Foolish Temptations

by Danielle Stewart

  “She’s no more my sister than any other stranger passing by me on the street. Do you really think she’ll find comfort or happiness in finding out her father came with all this baggage? Aden is right. Go home and forget about me. Forget about Gallamare.”

  “No,” Maribel cried. “This isn’t right.”

  Kenan took one last look at each of them and stormed out.

  “Aden, we have to do something.” Maribel’s lip quivered with emotion. “We can’t leave things like this.”

  He looked over at Aileen, her eyes glassy with tears. “I know. I’ll think of something.”

  Chapter 28

  Maribel

  * * *

  Her body ached with sadness. A head-to-toe sensation of pain that couldn’t be dulled with any kind of medication. She’d heard the mythology of Pandora’s box, the opening of something that sparked the beginning of many unforeseen and devastating problems. She never quite understood it as well as she did right now.

  The air had turned cold as she headed up the main road toward the hotel. The cold tears that streaked her cheeks felt like they might freeze.

  “Maribel, wait up,” Aden pleaded as he slipped out of his coat and put it over her shoulders. “Just hang on a minute.”

  “Why?” she asked, snapping around at him. “You can’t wait until we get inside to say I told you so. I get it Aden, you were right. No one is better off. There’s an old woman in there crying. A man running off, knowing he was lied to his whole life. I get to go home and keep this secret from my best friend. You get to go home and disappoint the hell out of Hugo as well as wonder if this is going to follow you and bite us in the ass. You were right. I’ll have T-shirts made.”

  “Are you finished?” Aden tipped his head and gave her a far gentler look than she expected. “Because if you’re done speaking for me, I’d like to give it a try.”

  “Because you’re so good with words?”

  He reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m not the most eloquent man. I don’t always know how to say what I’m feeling. But before all this went down, Kenan said something that really stuck with me.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes. Somehow I had forgotten that of the two of us, you are much more intelligent.”

  “You must be dumb if you forgot that.” She cracked a smile, then it faded as she remembered what her actions had caused tonight.

  “If you believe that we have a chance at being happy, if you believe it’s worth it, history should prove that you’re always right.” Aden took her hands in his. “I don’t know what kind of man I’m going to be tomorrow or ten years from now. I know what I want to be. I know what I’m working toward. But I don’t know if I’ll achieve it. What I do know is, my odds of getting there go up exponentially if I have you in my life. I can’t promise you every day will be easy. All I know is everything I have to give is yours if you want it.”

  She stared at him in true bewilderment. Maribel had assumed what played out tonight would be the nail in the coffin for her and Aden. He’d realize her antics had blown up in their faces. Her pie-in-the-sky, happy-go-lucky approach had failed them. She had failed them. “You’re serious? After all that happened, I didn’t think you’d be able to look at me.”

  “Because of what you just did, I knew for sure I loved you. You stood in that room and did what you thought was right. You cried with them. You ached for them. Your empathy is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”

  “That was a complete disaster in there,” she said, gesturing toward the bookstore.

  “No, that was the mess. That was the storm that waters the garden. It’s inevitable and painful, but it’s what they needed to move on. It’s what I need.”

  “You want something like that?” she sniffled.

  “No. I want you. And with that will come some bad times, but they won’t be anything compared to the good. Because I watched you in there today, and I realized you’re the right person when the storm comes. I want to jump headlong into whatever might happen. You always bet on the long shot, and honey, I’m the longest shot there is.”

  Maribel shook her head as though his words were some foreign language she only knew parts of. “What does this mean? For us and for them?” She pointed toward the bookshop.

  “Kenan has a whole family in the States. I was wrong. He deserves to know them, and they would be lucky to have him. We have to make that happen.”

  “We?”

  “This might be our first mess, and we’re going to fix it together. If that means we lose our friend or our jobs, we’ll find a way to get through it. What’s right is right.”

  “What if . . .”

  “Wake up next to me every morning. Let me kiss you every day. Then the what ifs won’t matter.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, his hand slipping beneath her hair. This was the kiss. The one she dreamed of. It wasn’t driven solely by desire or lust. It wasn’t born out of the whimsy and magic of a couple glasses of wine. It was intentional. Deliberate. She gave herself over to it with reckless abandon.

  When a moan escaped her lips and he pushed his body against hers, they both knew this runaway train had to stop. If not they’d be arrested for public indecency any moment.

  “Rain check on this,” Aden whispered, his lips pressed to her ear. “We have work to do.”

  “We do make a hell of a team.” She kept her arms looped around his neck as he pressed his forehead to hers.

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”

  Maribel smiled as kissed his cheek. “You know me. Always betting on the dark horse. I knew you’d come around eventually.”

  “You did?” His eyes were wide with surprise.

  “Sure. I wasn’t positive I’d still be around to see it. But I’m glad I am.”

  Chapter 29

  Aden

  * * *

  The flight home was bumpy, and Aden didn’t sleep a wink. He’d wrestled with the choices in front of him for the past twenty-four hours. Each had pitfalls. Each had potential. None were foolproof. Now as they stepped out of their cab and stood at the foot of the apartment building where Hugo and Junie lived, he wondered what the next twenty-four hours would hold.

