“Stop the waterworks. I’m not going to cry the night before my wedding.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Come on. Let’s find my fiancé, open a bottle of champagne, and then party like rock stars, or as the Irish say, have a Hooley. We can practice our drinking skills for tomorrow. It’s not called a rehearsal for nothing. You can sleep when you’re dead. Am I right?”
Barb was right. Everyone had busted their butts to get the castle ready. Why shouldn’t we all enjoy a night of some dancing, drinking, and singing? I followed Barb to the foyer.
Bushmills and Guinness flowed from a makeshift bar, and a folk band played traditional music. My gaze searched through the crowd of contractors, caterers, and wait staff, hoping Keegan would be there. He wasn’t. I took an offered glass of champagne, sat on a stool, and got ready to have fun because when the night was over, I didn’t want to remember Keegan Devlin’s name.
Chapter Eighteen
Keegan
My family gathered around the kitchen table. Earlier, my two sisters, Erin and Cassidy, along with Cassidy’s three kids and husband, descended on the house in a rush of noise and diaper bags. Tara, the youngest Devlin, who wasn’t interested in spending the evening with any of us, had left earlier to meet her friends at the pub. And Rian, my younger brother, was at a tattoo convention in London.
Laughter filled the Devlin house, as it always did when everyone got together. But, somehow, I didn’t feel like laughing. I didn’t feel like much of anything.
I’d read the online gossip columns about Violet’s canceled wedding. My immediate instinct was to call Tessa and make sure she was okay. I imagined her distress, the worry about her future, her finances. But I’d stopped myself. She was no longer my problem. She was on her own. When I got back to New York, I’d contact Barb and thank her for the shout out in the press release. Seemed she wasn’t the old battleax she led people to believe.
“What’s wrong with you, grumpy arse?” Erin opened a bottle of Smithwicks and slapped it down on the table in front of me. “Someone smack your face with a wet fish?”
“Would you ever leave your brother alone,” our mother said and picked up Cassidy’s son Connor. She nuzzled her nose against his chubby cheek before rewarding him with a cookie. “The poor fella’s pining after someone.”
Connor wriggled free and ran away, brandishing the cookie like a winning lottery ticket. “I’m not pining.” I thumbed through Tessa’s Facebook page, being careful not to like any pictures or posts. “I have things on my mind.”
“Who is she?” Cassidy, the eldest Devlin, asked. She picked up her newborn baby girl and strapped her into a sling. “I thought you swore off women after you and the witch broke up.”
“It’s not a woman.” I set down my phone and glared at my sister. “Is it any wonder I don’t live here?”
“Oooh, someone needs a nap,” Cassidy teased. “Bend down there and pick up your toys, baby brother.”
The more I fought in my corner, the more they would come after me, so I shut my mouth and sipped my beer.
“We should FaceTime Brody and ask him,” Erin supplied. “I bet he’d tell us. What do you think, Cass?”
“I think you’re right,” Cassidy said. “Someone grab the laptop, and we’ll see what Brody has to say about all of this self-pity shite. Keegan’s ugly mug had better not ruin Christmas.”
I could face a boardroom filled with demanding clients and talk them down, but when it came to my family, it was as if I was ten years old again. You needed skin thicker than a rhinoceros to survive in the Devlin family because if they sensed any weakness, they went for the jugular.
“As if Brody’s going to tell you anything.” I slouched against my chair and stared at the ceiling. Once my sisters set their mind to something, nothing would stop them.
Erin positioned the laptop at the end of the table, making sure everyone was in camera range and FaceTimed Brody.
After about five rings, Brody answered. “Can’t chat long. I’m up to my eyes with work.”
“This’ll only take a few seconds.” Erin gave me a sidelong glance. “What’s wrong with our dear, dear brother? He’s a face on him like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle.”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” An evil smile spread across Brody’s face.
“Stop your messing.” Cassidy stroked her baby’s head and smiled. “I’m heading home in ten minutes, so hurry up and spill the goss.”
“Shhh!” Brody leaned into the camera. “He’s been home all week.”
Disbelief and sharp intakes of breath echoed around the table.
“Sweet lamb-a Jaysus.” My mother blessed herself and turned towards me. “And you didn’t think to call us?”
“I’m sure he has his reasons, love.” My dad patted her hand and frowned.
“Brody,” I said sharply. “Shut it.”
“Why? Are you going to jump on a plane and blackmail me?”
My fists curled on my lap. “Brody!”
Brody’s shit-eating grin filled the screen, and everyone in the kitchen stilled, waiting for him to begin. “Once upon a time, our brother, your son, wanted Devlin Events to plan Violet Hale’s wedding, and when he didn’t get the job, he wanted to know why. He found out some woman swiped the contract from under him. Knucklehead there jumped on a plane, determined to bring this girl to her knees.” Brody waggled his eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
“You’re filthy.” Erin laughed and gave my arm a push. “But, get on with the story.”
“If you’d stop interrupting, I would.” From the smile in my brother’s eyes, I knew he was enjoying every second of winding me
