Page 238 of By His Vow

“You okay?” Kingston whispers, noticing my hesitation.

Forcing a smile onto my face, I hold my head high and continue walking forward.

“Of course,” I lie, moving toward the empty chairs waiting for us.

I’m confident that I’m hiding how I’m truly feeling—until I meet my best friend’s eyes.

She frowns, the smile on her lips faltering as she reads the truth in my expression.

“You okay?” she mouths, echoing Kingston’s question. Only, when I nod in a pathetic attempt to pacify her, she doesn’t believe it. She knows me better than that.

So does my big brother, who looks at me with a similarly concerned expression.

I don’t meet his eyes. I can’t. Not after what I did with his best friend in our bathroom less than an hour ago.

Can he see the marks around my throat from where Kingston’s fingers were?

My cheeks blaze.

I’m not a prude—I’ll happily wear my sexuality with pride—but I also don’t want my big brother to know everything.

“Would you like a coffee?” a server says, having rushed over with a coffee pot.

“Yes,” I cry, immediately reaching for the mug that’s waiting to be filled with some liquid gold. “Thank you.”

“Sir?” she asks, turning to Kingston.

“No, thank you. I’ll take a green tea.”

Someone scoffs on the other side of the table, and when I look up, I find Kieran mocking Kingston’s morning drink of choice.

I always liked Kieran. It was obvious from a very early age that he was going to be the rebel of the family.

I guess if you’d have made me predict which Callahan brother I might have ended up marrying, I’d have said him.

He’s always been the most easygoing, fun brother. And much like me, he’s put his middle finger up to the things expected of him and followed his own path instead of the one laid out for him.

While I respect Kingston and Kian for everything they’ve achieved, I have a special level of respect for Kieran.

“Right? What kind of monster did I marry?” I mock, happy to turn the attention to my new husband in the hope of surviving this breakfast unscathed.

Or at least that is my intention until Kian announces, “You should know. I assume he’s the one who left those marks on your throat.”

“Kian,” Kingston snaps as Michael’s wife gasps in shock and my mom drops her fork. The knot in my stomach gets even tighter as I focus on my coffee. “Not the time or place.”

Kian doesn’t so much as cower under Kingston’s burning stare. It’s probably not the first time, or the last, that he’ll experience it.

“It was your wedding night,” Kian says simply. “If you can’t indulge then, what’s the point in the wedding at all?”

“Romantic,” Lori scoffs from a few seats down.

Kian shoots her a glare but doesn’t say anything further.

Thankfully, everyone begins to return to their previous conversations as the server comes back to take our orders, but that doesn’t mean I lose the attention of Miles or Lori.

Once we’ve finished, most of our guests begin to bid us farewell and check out of the hotel.

By the time it’s only Kingston’s brothers, Miles and Lori left, I’m exhausted.