Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“Can you ask Lorcan for details about the yacht and the oligarch?”
Gulliver rose to his feet. “Once you’re back in Dublin, I’ll see what I can do. But, Aislinn, you should be aware that you can’t leave the past behind. The name Devaney will forever be part of your history. Everyone who matters in Dublin and Ireland knows about the marriage. You can’t return to the life you knew, even if you try.”
I wouldn’t understand what Gulliver meant, not until later.
Twenty minutes later, Finn stood on the doorstep with Seamus at his side. Gulliver answered the door and barred my way as if he worried that I might run away. Where was I supposed to run to anyway, especially with Finn?
“Hey, Finn,” I said with a smile. He waved goodbye at Seamus before he came in. Gulliver patted his head briefly. Finn grabbed my hand and gave me a questioning look. I understood his confusion. I’d brought him to New York and now we were returning to Dublin. I wasn’t sure how much Seamus had told him.
“Go ahead,” Gulliver said in a clipped tone. “Seamus and I have things to discuss.”
I nodded, not in the mood for an argument. I was about to turn when Seamus said, “The ring. You won’t need it anymore.”
With a swallow I took my wedding ring off and handed it to Seamus. Then I pulled Finn into my room. “Do you want to eat something?”
“Maeve ordered pizza for us.”
I smiled then sadness overwhelmed me. I wouldn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to Maeve.
“Lorcan said you and I will return to Dublin.”
I froze. “You saw Lorcan?”
“He came over to Maeve’s home to say goodbye.”
“Did he say why we had to leave?”
“He said it was complicated adult stuff I shouldn’t worry about.”
“He’s right.”
“Is it because of me?”
I hugged him. “No! Of course not. Lorcan really loved having you at his apartment. This is something between us.”
I was pretty sure that it was the truth. Lorcan liked Finn. I was surprised to see that tender side of him. That he took time to say goodbye to Finn despite his fury with me showed it too.
“That’s what he said.”
I stroked Finn’s hair. “Mum will be happy to have us back.”
Finn nodded, then whispered. “I’ll miss Lorcan.”
I had a feeling I would to, even if it didn’t make sense. I shouldn’t miss a man like him.
When Finn and I landed in Dublin, I realized for the first time that maybe Lorcan had really let me go. My betrayal had been too much. I didn’t want to feel guilty. Had I really done something wrong by working with the police? Lorcan was a criminal. He belonged in jail, no doubt about that. Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of being in the wrong. Maybe that happened when you lived among criminals for long enough—you forgot what was right and wrong. Everything was turned upside down.
Mum was waiting for us in the Dublin airport. My heart exploded with love. Mum had her faults, but she’d always been there for us. When Finn rushed toward her and she caught him in her arms, my eyes burned with unshed tears. I glared at a couple of people who gawked because of the spasms that slowed his movements. Pulling our luggage behind me, I joined them and hugged Mum tightly. I immediately began crying.
“You’re back!” she whispered, and I hugged them even tighter.
Mum’s arms came around us, and she let out a shuddering breath. When I pulled back, her eyes brimmed with tears and the remnants of fear. Finn took mine and Mum’s hand and tugged us out of the airport, toward Sean’s car. Mum preferred to pretend she didn’t know he was in love with her, but everyone else knew.
Finn and I got on the back seat, and Mum took the steering wheel. She was a bad driver. She didn’t have a car of her own and very little experience driving. I clung to Finn as she steered us through traffic. When we pulled up to Merchant’s Arch, I felt a strange sense of wistfulness. While this place still felt like home, it also felt different. Nothing had changed. Nothing but me. Maybe in a few weeks I’d feel like the Aislinn of the past. Maybe then Dublin would be the home I missed so much.
Mum returned the car keys to Sean while I carried Finn up the stairs. Climbing stairs was still something that gave him major trouble, especially the steep, uneven steps to our apartment. After his last fall, Mum and I usually carried him.
Finn and I had bought a few souvenirs of the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty during our first tour of the city. We’d meant to send them to Mum but now we could give it to her personally. When we entered the apartment, Finn proudly presented our gifts to her. Then he put on the New York Giants jersey Lorcan had given him.