  “You sure about this?” Maribel asked, slipping her hand into his.

  “No,” he admitted. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “But I’m sure about us, and that’s the only thing that matters right now.”

  “I knew it,” Hugo said as he stepped from the glass door and hopped down the stairs toward them. “I knew you two would finally fall for each other out there. I’m not going to say it was my plan or anything.” He threw his hands up to prove his innocence. “But I am glad it worked out.”

  Maribel tipped her head bashfully. “It was an adventure over there.”

  “It’s been pretty cloak-and-dagger mysterious. I’ll admit I hate being left in the dark. But Aden, you said on the phone you were ready to fill me in.” Hugo clapped his hands together in anticipation.

  “Is Junie home?” Aden asked, clearing his throat nervously.

  “No, she’s in the lab. They had a huge breakthrough this week, and she’s so excited. It’s a good thing you two are managing things on the wedding front because otherwise we’d never have time to get married.”

  Maribel tipped her chin up as though she were readying for a blow. “I’m sorry to say we didn’t make much progress.”

  “Really?” Hugo asked, looking surprised. “I had a lot faith in you two.”

  “We should go inside and sit down,” Aden suggested.

  “No,” Hugo cut back. “I’ve bit my tongue all week. I’ve let you two keep quiet and now you’re back, telling me there are no real wedding plans yet?”

  “We found her family,” Maribel cut in. “But it’s more complicated than any of us could have imagined. Ian O’Malley came over here when he a teenager on his own. He never went back to Ireland.”

  “Sure
,” Hugo shrugged. “He started a family. He didn’t have the means to go back. But I have the means to take Junie.”

  “He wasn’t planning on coming here alone.” Aden let go of Maribel’s hand and folded his arms. “His pregnant girlfriend was going to join him here. He hopped onboard a freight ship and left her a note.”

  “Wait, he had a pregnant girlfriend?” Hugo gulped. “So what does that mean?”

  Maribel picked up the part of the story that Aden struggled to articulate. “She never made it here. She was a kid herself. Overwhelmed. Sad. A history of mental illness. She overdosed on prescribed pills.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Hugo sighed. “That’s terrible. As far as I know Ian never told Junie or any of the boys about that part of his past.”

  “He didn’t know she killed herself,” Aden corrected. “It’s complicated. What Maribel and I found out yesterday is that, though his girlfriend didn’t survive, their son did. He’s been living in Gallamare, raised by his great aunt, completely unaware that Ian had a family here. You see, suicide is something the town of Gallamare couldn’t reckon with. So instead they put the blame on Ian, and they’ve all been living under the impression that he killed Elsie, his girlfriend.”

  “Slow down,” Hugo begged as he pumped his hands in their direction. “Junie’s father was accused of murder? A whole town thinks he killed this girl and nearly killed her child?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the kid is alive? He’d be her half-brother. Hell she has enough brothers already.” Hugo rubbed at his temples as though the pressure was too much.

  “She does have a lot of brothers already,” Aden chuckled. “I’m sorry to spring this on you. I considered keeping it to myself and letting you have some plausible deniability in the whole thing. You sent me to make sure things didn’t get complicated. I failed on that. But you can rest assured that, through conversations with people in their lives and some hard evidence, we know Ian had nothing to do with Elsie’s death. He loved her and had he known about Kenan, I’m certain he’d have done right by him.”

  “I’m sure he would have too.” Hugo paced the sidewalk for a moment. “He’d have certainly wanted his children together and taken care of.”

  Maribel nodded. “That’s what we thought too.”

  “He’s here, isn’t he?” Hugo stopped in his tracks. “What if I’d have said to bury this? What if I decided we all lie to Junie and take this messy secret to our grave?”

  Maribel walked toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’d have punched you in the nose.”

  “Fair enough.” Hugo checked his watch and looked from Aden to Maribel. “She’ll be home in six hours. I need to make some big decisions here. Then make a lot of phone calls. I don’t know the best way to break this kind of news to someone.”

  Aden laughed. “She’s not just someone, she’s Junie. How do you think she’d want to find out?”

  Hugo nodded as though the answer had come to him. “Keep your phones on, we’ve got work to do.” He turned and hustled up the stairs and through the glass door toward his apartment.

  “That could have been worse.” Maribel slipped her hand back into his. “This is all going to work out.”

  “Oh, Bell, I’ve got to get my hands on that happy juice you must drink every morning.” He turned and kissed her then nibbled his way down her cheek to her neck.

  “Hope is contagious, Aden. Stick around long enough, and you’ll catch some.”

  “We don’t need hope for this one to work out. Think of all the emotions. All the personalities that are about to clash. We need a miracle.”

  Chapter 30

  Maribel

  * * *

  “I’m having second thoughts about this.” Maribel paced the small room in the back of the restaurant. “It’s a big thing to spring on people. Do you really think we should do it here?”

  “Have you met her brothers?” Hugo asked, one eyebrow raised. “If I’m breaking news to them, you better believe it’s in a public place.”

