Page 49 of Three Irish Kings

I take a deep, shuddering breath. It’s now or never.

“My name isn’t Isla Waters. But it isn’t Maggie Sullivan, either. I’m Isla Quinn.”

Chapter Fourteen

DARE

Cillian frowns.“Quinn? That’s an Irish name.”

I can’t help but be somewhat overjoyed.

Maybe she reallyisn'tMaggie, and we’ve gotten it all wrong. In that case, why can’t I ask Isla out on a date or something?

“I told you, my father is first-generation Irish.”

“This is all bullshit,” Liam snarls, running his hand through his hair and mussing it. He doesn’t even seem to care that it’s out of place, which is kind of scary.

Liam, in general has been pretty out of it since this all happened, and I’m worried about him.

Cillian cuts his eyes at Liam, and I can tell he’s worried, too.

Liam seems to be on the verge of a breakdown with everything going on with his father and this Maggie/Isla situation.

Liam steps toward her. “You’ve already tried this ploy. Why don’t you try sleeping with Dare again?”

Isla doesn’t move, staring up at him defiantly.

This could get ugly, so I step between them. “You won’t hurt her.”

Liam scoffs. “I’m not going to hurt her, Dare, I just won’t coddle her like you do.”

“Coddle me?” Isla bursts out, her eyes flashing. “I’ve been thrown into this house, barely fed more than once a day, and you think I’m beingcoddled?”

“Oh, please. You’ve spent your time lounging about and sleeping with Dare?—”

“I’d think you were jealous, the way you keep bringing it up.”

“Aye, well, I’d think you were a?—”

I punch Liam in the arm. “Hey! No name-calling,” I warn, and he gives me a murderous glare, but I don’t back down. “You need to go out there and get some fucking air.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he barks, but he paces around in a circle, clearly affected.

“I don’t know how to prove to you that my name isn’t Maggie Sullivan if you won’t take any of the very legal identification I have in my purse,” Isla points out.

Cillian turns to her. “Why did you lie about your name if you’re not Maggie?”

Isla sighs. “Because I wasn’t exactly supposed to be at that gala.”

I watch as Liam narrows his eyes, panic rising in my throat. I put a hand on his chest as he advances on Isla. Or Maggie. Or whoever she is.

At this point, it doesn’t matter. I’m crazy about her either way.

But it’s not like I can tell Liam that.

Liam doesn’t advance further, but he exhales out of his nostrils. “You’re still lying to us. That doesn’t make any sense. If you are telling the truth, then tell us. Who invited you?”

She opens her mouth to speak and then closes her mouth. “I won’t reveal that. I don’t want you going after them, either.”