Page 22 of Duncan (Irish Mob of Boston #1)

Freyja

It was the night of the ball, and I tried to remain calm. Athena had been acting strange the past two days. Every time she looked at me, she smiled.

That wasn’t strange. Athena always had a smug smile on her face. One that said I know what you’re in for and you aren’t ready for it.

Only this time, it wasn’t a smug smile she gave me. It was one of compassion and maybe a hit of apprehension. She wouldn’t tell me anything though.

I stared at the dress that was hanging on the closet door.

It was beautiful. The color was wisteria, a pale lavender that popped against my tanned skin and dark hair.

A chiffon A-line silhouette that featured a plunging V-neckline adorned with delicate lace that salaciously enhanced the swell of my breasts.

But it was the floor-length chiffon cap sleeves and exposed back that had me feeling like a Greek goddess as I floated across the floor.

Tonight was the final night of Mardi Gras. The Mistik Krewe of Comus. The most exclusive ball in New Orleans. And it was invitation only.

Every year the Malpas family was invited. And every year we declined because something always came up.

Except this year.

This year I was meant to be here.

Lucille had told me so.

Tonight was the night I would meet him .

Not the him I wanted though.

My shoulders slumped as I thought about Duncan. In an instant, all the excitement fled my body, and my eyes welled up. Athena chose that moment to burst into my room.

“Freyja, are you ok?”

Inhaling deep, I willed away the tears and looked up at my sister with a smile. “Yup,” I said. It was unconvincing even to my own ears. So when she tilted her head in sympathy, I knew I wasn’t fooling her either.

“Everything will work out the way it is supposed to.”

I nodded, agreeing with her. I knew that. I knew the universe had a plan for me. One I didn’t understand but accepted as my path. That was why I was here and not back home having dinner with the man I really wanted.

“What if he can tell my heart isn’t in it?” I whispered.

“Your heart is exactly where it should be.” When my eyes snapped to hers, she quickly added, “Inside your body.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know something.” It wasn’t a question. It was an observation spoken out loud. “You’ve been acting strange for two days. What gives?”

Something fluttered across her face before she sat down beside me. “I’m worried about Devlyn.”

Devlyn?

“Why? Is everything ok?” I searched her eyes, looking for a sign. Something to ease my concern about our friend.

“I haven’t wanted to say anything because I didn’t want you to worry. But I’m going to stay here when you go home.”

My mouth opened to object, and Athena shook her head. “She needs me.”

“I need you.”

“You won’t need me after tonight.”

I turned on the bed to stare at my sister. “I’ll need you more after tonight! What if he isn’t right for me? What if he hates me and I miss my chance of ever having someone to love me?”

“How could anyone hate you?”

I rolled my eyes at my sister. Plenty of people hated me. They found me bossy and domineering. Two of my best traits when the time called for them. My bluntness was another issue. People didn’t like honesty. They didn’t want to know the choices they made were the reason they were suffering.

They wanted someone that coddled them. Someone to tell them what they wanted to hear, so they never had to feel bad about themselves.

Well, I wasn’t a freaking bakery. I didn’t sugarcoat anything.

“Freyja, stop fretting. Everything is as it should be.”

“But I’ll miss you.”

Athena wrapped her arm around me. “And I’ll miss you. But this is where I need to be right now. Devlyn is in a new place and she has no one down here.”

“She has Gator.”

My sister looked at me, raising her eyebrows. When I glanced at her, we both laughed. Devlyn did have Gator. When she wasn’t threatening to kill him and feed his balls to the... well, gators.

I released a sigh of defeat. “You’re right. She needs you right now. But if this man turns out to be an asshole, I reserve the right to stay here too. Gator will just have to make room for the both of us.”

Athena smiled. “Your place is not here.”

“I wish I knew where it was.”

Athena stood and walked to the closet. She ran her hand over the dress I had chosen and glanced over her shoulder at me.

“You’ll know tonight. And he needs your help.”

That sparked something inside me. “My help with what?”

“He has a lot on his plate and he needs you to ground him. He needs a safe place to land at the end of the day. And he will need your protection.”

“My protection? From who?”

Athena smiled that smug smile and I cringed.

“From the Sons of Hell.”

I hadn’t stopped thinking about what Athena had said. Protection from the Sons of Hell meant it was likely that my brother and Priest wouldn’t like whoever this man was.

Dimeter I could handle. I had spent his whole life making sure he was afraid of me. It was the others that would follow him. Phoebe would insist on coming with Priest, so I knew she would have him covered.

Frank was really just a big teddy bear. I could talk him down.

King was the wild card. He could be very protective, but also very understanding. I just never knew which way he would lean.

It might be wise to put in a call to Bailey. Give her a heads-up, and maybe she could detour him when Dimeter tried to rope him in.

Then again, maybe I was just over thinking it. Sure, Dimeter would want to check this man out. And I would let him. Just because Lucille said he was the man the universe had chosen didn’t mean he wouldn’t have secrets.

