by Jennifer Ann
Tears fill his eyes, completing his look of desperation. “Please, Chloe. Just promise me you’ll ask him about Ireland. Ask him if he’s secretly engaged to this Vivienne woman.”
My stomach lurches with the sound of her name. “What’d you say?” I whisper, balling his shirt in my fist. “What was her name?”
“Vivienne something or other.” His brows draw together. “Do you know her?”
“No.” It’s more of a denial to myself than an answer to his question. “No. Mick’s not the son of a terrorists and you’re not going to convince me to leave him.”
“I need you, baby,” he whispers, reaching out to touch my face. “I can’t imagine living without you. Once you know the truth, you’ll be ready to come back to me. I know it.”
“No!” I release Beckett’s shirt and step back on unsteady feet. “Get out of here before I call the police.”
“For foks sake!” Mick yells behind me. “What in the bloody hell are you doin’ here?” I turn to see him standing in the grassy patch near our villa, glaring Beckett down like’s he’s ready to strangle the life from him. With his shoulders squared and chest puffed out, I’m afraid of what he’s planning to do.
“It’s okay, Mickey. Beck is leaving.” I pass Beckett a warning look. “Now.”
Mick races toward me, his eyes locked on Beckett. “What it goin’ to take for you to leave her alone?” The cold, angry side of him nags at the doubt planted by Beckett’s outlandish accusations. Could the man I love be capable of murder?
I reel Mick into my side despite the fact that I’m suddenly questioning just how well I know him. “Just let him go. Let’s not ruin the wedding. He’s going to leave and promise never to bother me again.”
Beckett lifts his chin, sneering. I can see him fighting the urge to pummel Mick. “Why don’t you tell her who you really are, Mick O’Donnell? Tell her about your fiancée and your psychopath father the Irish government would love to throw into prison for life! Tell her how your father arranged the bombing that slaughtered a whole bus filled with little children! Tell her that you’re a terrorist!”
A long, pregnant pause follows his accusations. I turn to Mick with my breath held, expecting him to yell at Beckett that he’s a raving lunatic, but he turns to me with his eyes downcast.
“Mick?” My voice cracks with his name. “Baby, what’s he talking about?”
He swings his head back in Beckett’s direction. “If ya know what’s good for you, you’ll leave.” The words come out dark and low, a bold-faced threat. “I won’t be tellin’ ya again.”
Fear clutches its icy hands around my heart. Why won’t Mick deny everything Beckett said?
Beckett blinks like he’s been slapped but makes no effort to move. “I’ll leave, but only if Chloe comes with me. She’s not safe with you!”
I grab Mick by the shoulders, shaking him until he’s forced to look into my eyes. “Talk to me, baby. Tell me all of it’s a lie!”
“It’s the part of m’ old life I didn’t want to get ya involved in,” he answers quietly, setting his hands on my hips. “M’ father’s a heartless, cruel bastard. He’s the reason we left Ireland. When we came to this country, we took my mum’s surname, me an’ Tess. We didn’t want to be a part of his life anymore.”
The truth rips me right down my core and I sudden feel like spewing all over the lawn. Everything Beckett said… “Have you killed anyone?” I whisper, brushing my fingertips over his lips. “Tell me the truth.”
“Don’t look at me like that.” His eyes flutter shut. “You know I love ya. I’d never hurt you, or anyone.”
“Mickey, please,” I plead, patting his chest. “I need to know.”
He sets his fingers under my chin. “Ya truly believe I could do somethin’ like that?” The disappointment flashing through his eyes completely wrecks me. As many times as I’ve professed my love to him, I’ve just admitted that I don’t trust him even though deep down I know Mick is right, he doesn’t have it in him to hurt another living soul. Can a betrayal of that size be undone, or have I just destroyed what we have?
I shake my head over and over, unable to believe he was hiding this big of a secret. “No, I don’t.” Tears stream down my cheeks and I begin to cry with an ugly sob. “But what about Vivienne?”
