Page 199 of By His Play

“See you in a few, girl,” Lori sings before the line goes silent.

I stand there nervously for a few seconds, wondering if I should prioritize getting changed or tidying up.

In the end, I opt for a quick tidy.

If they’re as perceptive as I think they are, they’ll take one look in my eyes and know that I’m barely holding it together. My choice of clothing won’t matter.

I’m dumping a couple of abandoned mugs and glasses in my sink when voices fill my apartment.

With one last little pep talk, I go to greet them.

“Effie, it’s so good to see you,” Lori says, immediately pulling me into her arms and squeezing tight.

Tears burn red hot behind my eyes, but I force them to stay down.

Just as we part, a small noise erupts from behind her.

“Oh my gosh, look at you,” I breathe, taking in the changes to Prince since I last saw him. “Those cheeks.”

A wide smile pulls at my lips as Tate happily passes him to me.

“Oh, you are getting so big and so handsome,” I tell Prince as he smiles back at me. “How are you doing?”

With him safely in my arms, I walk him around my apartment, letting him look at everything.

My skin prickles at Tate and Lori’s attention, although not in a bad way, as I continue baby-talking to Prince.

Everything is fine until I point out the Chiefs Stadium in the distance and tell him that it’s where Uncle Kieran plays all his games.

My voice cracks on his name, and there’s no way they don’t hear it.

“We brought ingredients for cocktails,” Lori announces, and when I spin around, I find her unloading a bag of alcohol onto my kitchen counter. “Thought you might need it. Cosmos all around?”

“You got it,” Tate says as she walks around the couch with a bag of her own, although something tells me there isn’t alcohol in that one.

Ten minutes later, the three of us have freshly made cosmos, and Prince is happily playing on his interactive mat on the floor.

I met Tate when I was a teenager. Kieran brought me to a Callahan Enterprises event, and she was also there with her brother. We’ve always gotten on well, but we’ve never been close. And Lori? Well, she’s awesome.

They both are. They both have the confidence I wish I could possess. Hell, they’ve managed to claim themselves two of the most eligible bachelors in Chicago.

The fact they’re with the two older Callahan brothers does give us something in common. But still, the relationships they have with Kingston and Kian are very different from the one I have with Kieran.

“So,” Tate begins, making my heart race. “How are you?”

My lips part, ready to lie to them, when Lori jumps in.

“And we want the truth, Effie. No bullshit.”

My words fade away, and embarrassingly, tears take their place.

48

KIERAN

“Finally,” Mom breathes as soon as I step into her kitchen.

A wide smile spreads across her lips, and she walks toward me with her apron covering her designer dress.

---