“It’s called celebrating.” She reached around to grab a bottle of champagne that had been stashed in the bucket of ice in the corner, and took a swig. “We’re at a wedding, after all.”
From the look of her, she’d been celebrating for a while before they got to the ceremony. Aiden must have come to the same conclusion. “Keira, we’re going to talk about this.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Dad. I’ll get right on that.”
For the first time, Carrigan wondered if maybe this was more than their sister just working her way through grief over Devlin’s death. She tried to remember the last time she saw Keira sober and came up blank. It could be chalked up to her being busy with her own drama…but what if that wasn’t it at all? She exchanged a look with Aiden, their earlier bickering falling away in the face of what might be a real problem. Carrigan shook her head. Not today. Not on Teague’s wedding.
Aiden nodded and sat back, causing the tension among the three of them to decrease dramatically. Across from them, Teague and Callie were lost in their own world, and Cillian and Sloan were talking quietly. No one had heard or paid attention to their exchange with Keira. It was probably for the best. If Teague knew something might be wrong, he’d set aside everything except for solving the problem. They’d put it on the back burner so that he could be happy without strings attached today.
They pulled up to the reception hall—the same one that had been used to announce Teague and Callie’s wedding—and everyone piled out of the limo. Half the guests had somehow beaten them there, and the tables were filling up as they made their way up to the main table on the platform. Carrigan gave the crowd a cursory glance, and then almost tripped over her feet when she caught sight of a familiar blond head of hair. No way. She touched Sloan’s arm. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. Don’t be too long, though. I think our mother has dinner set up to go off immediately, followed by the toasts.”
One of which Carrigan was giving. She nodded without taking her eyes off the blond man. That was definitely James. “I know. I won’t miss it.” She moved away before her sister could say something else, winding through the tables and trying to get a better look. This is stupid. Just walk over and tap him on the shoulder and then you’ll see that it’s not James, because there’s no way James could be here. But then he looked over his shoulder, caught her eye, and winked. She changed course, determined to drag his ass out of here before one of her brothers or, worse, her father, realized he was in the room.
James stood and walked toward the door leading deeper into the building—not the exit. That’s it. I’m going to kill him. Carrigan checked to make sure no one was following, and then ducked after him. She barely made it three steps when an arm wrapped around her waist and a hand over her mouth cut off her curse.
“Relax, lovely. It’s me.”
She damn well knew it was him. It wasn’t like she was wandering down the hall for her health. She elbowed him and slipped free. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” He rubbed his stomach with a grimace. “You sure do like beating me up.”
“I don’t respond well to being grabbed without warning.” She waved it away. “Back to more important things—why are you here?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I was invited.”
“You were invited.” She hadn’t realized it was possible to actually feel her blood boil. “You’re a smart man, James.”
“Why do I feel you’re about to use that as a backhanded compliment?”
She ignored the question. “And, as a smart man, you have to be aware that the invitation was a gesture only. No one wants you here, and just by being here, you’re upping the chances of causing a conflict that will jeopardize the peace.”
“Ah, lovely.” He grinned, his total lack of concern making her blood pressure spike. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re sweet on me.”
“I’m not. I don’t believe in caring about idiots who have death wishes.” She smacked his arm. “You need to leave. Now.”
“Bossy, bossy.” He turned and walked farther down the hall, forcing her to chase him like a yippy dog. “Pretty wedding.”
“Yeah, it was.” She glanced over her shoulder. So far no one had come looking for her, but it was only a matter of time. “James…” What could she say? That it would kill a little part of her if something happened to him? It was nothing more than the truth, and it still pissed her off that he’d taken a risk like this. “Leave.”