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“Sure, that’s grand,” Colum said, shifting restlessly from foot to foot.

Annie rose, taking just a few minutes more to look at the painting before they left.A shiver of anticipation, and the thrill of being on the hunt and unraveling a mystery—something she’d once lived for—worked its way down her spine.

ChapterThree

Franco: Devon’s mad at me.

Colum: It wasn’t your fault.

Franco: This is why you’re my best friend.You’re always on my side.

Colum: But if you had done something… What was it you’d have been doing?

Franco: I brought home a box of really gross books and now there’s mites in our couch.

Colum: …

Colum: I’m thinking actually it is your fault.

Franco: Traitor.

“Where are you staying?”Xavier asked Annie as they descended the stairs, the three of them standing in the empty main-floor office.

Colum never spent any time on this floor, the office merely there to give the archive a bland, boring appearance should any maritime aficionados show up, expecting to find old records.Because the plaque out front announced visitors must have an appointment, he didn’t have to deal with too many knocks on the door.

“The Davenport Hotel,” she responded.

“Oh, that’s just a wee bit down the road,” Colum said.“Behind Oscar Wilde’s house.”He pointed to the far corner of Merrion Square.

Annie smiled at Colum, and that shiver of…excitement he’d felt upon first seeing her was back again.Christ, but she had a pretty smile.And she wasn’t stingy with them, didn’t bother trying to hide her happiness or her sense of humor.

“How about you?”Annie asked Xavier.

“I’m staying with a friend from university who lives in the Liberties.”

Colum’s brows rose at the location, but Xavier was looking down at his phone.

“He’s on his way to pick me up.”

Colum let his eyes wander over the Frenchman, trying to understand what it was about the man that had his stomach clenching.Not in fear or nervousness but from something…

Well, something Colum didn’t know how to name.All he knew was he’d surely never felt it before.

When Annie and Xavier first arrived, Colum had been uneasy.Visitors to the archive were rare, and even then, it was usually just Eric, who’d begun coming by more frequently following Josephine’s death.

Colum understood the reasons behind Eric’s increased visits, though they weren’t something either of them had ever discussed aloud.How could they?Josephine had been the chatterbox, the one who always managed to guide them through conversations where emotions came into play.

Without her, the hard talks about Colum desperately trying to drown his sorrows in whiskey right after her death and the guilt Eric felt in regards to Josephine’s murder had never happened.Instead, during those visits, they discussed Masters’ Admiralty business, and lately, Eric had begun to talk about his tumultuous relationship with Nikolett, though what he expected Colum to offer in terms of relationship advice was beyond him.

The second the Hungary admiral’s name popped into Colum’s head, he shut it away, unable to let his thoughts linger on it.At some point, he would need to wrap his head around the idea that he was now in a trinity with her, but for the past ten days, ever since the Trinity Council meeting, he’d elected to bury his head in the sand.

Franco had insisted that Colum spend a few days with him and his spouses at their hotel immediately after the meeting, and it had been nice to be surrounded by the chatter and chaos of Franco’s trinity, though he hadn’t seen much of Juliette.And while he was there, they didn’t talk about what Colum had given up to make the Trinity Archive happen.

By the time Franco and his people left, Colum had successfully compartmentalized what had happened, meaning, he didn’t have to think about his marriage to the woman he suspected was the love of Eric’s life.

Given the fact Eric hadn’t contacted him since, Colum was sure the fleet admiral was most likely giving him time to resign himself to the idea of a marriage and his trinity, something Colum had never expected to have.

He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he’d been able to ask Eric what the hell he’d been thinking of, partnering him with Nikolett of all people.Sure, Nikolett was the only single admiral, but given Eric’s feelings for her…