Rafe sucked in a breath. “You don’t think he’s onto us, do you?”
“Considering how glad he looks to see me, I don’t think so,” I quipped, keeping the worry from my face.
“Call me if you need me.”
“I will.”
After shoving my phone in my jeans’ pocket, I started sprinting towards Quinn. The closer I got to him the more I recognized the emotional pain in his scarred face. Something bad had happened to bring him here, and my heart ached for him.
His haunted eyes lit up when I shouted my nickname for him from childhood. “Quinnie the Pooh!”
After diving into his waiting arms, I squeezed him tight. “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you.” And that was the truth. Despite my apprehension about why he was here, I truly was glad to see him.
He squeezed me back. “I feel the same way.” When I teasingly pinched his back, Quinn jumped. “What the feck was that for?”
I giggled. “I was just trying to see if you were real.”
With a chuckle, Quinn replied, “Aren’t you supposed to do that to yourself?”
“Maybe,” I replied with a wink. “So, what are you doing here?”
“Do I have to have a reason to see my baby sister?”
I grinned up at him. “I meant, what are you doing in Dublin?”
“As I’m sure Mam has told you, I’ve been visiting with her and Eamon.”
“Aye, she did.”
Since he’d always been a man of few words, Quinn hadn’t told Mam why he’d come back to Ireland. Despite trying to get the boys to crack, none of them would tell her. She had her suspicions that it had something to do with his girlfriend, Isla. We’d both fallen in love with her over some Facetimes with her and Caterina.
“So, I decided to take a little trip to see you while I’m across the pond.”
I stared intently into his blue eyes. Like me, he was so good at masking his emotions. But his pain was palpable, and it took trauma to known trauma.
He smiled. “What’s with all the suspicion?”
“For starters, you might love Belfast, but you hate Dublin.”
“That’s because I’m a Northern man through and through.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious, Quinn.”
With a shrug, he replied, “I just wanted to check on you.”
“Bullshite!” I countered.
“Listen to your mouth. Mam would have your hide if she heard you.”
I laughed. “It’s the hazard of having five brothers.”
“Aye, you never stood a chance, did you?”
“Never.”
“You have my apologies for corrupting you.
“I’d rather you buy me a drink.”