The Irish Getaway: A Kennedy Boys Optional Short Novel (The Kennedy Boys)

by Siobhan Davis

  If anyone found me now—lying on a bench, in the pitch dark, in the middle of the night, laughing to myself—they’d have me carted off to the nearest psychiatric ward before I could draw a breath.

  My knee bounces up and down, and I’m chock-full of nervous excitement. I desperately need to track Lana down. If I knew where to begin, I’d be on it in a flash. It feels like an eternity since I last spoke to her, and I crave her company as intensely as a druggie craves his next fix.

  To have come so close is killing me.

  However, I refuse to feel anything but pure excitement.

  Lana is here. That is all that matters.

  This changes everything.

  I may have lost her just now, but I’m not giving up until I find her. Until I speak to her and convince her I’m finally in the right place. Ready to give her a commitment and mean it this time.

  I haul myself upright and make my way back to the frat house.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” Shelby asks, the second I reappear in the room.

  The music is blaring and the crowd is getting rowdy. Most of us have been partying since the event earlier, and things are turning messy. I’ve been making a concerted effort to keep my nose clean. Party-boy Kal is a thing of the past, and I’d rather not hit a speed bump.

  Shelby palms my face in concern. That’s another thing I’ll need to deal with but not now. Now, I need to drag Brett’s ass out of here and force him to help me.

  “Who was that girl?” she asks, peering up at me through her gorgeous big blue eyes. Shelby is every dude’s wet dream, and I know I’d only have to say the words and she’d be mine, but that was never my intention. Even less so now. In the past, I wouldn’t give two shits about screwing a girl one minute and ignoring her the next, but I’m not the same person I was. All the stuff that went down changed me. I’d like to think for the better.

  “Someone important.” That’s as much as I’m saying on the subject.

  Little lines crease her forehead. “Oh.” She’s not pleased.

  “Look, I need to get out of here, but wanna meet for lunch tomorrow?” She deserves to be let down gently.

  She perks up, and I feel like a dick. “Awesome. It’s a date.”

  Double shit. “I’ll text you in the morning.”

  She leans in to kiss me, and I twist my head at the last second so her lips meet my cheek instead of my mouth. Hurt flickers in her eyes, and I feel like a dick again. Over her shoulder, I spy Brett entertaining the adoring masses, and I catch his attention, gesturing toward the door.

  My roomie nods, draining his beer and making a dash for it. “Please tell me we’re not calling it a night, bro.” He slaps me on the back. “I’m only getting started.”

  “We’re not, but I need to talk to you. You want to shoot some pool?”

  He steers me out of the room. “Lead the way, dude.”

  We grab an Uber to the local town and hop out in front of the combination sports bar and tavern. One of Brett’s brothers attended UF a few years back, and he told us about this place.

  They happily accept our fake IDs as the real deal, so we grab a couple of beers and slip into a booth while we wait for a pool table. Most Friday nights, this place is hopping, but it’s quieter than usual tonight. The majority of the college crowd is still on campus, hitting up parties and enjoying the last festivities of homecoming week.

  “What gives?” Brett asks, sipping from his beer.

  “I found her. I just found Lana.”

  His eyes pop wide. “No shit.”

  “She was at the party, but she ran off before I could talk to her.” I raise the bottle to my lips, enjoying the cold, bitter taste as the beer slides down my throat.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “I’m going to get my brother on the case again. If she goes to school here, she must be registered under a different name.” I lean my arm along the top of the booth. “Now that I know she’s here, she can’t hide from me.”

  “What if she was only visiting? She could have a friend here.”

  It’s a legit argument, but it carries no weight. “She doesn’t have any friends here. She grew up, with me, in Wellesley. Besides, it was always her dream to come here. She’s enrolled at UF. I’m certain of it.”

  He props his arms on the table. “I still can’t believe you traded Harvard—Ivy League, dude—for UF, on a hunch that some chick might attend.”