His hands slip up my back to cradle me, as if he’s preparing for a kiss. “Ya have to believe me. I don’t love her.”
A small hiccup of a cry rocks my body. “But you’re expected to marry her?”
Mick’s beautiful eyes fill with moisture as he shakes his head. “Ya don’t need to worry. It’ll never happen, love, I promise.”
“What will your father do if you refuse?” I whisper so quietly that I barely hear myself.
“There’s no way he’ll ever set foot in this country without bein’ imprisoned.” Leaning down, he presses his face against my neck and locks his arms tight around my middle. It reminds me of a small boy wanting to be held. “You’re the only one I’ll ever love, m’ sweet Chloe. You’re the only one I want t’ be with…forever.”
A part of my heart dies as I nestle my fingers in his hair. “Damn it, Mickey! I knew you were too good to be true!” How could I have been so stupid?
Mick turns his head, pushing his lips on the hallow of my throat. “I’ll make it right,” he whispers. “I swear to you, nothin’ can stop me from bein’ with ya.”
Beckett watches us, shaking his head. ”Chloe—”
I reel on him, fighting past the tears in my eyes. “No. Stop this, Beck! You’ve already done enough damage! Go home.” I clutch my fists at my sides, feeling a wave of anguish tear through my chest. “I don’t care if you have to walk all the way back to the airport, but you have to leave before something happens to you that can’t be undone!”
As Beckett turns and walks toward the gates, his head slung low, I rest my head against Mick’s with a great sigh, running my fingers up and down his scalp. Okay, so this revelation was completely unexpected, but I still love Mick more than anything and can’t push him away when he’s clearly wrecked by the truth. “You should’ve told me everything from the beginning.”
Mick holds me even tighter like he’s afraid I’m going to leave, digging his fingers into my back. I feel the wetness of his cheek pressing against my skin and the slight tremble of his body as he cries. “I didn’t want ya knowin’ the ugly truth. I didn’t want t’ drag you into m’ dark past. It’s not who I am.”
“You can’t tell someone you want to spend your life with them and not mention you’re expected to marry someone else. I didn’t even know there was still such a thing as arranged marriages.” I kiss the side of his head and continue stroking his hair. “I don’t know how to process this, Mickey.”
“It’s not s’ much arranged as expected. Viv and I grew up together. Our fathers have been friends since they were boys. M’ pop can’t touch us, sweetheart. We’re goin’ to be alright.”
“Just how dangerous is he?” I whisper.
“We’re goin’ to be alright,” he repeats, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. From the tone of his voice, I fear he’s trying to convince himself rather than comfort me.
Taking my mind off the events of the morning and the reality of Mick’s complicated background seem impossible, but I’m quickly wrangled in by the excitement rolling off my girlfriends as we prepare for the wedding. A team of stylists arrive at the compound to style our hair and do our makeup, treating us like royalty. Kelly smiles so widely throughout the day that the muscles in her face will be putty by the time the ceremony starts.
As beautiful and perfect as Jewels and Adam’s wedding had been, Kelly and Theo are able to claim equal bragging rights with their beachside ceremony that begins right at sunset. The pink, purple and golden hues stretching over the calm of the foam green ocean are like something out of a movie and would steal the show if it weren’t for the gorgeous couple standing in front of us, exchanging their vows as the wind gently blows Kelly
’s long hair over her shoulders. The informal ceremony is relatively short, though still long enough for my mind to wander back to thoughts of the IRA and Vivienne, making it impossible to look Mick’s way.
After the justice of the peace announces our friends are married and they share a passionate kiss, Kelly raises her hands in the air. “Time to party!” I look up at her just as she whips her small bouquet of white stephanotis my way. She’s giggling like she’s totally lost her mind when Theo swoops her and her fluffy dress over his shoulder, hauling her off to the other end of the beach where swatches of cloth hung from wooden terraces rope off the reception area. She throws the rest of us a double thumbs up behind his back.
Jewels elbows me in the side, giggling. “Guess there’s no question, you’re next.” Adam loops his arm around her shoulder and they trail after the newest newlyweds along with the rest of the guests. I’m staring down at the flowers in my hand when Mick slips his arms around me.
