The Player and the Pixie(73)

Ronan locked eyes with me in the rear-view mirror. “Oh, believe me, he is. You’re too soft-hearted with people, Luce. You’re always giving them the benefit of the doubt, but you don’t know Sean Cassidy as well as I do.”

“What if I do?” I blurted without thinking. Broderick widened his eyes at me all, you’re going to tell him here? Ronan narrowed his gaze.

“What do you mean?” he said slowly, suspiciously, and I wished I could take it back.

I scratched feverishly at my wrist. “Well . . . I sort of do know him. We went out for dinner once.” Technically, it was the truth. The first time I’d had a proper conversation with Sean was when he took me out for dinner at Marco Pierre’s.

Ronan abruptly pulled the car over onto the hard shoulder as Annie put her hand to her chest at the suddenness. “Ronan, what are you doing?”

He completely ignored her as he twisted in his seat, his expression a mixture of anger and disbelief. “You, my sister, Lucy Fitzpatrick, went out for dinner with Sean Cassidy? Is this an April Fool?”

I couldn’t meet his eyes. “It isn’t April.”

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“It was ages ago,” I shrugged.

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Ronan barked and every single person in the car jumped in fright. He looked at Annie. “First you and now my sister. Is everyone blind to Cassidy’s true nature but me?”

“You’re not my keeper. I can have dinner with whoever I like,” I whispered.

He shook his head, his thoughts obviously a churning mess. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Have you no loyalty?”

His question made me feel awful, and my eyes grew watery as I folded my arms across my chest. Maybe Ronan was right. Maybe I was a horrible sister with no loyalty. And maybe it was for the best that I never told him all that had transpired, all that was still transpiring between Sean and me, because I was certain it would irrevocably change our relationship. And I needed my brother. He and Annie were the only real family I had.

Annie took Ronan’s hand in hers in an effort to calm him. “You heard her, Ronan. It was ages ago. There’s no sense getting all worked up about it. You’re being a bully.”

“I’m not . . . ” He paused and rubbed at his jaw. “I’m not a bully. I’m just angry.”

“Yes, and we’ve talked about this before. Anger is counter-productive. If you’re upset with Lucy, tell her, but don’t yell at her like she’s a misbehaving child.”

And just like that, the sweet and shy Annie had gotten through to him. His anger deflated and he cast me a guilty look.

“I’m sorry for shouting at you.”

I only nodded, my voice failing me for a moment. I sat in my seat, quiet as a mouse, with Broderick shooting me concerned looks. He was the only one who knew it wasn’t just ages ago, and that things between Sean and me were far from over.

But how could I tell my brother that after how he reacted to us having one dinner together? He’d probably disown me. Fear had me wrapping the secret up tighter than ever before, determined for him never to find out.

Ronan exhaled and gave me one final glance, before putting the car in gear. I swallowed what felt like a lump in my throat, my mind a whirl of worries. Annie muttered something in Ronan’s ear that seemed to calm him further, and I saw the tension leave his body.

Watching them together, I was struck by how grateful I was for Annie, for how happy she made my brother, and how she could ground him with nothing but a few softly spoken words. Ronan had found someone who understood him, who cherished him, who wanted him just as he was. A foreign sensation struck me and I rubbed at my chest. It took me a minute to recognize what it was—longing.

***

When we arrived at the house, I swiftly made my way to my room to do some much-needed yoga. Calm was vital to me right then. I needed to sort out my feelings before I came face-to-face with Sean, which I now knew was inevitable since he’d been invited to the wedding.

Broderick had never been to Ireland before, so I promised to give him the grand tour that afternoon. Unfortunately, my mam showed up and insisted we all go out—meaning, we all be seen—for lunch at her super swanky club. Afterward she wanted Annie and me to go lingerie shopping with her.

The horror!

I was able to beg off by claiming plans with Broderick. As such, we spent that evening and the next morning wandering about the city, checking the sights and whatnot. To his credit, he didn’t bring up Sean at all. Broderick was both wonderful and infuriating in that he never pushed me for more than I was willing to share.