  “It was more than a hunch, and she’s more than some chick.” Brett isn’t a fan of my girl, and he’s starting to get on my last testicle. He’s judging her—like the rest of the country—before he’s even had the chance to know her. I take another quick glug of my beer. “The summer before we started high school, we discussed it. She told me she had her heart set on the University of Florida because she wanted to attend college in a sunnier climate and she wanted to connect with her grandparents. Her Mom never let her visit them.”

  “What’s up with that?”

  I shrug. “No idea, but it was important to her to be close to them. She had no other family.”

  He scratches the top of his head. “Dude, it’s still weird. Who leaves their family behind to go on a wild goose chase? Just ’cause you discussed it a few years back was no guarantee she’d actually be here.” His lips curve up. “Knew you had more than a little reckless in you.”

  I grin wickedly. “Dude, whatever, you’re totally missing the point.” I cock my head to the side. “I was right, because she is here, and that’s all I give a crap about now. I knew she’d be here. Maybe my cuz is right.” He arches a brow, waiting for elaboration. “Faye sa—”

  “That’s the hottie Irish chick you told me about? The one who’s fucking your brother?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, and yes, but you know it’s not like that. Ky’s my half-brother, and they’re not actually blood related.”

  “It sounds much hotter the way I tell it.” He smirks.

  “Whatever gets you going, bro.”

  “You have any pictures of her?”

  “Faye?”

  “No, dipshit!” He taps his bottle against mine. “Your girl.”

  “Yeah.” I remove my cell from my back pocket and hand it to him. My screensaver is a pic of Lana and me. It’s the last happy image of us before everything turned to shit.

  Brett whistles low on his breath. “She’s pretty.”

  I grab my cell back, scoffing. “She’s fucking gorgeous, but I don’t expect you to understand everything she means to me.”

  He taps his fingers off the tabletop. “Enlighten me.”

  I pick at the label on my bottle. “I told you I spent years acting like a jerk. Pushing her away and pretending I didn’t have feelings for her. Then I lost her, and my world lost all its color. When I get her back, I’m going to treat her like a fucking goddess.”

  “Pussy-whipped all ready,” he murmurs, “and you don’t even have the girl.”

  “Semantics, dude. That’s all it is.”

  “Or a nasty case of overconfidence.” His grin is teasing.

  “I fucked up before, but I’m not going to do that again. I just need to make her understand that. She told me not to find her, so she’s bound to be a bit pissed, but I’ll use some of the ole Kennedy charm to win her around to my way of thinking.” I’m spouting the biggest load of bullshit, but maybe if I say it out loud, I might start believing it. Truth is, I’m scared shitless that Lana will refuse to have anything to do with me. Can’t say I blame her. Not after the years I spent acting like a complete moron.

  And let’s not forget how spectacularly I messed up with that bitch, Addison.

  “You’re a nice guy, Kal,” Brett says, in a more serious tone of voice. “I’m not sure I’d be so understanding.”

  There’d been no need to tell Brett my story. When I rocked up to the dorms
and met my new roomie, he recognized me instantly. That’s what happens when your mom spearheaded one of the most prestigious, most recognizable fashion brands in the country. There was no such thing as privacy. My six brothers and I had grown up under the glare of the world’s media. Last year was definitely one for the record books, though. Between my trial, my brother’s arrest, my dad’s affair, my cousin almost being killed, news that my three eldest brothers had a different father, and my mom’s admission that she had lied to build her business empire on a falsehood, we were rarely off the airwaves. The media lapped the scandal up, and we were virtual pariahs at school.

  Brett knew everything, which, to be honest, was freaking awesome, because it meant I didn’t have to explain the shit show that is my life. More than that, he was understanding.

  Except when it comes to Lana. That’s where he draws a line.

  When she came clean at the trial, she put herself in the spotlight, and it didn’t present her in the most flattering light. Come to think of it, no wonder she registered under a different name. She probably didn’t want anyone to know who she was. I’m sure she’s picked up her fair share of enemies. That thought kicks my protective instincts into overdrive, accelerating the need to find and shelter her.

