Page 22 of Intimately Faithful

Cora joined her in laughing. “How do you know him, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“We grew up together, but I haven’t seen him in a long time.” The stab of pain attacked her.

How could she have lived for all that time without him?

She knew how. She’d been on autopilot from the moment she sacrificed their love. Going through the motions of life and yet not enjoying any of it.

She ate, yet not tasted. She breathed but didn’t live.

“I can see there’s a story attached to your grimace,” commented Cora, “but I won’t pry. He’s a good man, I always wondered why he wasn’t attached to anyone. I have a feeling I know why now.”

Aoife smiled sadly.

She’d always wanted Danny to be happy.

Out of every person in her life she knew, he was the one she’d loved more than all the stars in the sky, and he deserved to be loved.

It just so happened she was a tad selfish and wanted his happiness to be because of her.

Sometimes, doing the right thing at the time, didn’t mean it brought any sense of peace. Aoife had been in tortured agony for years and masking it under her mouthy attitude.

She’d gotten where she was now because of her outspoken personality and regrets stacked higher than she could see.

She sighed and filled her mouth with a piece of cold toast, chewing slowly, wondering when Danny would be home.

Home. She’d wanted that for so long. To have a home with him.

How had things gone so wrong?

She knew why. The fucking Flannigan’s, that’s why.

The Murphy’s might be notorious around Ireland, but so were the Flanagan’s for no other reason than how fucking fucked up they were.

Her untrustworthy clan.

The Flanagan’s were a joke.

Maybe Cora looked at Aoife and saw how sad she was underneath her veneer of pretense. Maybe she was just a sweet old lady who liked baking, but she suggested once Misha had fallen asleep, that they spend the morning baking cookies.

Being a strict disciple to the sugar demon, Aoife jumped at the chance.

If only to distract her for a few hours.

Danny was never far from her mind.

She wondered … was it too late?

SIX

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…. He didn’t know Lawless would be on the other side.” - Danny

The man stepping through the door commanded every pair of eyes.

The local diner, formerly owned by Beauregard Thompson, who recently died this past winter was now owned by his daughter and a name change toKelly’sseemed to have been upgraded in status since Danny was last there.

He usually grabbed a to-go tea from home with tea bags sent from his mother because he hated to judge but tea this side of the pond was not good. He hardly ever stepped into the diner unless he was grabbing a meal for a homeless person outside.

When he’d arrived a few moments earlier, he spent a minute talking to Paige’s replacement now that she had her own bakery shop down the street.

---