Page 74 of Obeying the Owner

“Trey, what color are you having your nails painted?” I tease.

“Whatever color you want, Sunshine.”

I smile at him. “Good answer.”

“You should pick some obnoxious color,” Gwen suggests.

I shake my head. “It’s enough that he’s willing to paint them. I won’t make him go through with it.”

Trey grunts, and I glance over at him. His teeth are once again gritted as the nail tech goes to work on his other heel.

I point to his face. “Gwen, that expression right there is proof of just how much your dad loves you.”

“And you,” she says.

“Oh, well… I mean… we haven’t…” I trail off.

We haven’t exchanged those three words yet, but I feel every bit of it in my heart.

“Dad, do you love Maeve?”

“Yes, but I haven’t told her yet.” He sends a contrite look toward me.

“Well, that’s dumb. If you love her, why haven’t you told her?” Gwen gets right to the heart of the matter.

“You’re right. It is dumb. Especially since she was so easy to fall in love with.”

“Dad!” Gwen says, sounding exasperated. “Tell her now.”

He reaches over, taking hold of my hand. “Maeve O’Rourke, I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the first time I looked into those beautiful, deep-blue eyes.”

Said eyes are filling with tears.

“I love you too, Trey.”

Gwen lets out a whoop of happiness while the nail techs ignore us and keep doing their job as if this is normal behavior.

Crooking my finger, I call him closer. He leans toward me. “I think I’ve loved you since the first time you called me good girl.”

* * *

I walk into the kitchen where Lucy and Niall are sitting. “Hey, you two.”

Lucy smiles. “Hi, Maeve.”

“Oh, hey, I didn’t think you lived here anymore,” Niall says.

Lucy smacks his arm. “Leave her alone. She’s an adult.”

“You’re just in time. We’re about to FaceTime with Rogan.”

“Awesome. I haven’t spoken to him aside from texts in ages. We keep missing each other.”

Niall picks up his phone and makes the call. I move around behind him and Lucy so I can be part of the conversation.

“Hello,” Rogan answers, smiling at us.

“Hey, brother,” Niall says.