“No, Detective Morrow,” she mutters. “Thank you so much for calling.”
“It was my pleasure, Miss Grady. Take care now.”
The call ends and Norah bursts into tears, sobs racking her shoulders. She cries so hard it feels like she’s breaking. I can’t do anything but hold her closer, murmuring words of comfort into her hair.
“Shhh, Acushla. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” I promise her.
She turns in my arms and buries her face against my chest.Eventually her sobs quiet to the occasional sniffle, but I continue to soothe her with words and gentle touches, rubbing my hand lightly up and down her spine. I hate feeling so helpless, but this isn’t something I can just kiss away. It’s not some dragon I can vanquish. But I can,I will,be by her side every step of the way as she processes and heals from this part of her life. It doesn’t escape me how incredibly lucky I am to be the man she chose to move forward from this with. And soon she’ll be my wife.
Norah lifts her head, looking at me with red-rimmed eyes, and says, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to turn into a sobbing mess.”
I brush a strand of hair off of her brow. “You don’t need to apologize for a thing. That was big news. I’m sure a lot is going on in that head of yours now. I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“I don’t even really know how to feel or think,” she says. “I always hate to hear that someone felt so lost they thought suicide was the only answer, but after everything…I just feel a huge sense of relief. Relief knowing that that chapter of my life is closed. Relief that I won’t have to testify and see his face. Relief that he can’t hurt anyone again. Does that make me a horrible person?”
“No, Acushla. You’re not a horrible person,” I assure her. “You’re a victim of a horrible crime and, although not ideal, justice has been served.”
Norah nods once then tucks her head under my chin. “I’m glad you were here, Eamon.”
“Always. I’m not going anywhere.”
Norah
“No. Absolutely no fecking way am I wearing that. Forget it, Grady,” Teagan growls, tossing my sketchbook across the table at me.
“Don’t be such a baby, O’Brien,” I laugh at him. “Yours isn’t even that bad! Ro’s is the worst, and even that isn’t horrible.”
Teagan glowers at me over the rim of his pint glass. “Eamon, please talk some sense into your mot. Bets done while pissed don’t count.”
“Sorry, mate. I tried to talk you both out of it.” Eamon smirks.
“Besides,” I say, pointing a finger at him. “If you had won, youknowyou wouldn’t let Layla and me out of doing our cheer. It’s not like you’re performing on stage. You’re just modeling the costumes for the actors.”
“Oh, is that all?” he scoffs. “Just my arse exposed and in fucking high heels? I could break my ankle and never be able to play football again!”
I wince. “Okay, no high heels. Just the rest of it! And the makeup will mask your face, so no one will even really know it’s you.”
Eamon groans loudly, “Fuck, I forgot about the makeup. Teagan, you arsehole.”
“Yeah, you arsehole,” Ro agrees, sitting down next to Teagan. “Why are you an arsehole this time?”
Teagan grabs the sketch pad, flips a page, and slides it over to Ro. “This. This right here is what Eamon’sfiancehas created for you to wear. And somehow I’m the arsehole?”
Rowan studies the page, his eyes widening before looking up to glare at me. “You’re joking. Right? This is all one big gag, isn’t it?”
“Hey,” I say, raising my hands in defense. “I told you I was going to make you a denim thong originally. Just be thankful I changed it to a pair of denim boy shorts instead.”
Ro looks to Eamon with pleading eyes. “Kennedy, do something about this.”
“I’m not excited about this either, but a bet’s a bet,” he says with a shrug.
Ro flips back a couple of pages to Eamon’s sketch, which shows him in a black leather bodysuit, black combat boots, and dark makeup.
“Ach! No wonder you’re not as pissed about that. Yours is actually decent! You’re hardly showing anything!” Ro exclaims in outrage. “More like a sexy Batman!”
“Catman. See the ears?” Eamon corrects, pointing to the cat ear headband I’ve drawn on.
“Well, I can’t have everyone staring at my fiance’s half-naked body, now can I?” I tease. “Besides, he has the whole dark and mysterious thing goingfor him, so it fits.”
