Page 8 of Duncan (Irish Mob of Boston #1)

Freyja

“You’re going on a date?”

“I am.”

Avoiding my sister’s eyes that were pinned on me, I dug through my closet. I needed just the right outfit for dinner with Duncan.

“But in six weeks we’re going to New Orleans so you can meet the man the universe has chosen for you.”

Athena was right. My hands paused in the air as I reached for the dress I planned to wear. Should I cancel? My hand slowly lowered to my side, and I closed my eyes.

I wanted to have dinner with Duncan. But was it cheating if I knew he wasn’t my one? It would be different if I didn’t know what was waiting for me.

Do you know what is waiting for you?

What if I’m not compatible with the man the universe has chosen?

“Stop that thought right where it is!” Athena demanded, and I spun around, confronting her.

“Do you have a gift we don’t know about? Stop reading my mind.”

“Reading your mind is not a gift, believe me. And it comes from decades of being your little sister. I can’t read everyone’s mind, but I can read yours!” She pointed her finger at me as her voice got louder.

My father opened my door and stuck his head in. “Everything ok in here?”

Woodlawn Malpas was in his mid-fifties, but most people thought he was younger. With his shoulder-length, dusty brown hair and clean-shaven face, he could easily pass for forty-two or three.

“Freyja has a date!” my sister cried out.

“And that’s a problem?” My father clearly didn’t understand my dilemma. One I didn’t think I had until Athena basically called me a whore.

Ok, so she didn’t even insinuate that. But suddenly that’s how I felt. I sank down on my bed, my mind traveling over the events of the past few weeks. Hell, the past few years.

I had the utmost trust in Lucille to never steer me wrong. But... what if?

What if she was wrong?

What if Duncan was the man I was supposed to be with?

Sure, he looked like he might be my father’s age.

His actual age. But that didn’t bother me.

I didn’t have daddy issues. I grew up with two very loving, albeit open, parents.

There was nothing our parents held back, especially their love and support.

So, I wasn’t looking for a daddy to take care of me.

I could do that myself.

I had my own money.

There was just something about Duncan Murphy that I couldn’t put into words. He called to me on a spiritual level. I had told both Athena and my mother about meeting him for the first time. Stevie was nothing but supportive and encouraging. Even when I had no way of finding him again.

If she knew I had literally fallen at his feet a second time, she would assure me there was a reason for it. My mother was older and wiser than both Athena and me. Why was I letting my sister get in my head?

Because she actually knows what your future holds.

UGH! Why did life have to be so complicated?

“Freyja knows the man the universe has chosen for her will be at Mardi Gras. Why start something you know you can’t continue?

” Athena waved her hands in the air, exasperated with me, then plopped down on my bed next to me.

She laid her head on my shoulder and confessed, “I don’t want you to get hurt. ”

“Maybe the universe has put this young man in Freyja’s path to teach her something she needs before she meets her one.”

My dad, always the pragmatist. It was why he and my mother had been together for so long. They complimented each other. Her weaknesses were his strengths and vice versa.

Though I did wonder if his thoughts might change when he found out Duncan was not a ‘young man.’

Athena looked up at him. “What could she possibly need to learn?”

“Maybe she needs to learn to listen to the universe. Maybe this boy will be awful, and she will learn that you can’t tempt fate?”

Athena tilted her head at my dad. “Maybe,” she agreed.

“So, I can go?” I asked. I knew it was my decision, but having the support of my family was the most important thing in my life. I might act like the bossy older sister and let’s face it, I was because it was my birthright, but what my family thought about me was important.

“Darling, it’s your decision. No one else can decide that for you.”

“I want to go. I can’t explain it, but I feel like this night is important.” It was true. Even if I had no idea why.

“Then you’ll go,” he said, as if he had made the decision. My father left my room, leaving Athena and I alone. I looked at my sister.

“What do you think?”

Athena let out a heavy breath. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked at the floor.

“I can’t decide this for you. Because I can’t give you information that might alter the path fate wants you to take.

I understand why you want to go. No one understands the what ifs better than I do.

But my what ifs are, what if this does alter your path?

What if it turns you in the wrong direction and causes you heartache?

You’re my big sister and I never want you to be hurt. ”

“What if this is my path, like Dad said?”

“Then you have to decide if that’s a risk you’re willing to take. Is this guy worth that risk?”

I thought about what she said. Was he worth the risk? Maybe. I wouldn’t know unless I tried. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was completely wrong for me. But maybe he was perfect.

When I considered the way my body lit up when his hands were on me, I couldn’t deny that I wanted to know what that feeling meant. I had been with other men. No one had left me feeling alive like Duncan had.

And all that from a chance encounter that lasted less than a minute. I owed it to myself to find out.