“It’s gonna happen. You ’n’ me.” He tilts my chin up so I’ll look at him. His eyes dance with the remaining sunlight as he draws me into his arms. “Come with me, sweetheart. I wanna show ya somethin’.”
Nodding, I take his hand, trailing behind in the opposite direction of the reception. We disappear around the corner of Kurt’s property where a collection of jagged rocks take the brunt of the ocean’s waves. The salty air and beautiful view of the turquoise water have me beaming. How many people can say they’ve had a vacation this magical with their friends and loved ones?
Mick leads me further into the nook of the rocks and releases my hand to unbutton his white shirt. He drapes it on the edge of a rock before reclaiming my hand and motioning for me to sit.
“Mick Flanagan, what are you up to?” I ask, tilting my head.
He unzips his khaki shorts and hooks them over a rock by my shoulder. I melt with the sight of his beautiful body, completely naked and exposed. Once again, my man has gone commando. “Oh, baby,” I say, reaching for him.
Chuckling, he shakes his head. “Focus, sweetheart. While ya were gettin’ primped for the weddin’, I ran into town with the men. Notice anythin’ different?”
Forcing myself to look away from the enlarged part of him I adore the most, only slightly before his beautiful arms, my eyes trail over to the fresh ink on his skin. My name, penned in a beautiful script, runs perpendicular to his rib cage, ending on his hip. The edges of the writing are still red and slightly raised. A warmness spreads through my gut and my heart swells.
“There wasn’t time to get the blue flowers I wanted t’ put around it, but I know of a more talented artist that can fill them in later.”
With big fat tears filling my eyes, I meet his gaze. Every doubt I ever had about his love for me or about our future crumble down into the sand around me. We have the weight of a million worries going against us, but the way we feel about each other will get us through.
Mick steps forward, grinning widely as he brushes away the tears spilling down my cheek. “I thought yer name on m’ skin would prove to you that I belong to ya and I’m not goin’ anywhere.” He takes my hands in his before kissing my knuckles. “M’ dear, sweet Chloe, yer everythin’ I ever wanted in a woman and so much more. We’ll make it through this, I promise.”
When I reach down to touch his face, a sob bursts from me. “Oh, Mickey—”
He cuts my words off with a deep kiss. An electric jolt rockets all the way down to my toes. Then he stops, resting his hand behind my head. “It’s just you an’ me. I don’t care about my father or Vivienne or that no good bastard stalkin’ ya. It’s just the two of us. That’s how it should always be. Whatever happens between now and ninety, we’ll face it together. Whether ya make the big time and storm The Garden or end up workin’ in the bakery down the street, I plan to stay with ya through it all.”
I laugh quietly. Joy and disbelief rage inside the pit of my stomach. I should pinch myself to make sure it isn’t all a dream. This beautiful, sweet man is willing to give up everything to be with me, despite the complications our lives have created.
“Yes, baby, there’s nothing that would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life at your side,” I whisper, running my thumb over his lips. “But what were you going to do with that new tattoo if I decided your secret was too much?”
His mouth bends into a bright smile, the kind only Mick can give that light up my world. “I was bettin’ there wouldn’t be a chance in Hell you’d leave me.”
Our lips meet again. The sight of my gorgeous man naked in front of me, my name forever etched into his skin releases my untamed, animalistic side. Lurching at him, I slip my arms around his head and wrap my legs around his waist.
Mick slips his hand beneath my dress, pushing my underwear to the side so he can make love to me with the sounds of the ocean waves crashing around us. As he thrusts into me, an emotional bubble bursts inside my chest and I can’t stop crying. “I love you so much, Mickey,” I whisper, biting his lips.
Mick kisses the tears spilling down my face and grabs my hips, guiding me faster and faster, the look of pure wanton lighting up his face. I tilt my head back and savor the sensation as the friction of our bodies bring me to a climax more breathtaking than the view of the ocean over his shoulder. Thankfully my cries of joy that come with the powerful orgasm are absorbed by our surroundings. Thousands of little pulsating explosions rip through my body, and I collapse against Mick.
