Page 62 of Shattered Veil
SHOPPING IS AN ANNOYINGslog without Balor.
Maybe it’s irrational, but I’m hurt. I thought shopping was a romantic gesture when it wasn’t. When Balor had the chance to leave me, he took it.
He doesn’t want a relationship, and I clearly have baggage from my last one.
With his credit card in my hand, I take advantage. I load up with the maximum outfits Erin’s program recommends and then do a lot of damage in the perfume and jewelry departments.
It’s childish and I’ll probably return it all, but right now, I’m angry and hurt. This shopping spree is the only thing that feels good because I know the final bill will get his attention. Force him to react. Show me how he feels about me.
“Oh, and you’ll need a gown,” Erin says, knocking me out of my thoughts.
“A gown? For what?” I ask.
“The O’Rourkes attend a lot of fundraisers, galas, auctions, shows.”
“With their wives and girlfriends,” I say on a painfulswallow since I’m neither.
I don’t want to be his wife oranyone’swife. But I’d like to be his girlfriend to get some more benefits. But he doesn’t want that.
Erin steers me to a sea of beautiful gowns. She digs into the racks and produces several in my size. Black, white, pink, yellow, and light green.
“Knowing the family, I recommend you buy at least one,” she says.
I glance at the price tags and laugh. “One? I’ll take them all.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Balor
“I’m going to Dunbar Valley in a few of weeks to check on Cormac,” Lachlan says at the meeting in Kieran’s office the minute I walk in.
Late.
Did I mention I’m still irate over Griffin commandeering the helicopter to fly in a blizzard to lift me and Ella out of there like we were stuck in a war zone?
Messing up my chance to sleep with her again.
Either from what Lachlan just said, or me storming in, frustrated, the room filled with my brothers becomes deadly silent.
“Are you taking Darragh?” Riordan asks, watching me take a seat like he’s expecting an apology for cursing at him.
“He asked to come,” Lachlan says. “I warned him, I’ll be recruiting new guards and assassins while I’m there. It won’t be a glamorous trip. He still wants to make the journey.”
“Good,” Kieran agrees. “It will mean a lot to Cormac to see his twin. As the father of twins, I look at Cillian and Matteo and can’t imagine they’d ever go through what our brothers went through. What Darragh went through for Cormac.”
That kicks the emotions around the room until the door to the office opens and we all spin around.
“Hey, hey.” Shea peeks her head inside.
After smiling around the room, our sister’s eyes land on me with a slightly wider one. We’ve always been closest.
Lachlan jumps up and twirls her around like she’s five. With his six-six frame compared to her petite body, she might as well be.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Shea grins, knowing we’d stop anything for her.
“What do you need, love?” Kieran says.
“My guard isn’t working out,” she says, sounding frustrated.