All she could think about was the smile on Clare’s face, the adoration in Rory’s eyes, and how much she wished she could have that same type of love with someone. How much she wished she could have that with Kieran.
“From the right is Kane ‘Killer’ Kavanagh!” Kane suddenly appeared behind a similar red curtain on the opposite side of the arena; he was wearing all red as he paraded down the aisle and climbed onto the stage. The crowd was on their feet, eating up the macho display.
Fiona recognized Kieran beside his twin; Kieran was dressed in all black, and red letters across his back spelled kavanagh. Seamus, Quinn, and another man, whom she couldn’t really see from a distance, were all crowded with him in matching shirts as they took up another corner of the cage. Again the announcer talked about Kane’s previous victories as Fiona saw Kieran’s head bowed close to his twin’s, telling him something no one else could hear.
“Looks like Kieran took Rory’s place for tonight,” Casey said beside her.
“What?” she asked.
“Rory is Kane’s trainer. Normally, he would be the one up there, but it looks like Kieran is helping out so Rory and Clare can be off doing whatever they’re doing,” Casey said, all smiles as she watched her family with pride.
Fiona looked back up at the stage as the trainers and other team members all stepped beyond the perimeter of the cage as the sides lowered from the ceiling and the announcer stood on a separate platform. The men squared off, and the fight was soon under way. But all Fiona could think about was Kieran. He was everything she wanted in her life.
And she was everything he shouldn’t want in his.
Chapter 23
“Congratulations, motherfucker! Stealing my damn thunder.” Kane smacked Rory on the back as the entire Kavanagh family descended on the locker room after the fight.
“Thanks, Kane. You were in fine hands with Kieran.” Rory smiled at him and wrapped both twins in a bear hug. He was like a totally different man now that his woman was wearing his ring.
“All right, you’re choking me.” Kieran coughed, glancing over Rory’s shoulder and seeing Fiona standing with Nora and Clare in the doorway.
Clare was excitedly showing off her hand as the other women gushed over how beautiful it was. The smile on Fiona’s face pulled at Kieran, and he needed to be next to her.
“Fi.” He pushed past his brothers and Ace to make his way over to her.
Hearing him call her name, she turned from the women. She held his gaze with her beautiful blues, and he decided that he couldn’t hold back what he wanted to do just because they were broken up. “Kieran,” she gasped as he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
He looked at her for only a moment, waiting for a signal, and when she tilted her head back slightly and looked down at his lips, he took it. Covering her lips with his, he pulled her bottom lip between his, suckling gently, then pressing forward to taste all of her. Her mouth parted slightly, and he slipped his tongue into it, his hands moving across her back to hug her tighter.
The moment she moaned into his mouth, her hands fisting his shirt, he knew she had changed her mind. He knew he still had her, and he was never letting go, no matter how hard she fought. She is it for me. She’s everything.
“Damn, Fi. I missed this,” he whispered against her lips softly, just loud enough for her to hear.
“Me, too,” she admitted, tears filling her eyes.
A coughing sound interrupted them, and Quinn pushed his way into their peripheral vision.
“For reals, lovebirds? Get a room. Not even the engaged couple is sucking face in front of the whole family.” Quinn clapped Kieran on the shoulder. Fiona blushed and turned away from him.
Not wanting to lose her again, Kieran pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her front. “Jealous, Q?”
Quinn rolled his eyes, walking away from them to congratulate Kane on his win. Kane had knocked out the opponent in the third round—an epic win for him, now the newest state champion. He was proudly wearing the too-large belt with the giant gold medallion, even though he had to hold it in place because it would fall to the ground if he let go.
“Come meet my brother. I don’t think you’ve met Jimmy yet.” He kissed her temple, and she nodded with a smile.
“Let’s have a toast to Kane and Rory’s win tonight!” Jimmy called from the other end of the room, which was crowded with family members, before climbing up on a bench, a water bottle in hand.
“We don’t have anything to drink, eejit. Wait ’til we get to the bar.” Seamus tried to pull him down, but Jimmy froze as he looked over at Kieran.