“M’ sweet Chloe,” he whispers between nibbles to my neck, crushing me in his arms. “I’ll never let ya go.”
Much like the night of Jewels and Adam’s wedding, our little gang—with the addition of my brother and Gwen—celebrates well into the morning hours, long after the rest of the guests call it a night. We sit around a stone fireplace, sharing what’s left of the champagne and sharing stories. Nestled against Mick, I’m moved to tears when looking at each of my friends’ faces, the warm glow of the fire making them even more beautiful.
My brother is the happiest I’ve ever seen him as he holds Gwen in his arms, whispering into her ear. Occasionally, when they laugh together, Gwen will close her eyes and lean into him like he’s become her rock. It’s the same feeling I have whenever I’m near Mick.
There’s so much love flowing through our group that I get the chills just thinking about it. Two years ago I wouldn’t have recognized myself. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’ve lost the person I was before meeting Jewels and Kelly, it’s just that I didn’t know the kind of passion I was missing out on by losing myself in the future of the band. The feelings I had for Beckett don’t even skim the surface of the complex love I feel for Mick. For any of these people, really.
Jewels taps one of the nearly empty bottles against my legs, giggling. “Chloe, you okay? You’re quiet. It’s kind of scaring me.”
I turn to give Mick a kiss before wiping my eyes and turning back to my friends, Kelly and Jewels in particular. “There is something I’ve been wanting to say. I can’t believe how much my life has changed since I met all of you. It wasn’t that long ago that I was just some singer without a life beyond my band. I had no idea what I was missing. Then I met these two crazy friends from the Midwest and it just kind of snowballed from there.” Kelly and Jewels grin brightly back at me from across the fire. “I never would’ve met Mick if it weren’t for you guys. I probably wouldn’t have realized how unhealthy my relationship with Beck had become and I wouldn’t be considering a solo career.” Mick’s hands rub against my arms and he kisses my cheek. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you for all you’ve done. I swear to god, you’re the best. I love you to pieces.”
“We love you too!” Kelly answers with a slight slur.
Theo holds a bottle up to the sky. “Here’s to Mick and Chloe, and to having the kind of friends who will always have your back.”
Mick stands behind me with another bottle. “May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fa
ll out!”
The rest of us raise our hands to the sky and cheer along. I’ve never known this level of pure joy.
Chapter 12
We’re back in New York for a week before our fairy tale comes crashing down and shit hits the fan. The memory care unit where Mick’s mom lives wakes us with a call at five in the morning. It’s a good thing Mick sets his ringer to vibrate as he doesn’t like ringtones or I would probably throw the damn thing through the window. I untangle my limbs from Mick as he rises to his elbow, wiping at his face with his free hand. “What do ya mean, you lost her?”
Sitting, I flip on the small lamp beside the bed, watching his expression flip between anger and annoyance as he listens to the person ramble.
“Ya ya, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He throws his phone on the bed and ruffles his already disheveled hair. “Bloody hell, they can’t keep my mum locked up and we’re payin’ them to watch her.”
I cover my mouth. “She just left the home?” When he covers his face instead of answering, I crawl over to kiss him. “We’ll find her, baby. It’ll be okay.”
We quickly dress and wait for a taxi outside the building. Though I hold Mick’s hand the entire ride over to Staten Island, his mind is far away and he doesn’t speak. He just stares out the window with an disheartening calm. I toy with my engagement ring, a blue sapphire we picked out from an antique store two nights ago, wishing there was something more I could do for Mick. It’s rare to see him unraveled.
The taxi hasn’t come to a complete stop when Mick flies out the door. I quickly pay the driver, throwing in a sizable tip before sprinting into the facility. Mick stands with his hands on the counter, yelling at the top of his lungs. “For fok’s sakes, she’s an old woman who can’t even remember her own name! How could ya let this happen?”
