Page 2 of Stolen Mafia Vows
“I win.” His brother gathers the cards on the table into a pile, taps them on the surface, and performs a professional shuffle between both hands. “Maybe you can get the introductions over with so that I can get a soda.”
“I’m Emily.” I surprise myself by sounding normal.
He blinks in slow motion, and I can’t figure out if it’s me or if he always moves this way. “Eoghan. Eoghan Byrne.”
“Cool. Great.” His brother stands up, leaving the deck of cards behind.
“I’m here with my brother’s fiancée, Sienna.” The words spill out of their own accord like I’m a marionette, and someone else is pulling the strings. “They’re getting married in two days. My family is flying in from New York.”
“You’re American.” Eoghan’s Irish accent makes my heart perform somersaults.
“I was born in New York, but we have family in Ireland. I’ve always loved it here.”
I’m starting to feel a little more regular. I can feel my teeth with the tip of my tongue, and I don’t know why I look at his mouth when I think about it, but I do. I can see a smattering of freckles across his nose and cheekbones, which makes my heart choose now to attempt a back flip. Hisshoulders are even broader now that we’re this close, and his pecs seem to flex under my gaze.
Keep cool, Emily. He’s a human being not an actual God with a golden aura and a toga draped across his loins.
“Irish wedding, huh?” his brother’s voice cuts in, dragging my attention away from Eoghan. He offers me his hand in a formal greeting. “I’m Ruairi.”
I can tell by his smile that he feels like a spare part in this conversation, and I’m flooded with guilt for making it so obvious. “Can I join in?”
“Depends.” Ruairi shrugs and winks at his brother without sitting back down. “Would you let me win a game,” he pauses, “if my life depended on it?”
“Since when would your life depend upon a game of cards?” I don’t realize I’m licking my lips until I catch Eoghan watching my mouth.
“He’s messing with you.” Eoghan doesn’t glance at his brother, so maybe this is some kind of private joke, a game they play whenever they meet a woman one of them likes. Maybe my answer will be code for something else that only the two of them know about.
“Answer the question,” Ruairi presses.
“Okay.” I sit back in my seat, and my shoulder accidentally brushes Eoghan’s because, let’s face it, his shoulders need more than one airport seat to accommodate them. “Of course, I’d let you win if your life depended on it. Who wouldn’t?”
Ruairi shrugs. “Good to know.”
He walks off then towards the bar, leaving me alone withEoghan.
An intense silence settles between us. It’s heavy, weighted down with something that I don’t quite understand, but which I think is down to Eoghan’s eyes on my lips. Heavy but not awkward.
“What’s your favorite song?” he asks.
“‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay’.”
I don’t even need to think about it. The song always conjures childhood memories of me and my dad on the ferry crossing the Hudson River, the breeze snatching my ponytails, the spray making my outstretched hands and arms sparkle in the sunshine.
“Favorite movie?”
“Sixteen Candles.”
His eyelids flicker at that, and I wonder if he has ever seen the movie. Probably not. My mom introduced me to it when I was like twelve, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it since.
“And anything with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in,” I add for good measure.
Because if he’s looking for a woman to watch horror movies with, he might as well know up front that I’m not the gal for him.
“First crush?”
“Harry Styles.” I scrunch up my face while I give it some serious thought. “It was a close call between Harry and Jack Skellington. I mean, who wouldn’t want a guy who is prepared to give up everything he knows to play Santa Claus for the woman he loves?”
Eoghan’s face lights up with a smile, and he’s so freaking gorgeous that I have to look away to tame the tingling between my legs.