It also didn’t mean that things would be easy. As much as I wanted him to see me and fall instantly in love with me, I knew Athena was right when she said it wouldn’t be that simple.

Maybe I would get my heartbroken while we were getting to know one another. Then Dimeter would definitely want to do the brother thing and bring his scary friends with him.

He often forgot he was the youngest. That I was the older and wiser sister who was capable of taking care of myself. I had been doing it for thirty-four years just fine.

Everybody knew the beginning of a relationship could be rocky. Compromise was warranted and well, ok, so maybe I wasn’t great at compromise. But all those other times weren’t the one that the universe had laid out.

Duncan wasn’t the man the universe had chosen for me. And I hadn’t been willing to compromise on that. So, I got my heart broken. Phoebe had been willing to send Priest then, and a smile touched my lips as I thought about how much love my family had.

We pulled up to the ball, and the car stopped. While we waited for the driver to open our doors, I turned to Athena and said, “It’s too bad Devlyn and Gator couldn’t come. We would have had a lot of fun.”

“Believe me, after what he wore to the Orlean wedding, they wouldn’t have let him in the door.”

“It was that bad?”

“It was that loud!” Athena laughed.

We stepped into the ballroom and gasped. It was beautiful. Everything was decked out in silver and white. The chandeliers shone throughout the room and the white sheer fabric that draped the walls sparkled with tiny gems.

The polished wood floors gleamed as the lights fractured. Athena and I entered in awe of the magical feel.

“I had no idea it would be like this. It’s so ethereal. So magical,” I whispered.

“It is a magical night.”

I glanced at my sister and smiled. She was right. It was a magical night. My night.

We moved about the room talking and laughing with people we knew. The guest list was exclusive, but I knew that the man I was destined to meet was here.

I could feel him.

I scoured the room for any hint of recognition when suddenly my eyes landed on someone I never expected.

“Athena.” I grabbed my sister’s arm. My voice barely heard above the music and chatter. My heart began to beat at a quick rhythm while my hands became clammy with perspiration. I rubbed them together quickly before reaching out and taking a glass of champagne from a waiter as he passed.

“Sister.”

“I can’t do this. I can’t meet my intended tonight. Not with Duncan here. Why is he here, Athena? He lives in Boston.”

“Freyja, calm down. We live in New York and yet we are here.”

I glared at my sister. “Duncan is part of the Irish Mob,” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low. “I sincerely doubt the Mob takes time out to go to Mardi Gras.”

Athena raised a brow at me. Her arms folded over her chest and she tapped her foot. She was waiting for me to understand something. Only I didn’t understand anything.

I would never be able to give my attention to my intended if Duncan was here. My mind would be on him the entire time.

Why was here?

Was I being tested?

“Athena, say something.”

My sister kept quiet with that smug smile that said she knew what was happening but would confirm nothing until I figured it out for myself.

“ Mo bandia .” His voice traveled over my shoulder, causing my skin to prickle in fear and delight. I turned to face Duncan, expecting... I wasn’t sure what I expected. But it certainly wasn’t the anger I saw on his face.

“Dance with me, Freyja.”

He took my hand and dragged me to the middle of the room. My throat had closed up. No words could get through. I stared at Duncan as he wrapped me in his arms and twirled me around the dance floor.

“You’re beautiful, as always.” He spoke the compliment in a way that felt less like flattery and more like an accusation.

“Is he here?”

I blinked at Duncan. Not understanding his question. “What? Is who here?”

His chest rumbled at my words. And his eyes darkened with what looked like lust. But he was angry. His hand tightened around my waist, possessively.

“The man you left me for.”

“I-I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” he asked as he spun me away before pulling me back against his chest. He was a wonderful dancer, and I wondered who had taught him.

“I don’t know who he is,” I confessed breathlessly.

Duncan stopped abruptly, and dancers bumped into us. “What do you mean, you don’t know who he is? You left me for someone you’ve never met?”

“I tried to explain, but you didn’t want to hear me.”

“ Mo bandia , no one wants to hear his woman talk about another man.”

His woman?

“Why are you here, mo bandia ? Who are you looking for?”

That was when it hit me. I turned to look across the room. At the edge of the dance floor stood my sister. She watched us together with a smile on her face. When her eyes met mine, she nodded. Then turned and disappeared.

“Freyja,” Duncan growled in my ear. “Tell me who he is. Who do I have to kill?”

My eyes snapped to his and I saw the truth of his words. He wanted me. And he would kill to have me. I should have been scared. I should have been terrified.

Athena’s words about my brother’s club came back.

“He will need your protection.”

“From who?”

“From the Sons of Hell.”

My hand went to his cheek. I smiled at him, and his eyes danced between mine, looking for something. “You, Duncan. You’re the one I’m looking for.”

My hand slipped to his neck, and I pulled him down until my lips met his.