Page 18 of An Angel’s Share (The Greystone Family: Greystone Brothers #1)

Jonno

I don’t fucking care if she is the thief. I want her.

That dickhead she thinks she’s marrying is getting nowhere near her.

Every protective instinct in me has kicked in. No wonder Kell and Xander lose their minds over my sister. I get it now. I knew I could be a bit crazy before, but this? It’s a whole new level of crazy. A whole new level of feelings I’ve never experienced.

“What’s going on, Jonno? I’ve not seen you like that before?

” Marshall—the man who has known me my whole life, who has cared for us all—has herded me into the study and shut the door.

“Well, actually I have, but Midarlin’ is usually involved.

And seeing as though she’s not here, what the feck is the matter, man? ”

Fuck me. Is this love? Is this what everyone gets pushed to the limits with? Well, I’m already there.

If Marshall had not seen my face and stopped me, I would have kept going. I need to get a grip. I’m blowing through my nostrils like a raging bull.

I look into his concerned face, his eyes so like Evie’s. It calms my nervous energy. He looks more like the twins, actually, when he looks like this. Or rather they are like him. I smile at him, trying to grab a hold of my emotions, get them under control.

I can see he’s now bamboozled by my behaviour. Thoroughly confused by it. Throwing his arms up in exasperation. He won’t badger me, not his style. So I confess.

“I’ve met Aoife before. Once, before.” Staring straight into his eyes, refusing to blink, I see the dawning realisation on his face. He’s never been under any illusions about what we are. How we live. He’s more or less lived with us since Evie was three years old.

He scrubs his hand down his face. “Oh sweet god. Jonno, you didn’t.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “She’s a beautiful woman.

I didn’t know who she was at the time. We spent an adult night together.

I’m not going into any details.” He blows out a breath, looking relieved at that statement.

“Needless to say, there was a bit of a mishap, and the result is currently growing quite contentedly in her tummy. That is my fucking baby.” I end the statement with conviction.

He looks totally shocked, he didn’t expect me to say that. One night and done, yes. But the baby? No.

“Does she know it was you?” He’s putting things together quickly.

“She knew who I was when I came to the engagement party the other night. She confessed it was my baby later in the evening, and that she did not intend to tell me.” I give him a quivering brow at that.

He knows how that sort of thing plays out.

“She’s spilled her guts about Liam, the ‘arrangement’ she’s agreed to so her parents can function.

” I spit the last bit out with disgust. Someone should have been thinking about her.

Not what it looks like. Not how they will look.

“My brother doesn’t like him. But he thinks Aoife is happy with it, with Liam. Intends to marry.”

I snort at that. “She has no intention of marrying him. She intended to sort out the business, have the baby, and dump him as fast as she could. Definitely no marriage involved, and all before the tenth of December.”

“She’s always been headstrong. Seamus loves that about her. Got a mind of her own,” he muses and smiles, clearly thinking about the beautiful, wilful O’Clery women. “What, if anything, have you done or agreed to with her? Don’t be pressuring her Jonno. The baby?—”

“For god’s sake, Marshall, what do you think I am? It’s not like she’s the first pregnant woman I’ve had to deal with.” I push my eyes wide, as I grin at him.

He laughs. He knows how involved I’ve been with Evie and the kids. How manic that was at times. My sister going loco on a couple of occasions, both whilst pregnant.

“I want to be involved, and I want the baby. I’ve told her I do.” I take a deep breath in. Dare I speak the words out loud? My heart rate has ratcheted up to hyper speed as I blurt out, “I want her regardless of anything. I haven’t fully told her that yet. But that is what I want. Her.”

He can’t speak. He’s shell shocked, staring at me as if I’m an alien. He knows how I live, he knows how I conduct my ‘relationships.’ It’s such a departure for me, a huge U-turn on my current lifestyle .

Right there with you, Marshall. I wonder what is happening to me.

His face is deadly serious now. His grey-blue steely gaze burning into my steadfast one. “Are you sure? You know the level of commitment needed, you see it every day at home. Do you really want to be involved? She lives here, Jonno. You live in England.”

“I’ll live wherever they are. If I need to move, I will.

” He gasps at my statement. “I’ve never been more serious about anything, Marshall.

I’ve never felt like this before. I know you’ll think it’s quick, I’m aware of the timescales myself.

The craziness of it, even for me. But I know it’s the right thing. ”

I smile at him. It’s true, and it inundates me with so many new feelings.

Today in the buggy, awash in totally new sensations, including pouring myself into a woman, no barriers between us.

Everything feels brighter, lighter, my world constantly opening up.

She’s a flame-haired siren, and I love dancing close to the fire.

Dicing with danger. And she certainly is that.

Seamus steams into the room, his face red with anger. “I will not have it, I’m going to have to put a stop to it. I see her face, how she reacts to him. How upset she is all the time. I’ve not seen any happiness in her for weeks. How dare he talk to her like that.”

I can feel Marshall's eyes burning into me. He wants me to tell his brother. But I can't, because she needs to tell him. We need to tell him—them—together. I’ve got to give her the chance to do it.

Mae piles into the room, grasping hold of Seamus and pointing her finger at me. “How could you? You’ve upset our entire family. You need to leave, Mr Greystone. We will not have that sort of behaviour here. It might be acceptable on your farm, but not here.”

My face remains blank, but Marshall’s doesn’t. He opens his mouth to quash Mae, but Seamus interjects.

“Mae, it’s not Jonno’s fault, it’s Liam.

And he will not speak to Aoife like that.

And you need to stop with the food comments.

All her life you’ve picked at her. Leave her alone, for god’s sake.