  “She isn’t how she was portrayed,” I explain. “If anyone’s to blame for what happened, it’s me. Me and my brother’s ex. Lana is a total sweetheart, and it was completely out of character for her to lie.”

  “I can tell you mean that. Like I said, you’re one of the good guys.”

  “She means everything to me, man, and I let her down when she needed me most. It wasn’t that difficult for me to forgive her. Fact, friend,” I tag on the end, chuckling as I repeat Brett’s catchphrase.

  “She’s a damn fool if she turns you away.”

  “It’s not as simple as that.”

  I’ll say.

  Convincing Lana I forgive her for what she did is the least of it.

  I have years of stupid mistakes to make up for.

  And I can’t wait to get started.

  Download Loving Kalvin now.

  Saving Brad

  (The Kennedy Boys Book #5)

  An enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis. Standalone with an HEA and no cliff-hanger.

  Brad

  I’m in love with my best friend’s girl.

  She knows it. He knows it. Everyone knows it.

  Faye will never be mine, but try telling that to my stupid heart.

  An endless rotation of girls streams in and out of my bedroom in a desperate attempt to forget her, but nothing eases the horrid ache in my chest. Rejection isn’t anything new for me, but it hasn’t gotten any easier.

  Until she reappears in my life. Like an out-of-control tornado. Storming in, all fierce and angry, ready to steamroll everything in her path. Rachel is trouble with a capital T bundled in a gorgeous, sexy, Irish package.

  She pushes all the wrong buttons, and I can’t decide if I want to yell at her or kiss her.

  I should steer clear.

  But I’ve never been very good at taking my own advice. Especially when it comes to girls I can’t have and shouldn’t want.

  Rachel

  I need to escape.

  To put as much distance between me and that monster so I can start living my life.

  Yet, even the vast Atlantic Ocean isn’t enough to sever the connection. To allow me to forget how he’s ruined me. His hold is more than just physical. He has a vise-grip on my head and my heart, and I can’t breathe, can’t think, and can’t function.

  So, I do everything to blot it out.

  Until he reappears in my life.

  Brad McConaughey. So hot. So infuriating. So in love with my best friend.

  Every word out of Brad’s mouth makes me want to throat punch him or kick him in the nuts.

  But he makes me feel, and I hate him for it. A part of me might actually love him for it.

  I should keep my distance, but like destructive magnets, we are drawn together.

  This isn’t going to end well.

  I know it. He knows it.

  But we’re powerless to resist.

  TURN THE PAGE TO READ YOUR EXCLUSIVE SAMPLE FROM THIS BOOK.

  Exclusive Advance Sample From Saving Brad

  “Fucking quit it, bro!” Ky shoves me back, pinning me against the wall, his torso blocking my path. He slams his fist into the wall beside my head, and I raise a brow. “Don’t,” he warns, shaking his head. Anger burns fiercely in his eyes.

  “Ky.” Faye moves tentatively behind him.

  “Don’t, babe. Stay out of this.”

  She nibbles anxiously on her bottom lip.

  “Get out of my face.” I push his chest, and he stumbles back. I sidestep him, catching Faye’s eye.

  Ky growls. Then he punches me in the face. “Stop eye-fucking her!”

  “What the hell?” I glare at him, rubbing my sore jaw.

  “You think I’m blind?” He rages, pacing the floor in front of me. Faye looks like she wishes the ground would open up and swallow her. “You think I don’t see the way you watch her every move? The way you mentally undress her with your eyes?”

  Faye turns an off-white color.

  It’s on the tip of my tongue to say “it takes one to know one,” but that’s not an argument I can win. Ky has every right to look at his girlfriend like that. Me? Not so much. He’s right, and if I was in his shoes, I think I’d have snapped a long time ago. “I can’t help it. It’s too difficult to be around her and not feel the way I feel.” Faye looks horrified, and now I wish the ground would swallow me whole. Continuous rejection has me battered and bruised on the inside, and it’s like something inherent just died in me.

