Saving a Legend(30)

“Hey, Kieran, it’s been a while. Heard you just got out?”

Kieran shook the man’s hand and gave him a polite nod. He recognized him as one of his dad’s friends, but Kieran had never really been close to him. Woodlawn was like that: you might recognize everyone, but you didn’t necessarily know them. Or you knew only the gossip about them.

“That’s right,” he confirmed, not eager to talk about his prison time.

“Good, that whole sentence was bullshit. You should have been out ages ago. You thinking of getting back into fighting?” the man asked.



Kieran pondered the question for a minute. “I’m not sure, honestly.”

“Well, you should think about it. You were amazing, almost as good as Rory was at his peak. You could get back out there, especially since it looks like you’ve put on a lot more muscle.” The man’s encouragement ran deep, and Kieran found himself smiling back at him.

“You were that good a fighter?” Nora interjected herself into their conversation. “I thought you just did it for fun?”

“He was fixing to be one of the best,” the man confirmed.

“I was doing all right there for a while. Not sure it was ever really a passion of mine for a career, though.” Kieran’s phone buzzed, and he excused himself before glancing back down at the screen.

F: You’re calling me the stalker, yet somehow you seem to have miraculously found my unlisted phone number. Hmmm…



Grinning, he typed in a quick response. Nora was chatting away with the older man, and Clare was swapping stories with Kane, so he took advantage of the respite.



K: I have my ways of getting what I want.





F: Tell Nora she’s in big trouble for breaking girl code.



K: To her credit, she did try to say no.



F: Yeah, well, she’s never been good at keeping secrets lol, especially when it comes to setting me up.



K: Are we being set up?



F: I’m guessing you’re not texting me to place a flower order.



K: What if I am?



F: Then it’s past business hours, shop closed…and disappointed.



K: Maybe that’s not the reason I’m texting you then.



F: Go on…:)



K: I missed seeing you today. Why didn’t Shea come to the center?



F: She’s sick, so we stayed home.



K: I hope she feels better soon. Can I see you?



F: I need to focus on Shea tonight. I don’t date, remember?



K: I think that ship has sailed, flower girl. We’re dating.



F: Kieran, I don’t date. I can’t. I have to focus on Shea. I love talking to you, but friendship is all I have to offer.



Frowning at the screen, he realized that her walls were still up, and he needed a lot more than a text to be able to get them down. Despite her slight flirting here and there, she kept stopping it from going further. When he was standing in front of her, though, he knew she wanted him. Her body couldn’t lie.

Standing, he pulled some bills out of his pocket and tossed them on the bar. If the only way she’d let down her defenses was when they were face-to-face, then he was going to see her right now.

“You leaving?” Clare asked, scooping up his empty glass.

“In a minute. Do you guys serve soup?” he asked.

Clare frowned, looking confused, but then she nodded. “Yeah, but it’s a bit bland. Want some to go?”

“Thanks, yeah. That’ll be fine.” He turned to Nora. “Thanks for tonight, I had fun. I needed to get out for once.”



“Sure, anytime.” Nora smiled and lifted her glass in the air. “But if your brother is anything less than the perfect gentleman, I’m coming after you.”

“Oh, come on.” Kane rolled his eyes, hearing the last part of the conversation. “I can be a gentleman when I want, kitty.”

Kieran laughed, then pointed a finger in warning at his brother. “I promise, Nora.”

Clare returned and handed him a small brown bag. He thanked her and dropped a few more bills on the bar before saying goodbye to everyone. He gave Kane one last strict look, ensuring he understood his promise with regard to Nora.

He left quickly, eager to find what was hiding behind the beautiful blue eyes that had been dancing around his mind for days.





Chapter 8

After parallel parking in front of Fiona’s apartment building, Kieran got out and triple checked the locks on his car. Thankfully, Kane had garaged it the last few years for him, and had kept it in good shape, unlike this neighborhood, which was downright seedy. He worried he’d come back out to find his car up on blocks.

With one last look around, he climbed the steps to the building and glanced at the buttons for the buzzer. DOHERTY was in big black letters next to the top button, so he clicked it and waited for the beep of the door unlocking. Instead, the intercom scuffled and churned, a voice finally cracking through.