I thought I’d wanted to talk. Thought I’d wanted answers. But right now, with him standing a heartbeat away, I didn’t want to deal with the emotions those answers would expose. I wanted to make the most of the day and not wonder about what could’ve been. Sneaking away and having my wicked way with a sexy man who made me scream in ecstasy wasn’t allowed. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not happening.
Regardless of the all-out war taking place inside of me, a smile stretched across my face, and I pushed past Keegan to congratulate my friends. I clasped Barb and Brendan’s combined hands between mine. “You two would melt the coldest of hearts. I can’t believe you’re married, or committed, or whatever you are. ”
“You and me both, chickadee.” Barb pulled me into a hug.
Brendan leaned down and whispered, “Let him explain. You two are meant to be, just like my darling wife and me.”
I looked at the beaming couple and shook my head. “It was a fling. A hookup. Nothing more.”
“And I’m a monkey’s uncle,” Barb said.
“Tessa! Tessa, over here.”
I glanced to my left to see who’d called my name. A grin lifted my lips. Sammy, wearing what looked like a brand-new navy suit and a white open-necked shirt, beamed at me, then pressed a kiss to my cheek. I’d never seen him so happy. Christmas miracles were happening all over the castle. “Sammy. Look at you. You look amazing.”
“Look at me? Look at you. And you found Max a new owner. A rich one. Thanks a million, Tessa.”
“Don’t thank me,” I said with a laugh. “Max was the one who found himself a new owner with zero help from me. How’d you get here?”
“Yer man, the one who thinks he’s important, tracked me down and brought me here.”
“Keegan?” The ice shielding my heart melted a little.
Sammy nodded. “Said you’d want me to see Max was okay.”
“He’s more than okay.”
“I’ve never seen him as happy or as fat. Looks like he’s put on a few pounds.”
I reached out and placed my hands on his bicep. “Do you still have a place to stay? Please don’t tell me you’re on the streets in this weather.”
“I still have a bed. But the fella that owns this place told me he needs someone to help him in the kitchen, and the job comes with somewhere to stay. Since I have nothing else going on, I said I’d take it. He’s dying about you, y’know.”
“Brendan?”
“Keegan. Didn’t stop yakking about you the whole way here. I had to put me earbuds in to make him shut up.” Tears filled my eyes, but before I could get any words out, the crowd of guests swept Sammy, Brendan, Barb, and Max into the foyer for the cocktail reception.
I sniffed back my tears and moved to the grand hall to inspect the tables and direct the wait staff on what they needed to do. I relegated Keegan Devlin to the back of my mind, where he’d stay until I had the emotional reserves to deal with him.
Chapter Twenty
Keegan
This wouldn’t be easy. Not that I blamed her. I’d been a complete fecker. If Barb hadn’t sent me the video of Tessa’s god-awful singing, I might never have had the balls to come back. I didn’t believe in fate, and all that shite like Tessa did, but serendipitous events seemed to be at play. I didn’t even know if it would work between us. My life was in New York. Hers was here.
Could any relationship survive that distance? I’d thrown around the idea of opening an Irish branch of Devlin Events to handle European clients. It was a possibility. I might come over for a few months and look into it. Getting on a plane after Christmas and never seeing Tessa again made me feel as if one of Santa’s reindeer had kicked my chest.
From the doors of the banquet hall, I watched her work. She was as efficient as she was creative, and that was the real reason Devlin Events hadn’t won the event. Not because she’d lied. Her work was solid, and she let little, if anything, fluster her. I’d questioned her ethics and her morals and compared her actions to Grace. And worse than all of that, I’d listened to the man who’d done everything to ruin her life. The man who’d ruined my sister’s life. If given the opportunity for a second chance, I’d take it with both hands and never let go.
She didn’t deserve what I’d put her through.
I didn’t deserve her.
I needed to get her alone to apologize.
To kiss her.
To touch her.
To make her mine.
I strode into the banquet hall. This was it. The moment I’d put everything on the line.
“Tessa. We need to talk.”
She ignored me for a few seconds and inspected a place setting, picking up nonexistent flecks of dust.
“Thanks for bringing Sammy here. That was sweet but other than that, we’ve both said enough.”
“There’s more I need to say—” I glanced around the room at the bustling wait staff, “—but not here. Somewhere private. Let me explain about Shane.”
Tessa thinned her lips. “You have five minutes.”
She wasn’t going to make things easy for me. I didn’t blame her. “We go way back. He conned my sister. Said he was going to marry her. Stood her up at the altar, but not before clearing her bank account. When I caught up with him, I broke his nose. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”
Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. “How does any of that involve me?”
“He read your emails. Saw a chance to get