“I need to do this,” I said, standing from the bed and walking into my closet. I grabbed the dress I had chosen and slipped into it.

I wasn’t flashy by nature, but I liked to look good. The dress I chose was a halter-style top, with a ruffled skirt that stopped just above the knee. The color was a deep purple that I knew set off my eyes.

It wasn’t a particularly warm dress for January, but I had a wool coat, and the restaurant would be warm.

“You look beautiful! He won’t know what hit him. Tell me about him. What makes him special?”

To most people, Athena’s question might have sounded condescending and judgy. But I knew my sister as much as she knew me. She understood that I was picky. I didn’t date for the sake of dating. There needed to be a connection.

“Well, remember the guy I told you about? The one that caught me on the street?”

“The one you said you had no hope of ever finding?”

“That’s the one. Well, I found him. I was walking down the street, and some giant guy slammed into me and knocked me over. He was there to pick me up. He gave me his card and asked me to call him so he could take me to dinner.”

“Why didn’t you give him your number?”

“There wasn’t time,” I said, walking into the bathroom to put on my makeup. Athena followed behind me.

“What do you mean, there wasn’t time?”

“He and his friends were chasing after the man that had knocked me down,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t catch my meaning, but knowing full well this was Athena we were talking about.

“They were chasing... the man that knocked you down?”

“Athena, you know the world we live in. There could be any number of reasons they were chasing him, and not all of them are bad.”

I looked at her reflection in the mirror, and her expression gave me pause.

“What is this man’s name?”

“Duncan Murphy.”

“I’ll call Dimeter. Have him investigate this Duncan Murphy.”

I spun around, pointing my finger in her face. “You will do no such thing. I am the oldest and capable of making my own decisions and my own mistakes.”

“Freyja—”

“No, Athena. I mean it.”

“Ok. I won’t call.” Her lips creeped up at the corners an almost imperceptible amount. If I hadn’t been watching, I would have missed it entirely. She was up to something.

“I will say, two chance meetings like that. Maybe you’re right. You owe it to yourself to at least have dinner with him.”

Athena turned and walked out of my bathroom. I heard the door close, and I stood there watching the empty room in front of me. She knew something. Something I knew she wouldn’t share. At least not until the time was right.

My sister could be exhausting, but I knew it didn’t compare to what she must have to deal with, always knowing when something was about to happen and not always being able to tell the person it was happening to.

I knew I wasn’t in danger, though. Athena would never let me go on this date if she knew it put me in harm’s way.

Once I finished getting ready, I grabbed my coat and my purse. I said goodbye to my parents and walked toward the front door. Athena waited for me with a sly look on her face.

“Here,” she said and handed me a small box of condoms. “You’re gonna need these.”

“Athena! I do not sleep with men on a first date.”

What was she thinking?

“Just take them. Better to be prepared.”

“Athena...”

She was gone before I could say anymore. That was her other gift. I swear, she disappeared into a puff of smoke rather than walking away like a normal human being.

Staring at the small box in my hand, I jumped when my mother’s voice sounded behind me.

“She’s right, you know. Better to be prepared.”

“I’m not—”

Stevie held up her hand up. “There is a reason you want to get to know this man. Don’t discount sexual compatibility. It is very important to any relationship.”

I closed my eyes. My mother, ladies and gentlemen.

“Thank you, Mom.” I kissed her cheek and walked out the door before my father decided he needed to add his two cents about my sex life.

“Good evening, Miss Malpas.”

“Good evening, Jeffrey.” My driver held my door open for me to slide in. Before closing the door, he asked, “Where are we headed tonight?”

“Gallagher’s.”

“Very well.” Jeffrey closed the door, and the chill dissipated as he walked around to the driver’s door and got in. I didn’t need a driver, but it had its perks. One being a warm car in the middle of winter, or a cool one in the middle of summer.

Not to mention the benefit of not locating a parking space. Gallagher’s was located around the corner from the Broadway theater.

Jeffrey would drop me off at the door and circle the block until he found a suitable place to wait until I called him at the end of my date.

He would then circle back and pick me up at the same door.

Or if Athena’s prediction was right, and it always was, he would sign off for the evening and I would go home with Duncan.

The short drive to the restaurant had my anxiety climbing higher with every street we passed. I didn’t understand what had me on edge. Maybe it was the idea that I had met someone on my own who might be everything I was looking for.

Was I strong enough to go against fate and the universe? Could Lucille have gotten it wrong this one time? Or was I rebelling against the very thing I had been waiting for?

Self-sabotage was a real thing. Maybe this was my way of staying in my comfort zone. Everyone saw me as confident, bossy, altogether Freyja Elspeth Malpas.

Inside, I wasn’t any of those things. I was just a girl who had taken on the role of big sister, perhaps a little too seriously, creating a persona that no one really knew.

Not even me.