  “I can’t do this anymore, Brad.” Ky stops in front of me. “I’ve tried really hard to be patient. Made countless excuses for your behavior because I didn’t want to lose you. You’re my best friend, dude, but this has to end. I never wanted to choose between the girl I love and the guy who’s been like a brother to me practically my whole life, but you’ve left me no choice. If we continue like this, our friendship will be destroyed anyway. Maybe this is the right thing to do.” He looks over his shoulder at Faye. “Maybe I should’ve done this all along.”

  Turning back around to face me, he sighs. A pained expression replaces the angry look on his face. “I’m sorry, but it has to be like this.” His gaze penetrates mine, and there is so much conveyed in that one look, almost too much. My emotions are in a whirlwind, but I say nothing. There isn’t anything I can say that will help make this situation bearable. He walks to Faye’s side, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. Silent tears drip down her face. “I’ll move my stuff out this weekend. I’ll stay with Faye while I look for somewhere else to live.”

  Somehow, I manage to nod over the large lump in my throat. I hate the thought of this, but I need it too. I’m never going to get over her if she’s so prevalent in my life.

  They stop at the door, and Faye is talking frantically in Ky’s ear. She’s whispering so I can’t hear what she’s saying, but it’s obvious they’re arguing. I slump against the wall, dejected and beaten down. Faye rushes to my side, grabbing me into a hug. My arms hang loose by my sides, and I’m afraid to move a muscle. My jaw still aches, testament to Ky’s intolerance of me. I don’t blame him for it. He’s put up with a lot—more than I probably would have. Faye is sobbing into my shoulder, and I hate that I’ve put us through all this pain. I want to wrap my arms around her and kiss her pain away.

  But she isn’t mine to console.

  She’ll never be mine.

  And I wish my heart could accept that reality instead of foolishly clinging to nonexistent hope.

  She may not be mine to love and cherish, but she’s still my frie
nd, and I hate to see her so upset. I tap her lightly on the shoulder. “Hey. Don’t cry. It’s going to be fine. Ky is right. We all just need some space.”

  She lifts her head up, and her red-rimmed tear-stained eyes cut through me like a knife. “Will you be okay?”

  “I hope so.” I offer her my best effort at a smile. “Don’t worry about me. I brought this on us, and it’s my responsibility to make this right.”

  “This sucks.” She sniffles.

  “It won’t be forever.” I hope. My eyes meet Ky’s, and there’s not even a hint of a promise there. “Go on, sweet Faye.” I kiss the top of her head, closing my eyes as I commit her scent and the feel of her against me to memory.

  Ky growls, and I reckon that’s my five-second warning. Opening my eyes, I remove myself from her embrace and walk into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me, without looking back at either of them.

  I don’t know how long I stay in the dark, lying on my bed, curled into a ball, and rocking like a crazy person. I’m completely anesthetized on the inside. This isn’t the kind of dazed-delirious-happy feeling I get when I’m following Rach’s temporary mind-numbing strategy. Nope, this is a sucky soul-empty kind of numbness, like all the life force has been drawn from me.

  A knock at my door only mildly startles me. I don’t respond in any shape or form. I’m incapable of moving any part of my anatomy.

  The door swings open, and Rach’s hot body fills the doorway. One look at her face and I know Faye has spoken to her.

  “Go away.”

  “Brad.” She takes a step toward me.

  “I’m not in the mood for sex.”

  “That’s not why I came.” Her eyes bore a hole in my skull as she walks toward the bed, her gaze never wandering from mine. She walks to the other side, and I hear her toeing her shoes off. The bed dips when she slides in beside me. She curls her body around me from behind, and warmth infuses my frozen bones.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, remaining stationary.

  “Being a friend.”

  “That’s not who we are.”