She’s carrying your grandchild. You’ll push too hard and she’ll go.

We’ve only just got her home, after too many years away.

She’ll go again, and take this baby with her. ”

Mae looks shocked. It clearly never occurred to her that Aoife may leave. She thinks her being at Killclery forever is a done deal.

“Seamus, I’ve never picked at her. I only want what’s best. Liam wants what’s best for her.”

Seamus snorts his derision at that. “He wants what he thinks will be the most popular with you. It took Jonno clocking him in the face to shut him up. He would have carried on getting at her. I won’t tolerate it any longer.”

Mae dissolves into tears. “You can’t call it off, Shay. What will we look like?” She’s started to wail. “I will be a laughing stock. Aoife will be?—“

She stops when she looks at her husband’s face. When she takes in Marshall, the expression on his face. She finally clamps her mouth shut, knowing it’s falling on deaf ears.

“I’m going to speak to her over the next few days. I will not have my daughter unhappy. Not while I have breath in my body.” Seamus storms from the room. Mae, aghast at the implications, collapses onto a large chair, tears shining in her eyes .

My brain is whirring. Maybe I won’t have to pull the eject handle. Liam may do it all by himself.

“Marshall, speak to him please. He can’t do this. Aoife just doesn’t care, but she will. If she lives here, she won’t have anyone to go out with, lunch with. Please Marshall, don’t let him talk her out of it.” The woman can’t see past the end of her nose.

“I’m sorry, Mae,” he only gets out before she starts to really sob.

She actually believes her daughter will be happy with that idiot.

“But I won’t interfere,” he soldiers on.

“It’s between Seamus, Aoife, and yourself.

But if I can offer any advice, it would be to listen to what Aoife wants. Only that, nothing more.”

Mae is not listening. She only focuses on what she wants. What she thinks is best for her daughter. This is going to be catastrophic for Mammy.

It’s evident when Aoife comes down for dinner she’s been crying. My blood is still simmering from earlier. One word from anyone and I’ll blow a gasket.

Marshall keeps throwing me concerned looks. He can tell I’m ready to unleash hell on this shower of idiotic thieves and fraudsters. Not a decent human amongst them.

Liam is bowing and scraping at Seamus’s feet all night. His insipid behaviour extends to Mae. Interestingly, he doesn’t do the same to Aoife.

Aoife’s lip curls at his obsequious behaviour. It’s as if by sucking up to Daddy and Mammy, that should be enough. As if she’s not important, the deal sealed with no turning back. Or it’s probably more basic than that. He thinks Daddy is holding the purse strings .

The dinner is quiet, hardly any chatter at the large mahogany table.

The tinkle of ice in glasses accompanies the scraping of cutlery on porcelain plates.

The ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous' to the waiting staff the only discourse. Even Maggie, who is dressed to kill in a long, black, curve-hugging dress, can’t force any conversation out of Marshall.

She picked the wrong night to go all out.

Liam stands to usher Aoife out to a room with more comfortable chairs, and I have to grip my chair seat to stop myself going over and ripping his hands off her back.

Marshall checks out my hands, his eyes widening as my knuckles are white.

Aoife twists her back a little as if to throw off his hand and I grin a little.

It helps break the tension for me. Yeah, his days are numbered.

Mae catches the gesture and sucks in a breath. She knows Liam is skating on the thinnest of ice. She makes a beeline for Liam and engages him in quiet conversation for most of the night, their heads together, plotting.

“I’m going to call it a night, Daddy. I’m tired and I’ve got another busy day tomorrow,” Aoife states to the room at large.

“More prep for the meeting?” puts in Patrick.

I smile as Aoife rolls her eyes. “It is, Patrick. I need to be prepared and ready. It’s so important for O’Clerys.” Her voice is quiet but certain.

“I don’t think you’re in a fit state to keep going at this rate.

This meeting isn’t more important than your health.

” Mae sticks her oar in and I realise how desperate she really is to keep her daughter out of the business.

“Why don’t you let Liam take over for this one.

He’s always fully prepared. He’ll be just as good as you.

I mean, you’ve been really tired of late. I’m worried you’re overdoing it.”

Liam’s eyes light up, followed by Patricks. None of them have a clue about what is happening. Or if they do, they seem determined to ignore it.

None of them want her at this meeting. My radar is buzzing around these two, but they appear so stupid, surely it can’t be them. This scam is huge. Millions of euros, dollars, pounds, all wandered off to an anonymous home. No, it has to be someone more shady, clever.

But then, I suppose, who was there to stop them?

Seamus was ill; Dermot, their father; Marshall, preoccupied in England.

Conor and Aoife were both away, fully invested in their schooling.

Mae? Not interested. A perfect storm of disinterest and apathy, leaving a vacuum for liars and thieves to flourish.

“I’m good, Mammy.” Her voice rings true and clear, and my body fires to life, answering the call in that voice. Okay, now I’m listening. “I’ve got to be in a fit state, otherwise you can all kiss this house goodbye.”

Mae sucks in an even bigger breath, Patrick gasps out, and Liam starts to laugh.

“Melodramatic much,” he states, the dickhead fiancé.

“No, not really, Liam. Accurate, I think. Especially after looking over the accounts. But we’ll leave it there and deal with it all in the boardroom, as it should be.”

She ignores any additional protest he might attempt and goes over to kiss Seamus and then Marshall good night.

She comes over to me and I pick up her scent, pumping out at me. My heart rate picks up like a crushing schoolboy.

“Night, Jonno. Sweet dreams,” she murmurs, and I close my eyes as her lips brush my cheek.

Fucking hell. Who’d have thought a peck on the cheek would get me so hot and bothered? I’m well and truly fucked.