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“Sure,” I confirmed and closed the door after she climbed in. The two of them didn’t wait for us. They pulled away from the curb and turned north toward Boston.

I was ready to get home, but I was stuck with the stubborn twins.

“Caity, get in the damn car.” Cian stood waiting, holding the door open.

“I can open my own door, thank you.” She yanked the door from him, slamming it shut before immediately opening it again and climbing inside.

“Stubborn ass woman,” he grumbled.

I snickered on my way around to the driver’s side. Looking over the top of the car, I eyed one of my oldest friends. “You sure it’s worth it?”

His eyes widened in surprise for only a second before he looked through the window of the back seat at the woman he had been in love with his entire adult life.

“Yea, she’s fuckin’ worth it.” He opened his door and slid inside, leaving me with a look of surprise of my own. Those were the first words Cian had ever uttered out loud, even hinting at what he felt for Caity.

I wouldn’t say the four of us had lived a life of celibacy, because that would be a fucking lie. But none of us had a woman of our own.

Sal lost Darcy when he was only seventeen years old. No one had ever come close to comparing to my sister in his eyes.

For years, Cian had been secretly in love with his boss’ sister. And Mac just didn’t think he needed a woman.

Me? I was too fucking old at this point to even consider a wife and a family. At fifty-two, I had resigned myself to one-night stands when the desire arose. There was too much shit in our lives to expect a woman to put up with.

Chapter Six

Freyja

“Freyja, what about this one?”

My mother’s voice was a whisper as I stood in front of the rack of clothing, staring out the window at the street. It had been weeks since I fell into the man on the street. I never asked his name. It wouldn’t matter. My one was waiting for me in New Orleans. But I couldn’t forget him all the same.

I took a walk every day, hoping I might see him again. I wasn’t sure what it was about him that drew me in. Sure, he was handsome. Many men were, but there was something about his posture. The way he carried himself.

He didn’t hesitate to catch me when I fell. But he didn’t try to grope me either. He was a perfect gentleman.

“Freyja?”

Startled out of my musings, I turned toward my mother. “What?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “You know there are ways of tracking him down.”

“I know nothing about him. I was in his presence for thirty seconds. And besides, Lucille was clear that the man the universe has chosen for me will be at Mardi Gras.”

“Maybe Lucille was wrong.”

I stared at my mother. My mouth hanging open. She had never in my life questioned Lucille.

“All I’m saying is sometimes we have to say‘fuck you’to the universe and do our own thing.”

My mother, Stephanie Malpas, was encouraging me to ignore Lucille and take matters into my own hands. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. She had always supported us in everything we did.

Well, except for when my brother joined the service. She made her position on that very clear. But she also made sure he never doubted how much she loved him, despite his choices.

“Lucille has never steered me wrong,” I rebutted.

“That’s true. At least not yet,” she said absently as she dug through the racks.

“It’s only January. Mardi Gras isn’t until the beginning of March. I can be patient. I don’t need to chase after some nameless man on the street.”