Page 142 of See You Maybe

Siobhan picked up the glass of whiskey she’d set on the side table and took a sip before she spoke. “I’m your mother. Did you think you could gallivant around Dublin and stay in my mother’s cottage with a woman you called your wife, and I wouldn’t hear about it? Claire couldn’t wait to ring me up after you left her pub that night.”

A horrified giggle escaped Olivia at the stunned look on Declan’s face.

“Your wife?” Luke stared.

Declan’s jaw worked back and forth.

“Don’t worry,” Dahlia patted Luke’s chest. “I’ll get the story from Olivia and fill you in.”

“You will all leave her alone.” Declan gritted out.

“This is fascinating,” Wes drawled from his position next to Cara.

Cara nodded. “It’s kind of like when Q was outsmarted by that girl whose parents pretended to be human and got killed in a tornado… But they didn’t have tornados on Earth anymore… And then Q got in trouble with the collective.”

“I swear to god, if this is another Star Trek reference,” James groaned.

Luke wrinkled his nose. “Why are the two of you such huge dorks?”

“Star Trek isn’t dorky,” Cara shot back. “It’s full of philosophy and…”

Wes squeezed her tight and lifted her chin to kiss her. “It’s okay, baby. They’ll never get it.”

Cara huffed something angrily under her breath that sounded like “jerks.”

Declan’s muscles slowly relaxed next to her.

“Is that it then?” Olivia whispered as his siblings began to good-naturedly squabble.

“Not quite. Thank you, honey,” Anne said to her husband, as he helped her to her feet and handed her a cane. She walked forward slowly to stand in front of Declan and motioned for him to bend down. She kissed his cheek and stroked his arm with a gentle smile. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve this.”

Declan’s jaw relaxed, and for the first time since they had entered the luxury apartment, he looked like her Declan.

Anne continued. “I worried you’d never find peace.”

“I don’t have peace yet. But I will soon.”

James sent an apologetic look to Olivia before saying. “If you aren’t going to marry Fiona to get the votes, what is your plan?”

Declan squared his shoulders. “The escort who survived the car accident has agreed to talk to the board. She doesn’t want to get involved in a criminal prosecution, but her story, plus the photos and confession Cami got... I’m going to call for a vote of no confidence. I have been working on the rest of the board. No one is interested in all of that being leaked to the press. It would seriously affect the share price if it gets out that Bloom Communications’ CEO is a murderer twice over. I’ll convince them to vote with me.”

James nodded, but Luke frowned. “That doesn’t explain why Chris is still in Atlanta. The deal for XEROS was completed weeks ago.”

“He hasn’t been here the whole time,” Declan’s voice was grim. “I was informed this morning that Chris and Courtney have gotten married. I’m not sure why he’s here, instead of with her, or exactly what his plan is, but I suspect it has something to do with Olivia.” His hand tightened almost painfully on hers.

The faces around them sobered. “You are friendly with Chris Keller?” Cami’s tone was diplomatic.

“No.” Olivia shook her head. “I had dinner with him after New York, but that’s it.”

“Why?” Luke’s eyes were sharp.

A tiny warning growl emanated from the back of Declan’s throat, but Luke glared right back at him.

“He claimed he wanted to help me find a job,” Olivia explained.

This time, it was Wes who frowned. “Is that supposed to be a coincidence?”

“I knew nothing about what had happened with your father, and it was before…” she trailed off, not wanting to share that Declan had been pretending she meant nothing to him. “Originally, it was as an apology for what Courtney did… It seemed harmless.”

---