Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
He couldn’t find Solomon or James but he knew they were around here somewhere. His family. T-shirts. Seamus beaming like he had a secret… “Ken? Did anyone tell you what we’re celebrating?”
Ken shook his head just as the band stopped playing and the sound of silverware tapping glass started to spread. Old Shawn kissed his wife and joined Seamus in front of the bar. “Welcome to Finn’s!”
The crowd cheered.
“I’m old and retired, so I don’t get a chance to join you that often. My son, the new owner, was kind enough to let me steal some of the spotlight.” Seamus patted him on the back and Ellen blew him a kiss. The familiar sight made Brady smile.
“Ancient as I am,” Shawn continued, “I’ve learned a little about life. The most wonderful thing about it is that every day we get a chance to make new memories, discover new reasons to come together, find new people to love, and maybe even fix a few mistakes along the way.”
He paused and looked over at Solomon, who shook his head. Shawn’s shoulders drooped for an instant—not long enough for most people to catch, but Brady noticed. Had he expected Sol to come?
Someday Brady was going to find out what had happened between them to cause this decades-long rift. But it obviously wasn’t going to happen tonight. The Elder Sol was one stubborn son of a mule.
“Anyway, it’s a beautiful night and I hear we have a lot to celebrate. So drink, eat and make sure you tip the band.”
Everyone gave Shawn another round of applause, and then Seamus lifted a mug of beer. “Thank you to my father, the man who started this grand old pub, Shawn Finn. May I someday be that wise and that lucky to have such a beautiful woman on my arm.”
Shawn crossed his fingers and Seamus laughed. “It’s been one hell of a year,” he told the crowd. “I’ve never been prouder of my family, or more inspired by the wonderful people they’ve found to share their lives. People who, for some unknown reason, love them enough to put up with all of us.”
He pointed his glass toward Ken, and Brady laughed until Ken leaned over the table to kiss him.
“If all of you can hang in there just a little while longer, we have something really special in the works. But first, let’s raise a glass to the Senator’s wife, Mrs. Natasha Rivera Finn. I think she has something to say.”
“Something is definitely going on,” Brady said in Ken’s ear.
“Clearly,” Ken agreed with a smile. “It’s called fun. Pay attention.”
“Smartass.”
Tasha was making the audience laugh with some racy humor about her pregnancy, but once Brady started, he couldn’t stop looking at Ken.
How had he gotten so lucky? Nothing in his life had prepared him for this kind of happiness. He still wasn’t sure he deserved it. But that didn’t mean he’d let it go without one hell of a fight.
Just like Ken, he was ready for whatever came next. And yes, he had a feeling they weren’t done with that shadowy group of untouchables with blood on their hands. But Terry and Patricia were together and safe. Ken was safe and they were in love. For now, in this moment, life was good. Brady felt blessed. Happy. With this man by his side, he could do anything.
Ken must have felt him staring. “You’re missing Tasha’s comedy stylings,” he said. “What is it?”
“Have you ever been to Paris? I told you about the place Mom had there. I was thinking we should take a vacation. We’ve earned it.”
Ken leaned over and kissed him again with those perfect, wicked lips, making his heart skip. “I’d do Paris with you. Or you in Paris. Anytime, Finn. Anything you want.”
“I love you.”
“And I love you. I wasn’t expecting this.” He made a motion to include the bar filled with Finns. “I thought I had it all together. Thought I was doing great on my own.”
It was hard to argue with that. “You were Batman.”
“Exactly.” Ken’s grin softened. “I was fine until I met you.”
Brady smirked. “Jake says whenever people say they’re fine, it means that they’re too worn out from crying to go over why life sucks so bad.”
“Jake? The tween? Well, it must be true then.”
Brady nodded. “For the record, I was fine too. Just fine. All black shirts, control and careful passion. I didn’t think there was anything more for me. Until you.”
“Stop or I’ll drag you out of here before we find out what’s going on. You are trouble, Finn. A giant, gorgeous mountain of trouble. I should have known from the minute I saw you but I—Oh, wait, I think she’s getting to the good part.” Ken kissed him quick with a laugh, then turned his head back toward the bar.