Page 19 of On The Rocks

Patrick clapped his hands gleefully, a broad smile stretching across his face. “Good fuckin’ choice, Cal. Yourathairwould be over the moon. Trust me, he’s looking down on us now with a smile. He loved our Maeve. Thought you and her would be perfect for each other.” He stood, walked to Callum, and clapped him on the shoulder. “The wedding will be one week from today. Give Orla a list of guests. We’ll have the ceremony at St. Peter’s and the reception here at the house.” He waved his arm out. “What’s the point of living in a damned mansion if we can’t throw a goodhooley?”

My chest tightened.

A week? Married in a week?

Oh my God.

“Fucking A,” a deep voice agreed. “Though Ma might have kittens having to plan a wedding in a week.”

My neck twisted to see my adoptive brother, Liam, standing at the doorway. I shot him a silent plea for help.

Liam sent me a furtive wink and sauntered into the dining room, giving Aunt Orla a kiss on her hair as he walked past her. His hand rested on my shoulder, and he squeezed it reassuringly. “There’s no way you’re going to arrange a full-on Catholic wedding in one week. You’ll have to limit it to immediate friends and family.” He took the seat next to me and reached for one of the wine bottles on the table, pouring himself a healthy glass. “Plus, think of Maeve. It’ll be a difficult day for her.” The smile he directed toward me contained a hint of sadness.

Liam was right; it would be a bittersweet day for me without my mom helping me get ready and my dad not walking me downthe aisle. Plus, the thought of strangers looking at me like I was the star of a freak show struck the fear of God inside me.

Shannon had already planned her cathedral wedding, which would cost Paddy the GDP of a small country. Erin, no doubt, had done the same, but I wasn’t like them. The thought of being the center of everyone’s attention made me want to call the entire shitshow off.

“I don’t want a big wedding. Just family will be fine,” I announced, glancing at Callum. “If that’s okay with you?”

“But don’t you want to be a princess for the day?” Patrick asked. “I promised your da I’d treat you like my own daughter, Maeve. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

Ignoring the pang in my heart, I murmured, “The whole big wedding thing, it’s not me, Patrick. Da and Mammy would’ve respected that. They would’ve given me the day I wanted. Please don’t make a fuss. I want the wedding to be relaxed, with the people I love the most around me.”

Paddy studied me for a moment, before sitting back in his chair and acquiescing, “Okay. If you want a small wedding, we can do that, but I insist on going to a church.”

“City Hall would suit me,” Callum muttered.

My heart sank.

Why wouldn’t Callum want to marry in a church? We were Catholic; he must have known if we didn’t wed in the eyes of God, the wedding wouldn’t stand in our community.

“No!” Paddy insisted. “It’s church or the wedding’s off.”

My eyes caught Callum’s, and I felt an urge to reassure him. “Maybe a small one. I think St. Mary’s would suit instead of St. Peter’s. It’s smaller, prettier, and more intimate.”

He looked at me blankly before jerking his head in a nod, causing a feeling of unease to shift through me.

Callum seemed angered by it all. I understood it was a family-arranged wedding of sorts, but he was the one who’dapproached Patrick, so why did I get the feeling he abhorred the idea?

“We’ll keep it small,” Patrick agreed. “Just family and close friends.”

I beamed at him, all tension leaving my shoulders as I flopped back in my chair. “Thank you.”

Callum remained silent.

“We’ll do it next Friday,” Paddy went on.

Callum closed his eyes and nodded tersely again.

I blinked at him slowly, noting his defeated expression.

The doors burst open, and three staff members Paddy had hired for the dinner party filed inside, carrying trays.

Patrick grinned widely. “About time. My stomach feels like my throat’s been cut.”

Orla rolled her eyes.

Erin giggled.

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