Then he’d kicked her out, expecting her to leave in her feckin’ shift. I provided for her though. I would take care of her for as long as she let me.
I wasn’t under any illusions that she had chosen me over him. I’d been a last resort. A backup. Still, that didn’t change the fact that she was with me now, in this moment, on this dark street, walking toward the dim glow of the city.
I brought her straight to Lorcan’s pub, knowing he’d answer at any hour. The lad barely slept. My friend opened the door on the second knock. Eyes glowing golden, still in his white shirt and braces from a day of work.
“I apologize for calling this late, Lorcan, but would it be possible for us to sleep here tonight?”
“Of course.” Lorcan flashed Keelynn a grin. “Come in, come in. Hello again, pretty human. I see you found your Tadhg.”
Your Tadhg.
If only.
She wouldn’t even be here if Robert had been a half-decent man. Not that I was complaining.
Keelynn’s cheeks flushed. “Please, call me Keelynn.”
“Lovely to meet youofficially, Princess Keelynn.”
I caught her frown from the corner of my eye when she said, “I’m not a princess.”
Ah, but she was. As long as she was married to me, she’d be a Princess of Tearmann. Not that it amounted to much. She’d never be a queen. There was only one of those, and none of us wanted to be associated with her.
“I thought the two of you were married,” Lorcan pressed.
Would she admit it to my friends or try to keep me hidden the way she had with Robert?Robert. After she went to sleep, I would have to pay the bastard a visit—and bring my brother.
“Yes,” she said. “We are.”
My heart leapt.
She didn’t sound disgusted or resigned, but matter-of-fact.
Even with Lorcan’s eyes boring into the side of my head, I couldn’t pull my gaze away from Keelynn’s. Did she feel the same as she had the day we’d arrived in Gaul? Did she still want an annulment, or would she consider my suggestion to remain married?
Now wasn’t the time for that conversation.
Soon, though. Tomorrow.
The living room upstairs consisted of two sofas and a pile of cushions on the floor. Surprisingly comfortable for sleeping. Then again, when I was drunk, I could pass out just about anywhere.
Ruairi perched on the arm of the farthest sofa. He’d changed out of the clothes he’d worn on our mission earlier tonight. “Hello, human.”
Keelynn squealed his name, launching herself into his arms. Surprise flickered in his golden eyes when they met mine, leaving my heart in my throat. I understood her relief after believing the man dead, but did she have to be so feckin’ enthusiastic?
“And ye thought I was messin’ when I said she’d rather marry me,” he said with a gruff chuckle.
Keelynn shoved away, blushing. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“I have that effect on most women. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Tadhg ye secretly fancy me.” The bastard winked at her.
Women only fancied Ruairi after they learned my brother and I had no genuine interest in them. The pooka was a better man than the two of us combined. We all knew it. That was the reason he’d never settled down. He refused to be someone’s second—or third—choice.
I wasn’t Keelynn’s first choice. Probably not her second either.
Again, it didn’t matter because tonight she was here with me.
I dropped to the floor and threw my boots by the fire. Deirdre would have my head if she saw them near her new cushions.