  “They just hopped on your jet and came here?”

  “They did. I told them it was important, and Junie needed them. Apparently that’s the magic phrase to get a caravan of O’Malley men to come running.”

  “And you think throwing Kenan right into the mix is a good idea?” Maribel asked, nibbling her lip nervously.

  Hugo tucked his hands into his pockets. “I did before you started making that face. Listen, I’m not going to let this drag out. I’m not starting my marriage with secrets and lies. I know something, and Junie deserves to know it as soon as possible.”

  “That’s really mature of you,” Maribel said with an impressed smile.

  “The whole lot of them scare the hell out of me,” Hugo admitted, not cracking a smile. “I’m glad to have you and Aden to back me up.”

  “Always,” she promised. “You gave us both a shot, and we’re very grateful.”

  “I gave you jobs; you turned them into something more. I don’t know what you said or did to make him wake up and realize you two are perfect for each other, but I’ve never seen him happier.”

  A loud clamoring of voices filled the private room, and Maribel knew it was the brothers. She tried to remember who was who. Loch was the youngest, cute but a little too thin in her opinion. He was the one who got in the car accident and Hugo swooped in and got Junie back to Boston to be with him.

  Nicky, Ben, and Brian were harder for her to tell apart. Their features were similar and now that she knew the truth, she could see some of Kenan in them as well. They each had little nicks and scars on them that reminded her just how tough their lives had been. Ian had come here, brokenhearted, and found a way to rebuild his life. Hopefully they could all appreciate that.

  The brother who may appreciate it most was Tommy. His wife and son were back in Boston, and surely that bond would soften him to his father’s situation. Junie’s reaction was a mystery though. Her father was her hero. He encouraged her. Inspired her. Though it was always inevitable, somehow realizing parents were flawed was still a blow. They were only slightly older versions of ourselves, who at the end of the day were equally unsure of what the hell they were supposed to be doing.

  “So what the hell is this all about, Hugo?” Nicky asked with a posture of unease. “Did you knock our sister up? Because we’re not above having a shotgun wedding.”

  Hugo laughed nervously. “I can assure you that’s not the case. This is something that pertains to your whole family. Something very unexpected.”

  Nicky couldn’t seem to help himself. “Did you get Ben pregnant? Because my brother has gained a few pounds since the last time you were in Boston. And that would be unexpected.”

  “Maybe we should all sit down and wait for your sister.”

  “She doesn’t know what this is about?” Tommy asked, looking even more concerned. “I’m not down with some kind of ambush. If she doesn’t like what you have to say and grabs a steak knife you’re on your own. I’ve got too much to live for now.”

  “Congratulations on the baby,” Maribel offered. “You must be so happy.”

  “Happy sure, exhausted definitely. I swear I don’t know how my parents did this six times.” He rubbed at his red eyes. She and Hugo shared an awkward look when they both realized the math was about to go up from six to seven for their father.

  “What’s going on?” Junie asked as she entered the room and covered her mouth nervously. “Why are they all here?”

  “You were supposed to text me first,” Hugo protested. “I swear, you O’Malleys never listen.”

  “That’s because we hate surprises,” Junie groaned. “Is everything all right? Tommy, the baby is fine?”

  “Yes, he’s great. Shitting so well it doesn’t even stay in his diapers.”

  “So why are you here?”

  “We don’t know,” Loch said as he shrugged. “Apparently Hugo might have slept with Ben.”

  “What?” Junie asked sharply.

&n
bsp; “I did not sleep with your brother; you people are impossible.”

  Ben folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not sure I appreciate how you said that. Am I not good-looking enough for you to even consider sleeping with? I thought the last time we were together we got along pretty well.”

  “I can’t deal with this,” Hugo said, throwing his arms up. “You’re like a bunch of children.”

  “Honey,” Junie said, a soft expression flowing across her face. “I’m sorry. We’re just messing around because you’re making this weird. Why are we all here?”

  Hugo gestured for everyone sit down, and reluctantly they did. “Maybe we should eat first?”

  “No.” Junie gave him a stern look. “I love you with all my heart, but if you’re trying to soften the blow with some chicken parmesan, it’s not going to work. Just come out with it.”

  “I told you I sent Maribel and Aden off on a business trip,” Hugo began. “It was more of a personal endeavor.”

  Junie’s brows were furrowed. “Yes, and my friend has been radio silent for a week. I assumed it was because she and Aden had finally made up and were ravaging each other in some fancy hotel. Now I’m much more concerned.”

  “We were in Ireland,” Maribel admitted. “Hugo knew how busy you were at work, and he wanted us to help get some wedding planning done.”

  Junie covered her mouth with her hands and inhaled sharply. “You’re planning our wedding in Ireland?”

  “Cool,” Nicky said, slapping Ben on the shoulder. “Free trip. I was hoping for a destination wedding.”

  “It didn’t go as planned.” Maribel fidgeted with her hands.

  “Where is Aden? Is he all right?”

  “He is,” Hugo replied quickly. “I asked him to wait to hear from me before he came in. He has someone with him.”