Page 33 of Possessing Paisley
My tummy does a little flip as I turn my attention to her. “What? We are.”
Cali lays a supportive hand on top of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I hate to break it to you, but there is absolutely nothing casual about these men. Once they decide you’re theirs, there’s no stopping them. You two will be married in no time.”
I’m glad I’m sitting because I think my knees would have given out on me. Marriage? To Kieran? That’s ridiculous. Yet I can envision it, and that’s terrifying. “Not happening. You guys are as insane as he is.”
Grace comes in with a tray in hand and sets it in the middle of the table. Then, the older woman meets my gaze and gives me a soft smile. “I’m afraid they’re right, dear. Kieran’s a good man. A little rough around the edges, but good down to his bones. Give him a chance. But, Paisley, don’t let him get his way all the time. He’s too used to that happening, and I think it bores him. You’re the challenge he needs.”
I offer Grace a nervous smile and reach for one of the pastries she brought us. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
She winks at me and leaves us alone to get to work. Thankfully, the conversation turns to the makeup line.
“I still haven’t chosen a name for the red lipstick, but I’m working on it. I have picked the one I like the most for the debut. It’s the deep vampy one.”
Chloe claps excitedly. “I had a feeling you’d pick that one. It’s my favorite, too. It’s stunning on you. Don’t stress about naming it. We still have time.” She looks down at the notes in front of her. “We do, however, need to go shopping for our dresses for the influencer party next weekend. Anyone feel like taking work on the road to the mall?”
Cali leaps up from her chair. “Oh, hell, yes. Retail therapy. I’m all for it. We should get our nails done, too.”
Scarlet agrees and starts gathering her papers.
I glance down at my black-painted nails and nod. “I’ve always wanted those pointy stiletto nails. Maybe the influencer party is a good excuse to try them.”
“Stiletto nails would look amazing on you. You have the perfect fingers for them,” Chloe replies. “Let’s go tell the guys what we’re doing. It’s going to take at least half an hour of them having cardiac issues before they finally agree to let us go out without them.”
Even though Cali and Scarlet nod and attempt to look annoyed, there’s a softness in their expressions. Adoration for the men who hover over them, sometimes a little too much. What would that feel like? To have a man love me so much that he never wants me to go anywhere without him. Do I want to know what that’s like? Maybe I do. Maybe I want to be loved wholeheartedly like my friends are. I’m just not so sure I deserve it.
13
KIERAN
“Hey, sunshine. Nice to see you in a suit,” Grady says as soon as I walk into Declan’s office.
I’m the last one here this morning, and I have no doubt these fuckers have been doing nothing but talking shit about me.
“Fuck off,” I grumble.
Declan smirks. “Cali had the best time replaying the surveillance footage this morning of you sasquatching it over to Bash’s place. I think she might even be putting it on YouTube with some of her own personalized edits.”
Everyone bursts out laughing except me. I stand near the coffee bar, glaring at them, debating if Cali would actually do that. I have no doubt she’d send it to everyone in the family, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t actually put it on the internet. Either way, the little brat needs her ass spanked.
“You all need to mind your business. Jesus. Are we here for business or just to irritate me?”
Killian shrugs and looks around the room. “I don’t know about the rest of them, but I think irritating you is a good warm-up exercise for the morning.”
Ronan snorts. “Calm down, Kieran. No need to have a coronary.”
When I finally sit down with a steaming cup of black coffee in hand, I scowl at them. “Why are we meeting this early on a Saturday?”
As if I conjured him up, Cage walks in with one of his brothers. Jasper, I think, is his name. Cage is a total psychopath, but Jasper might be even scarier and more deranged.
“We’re meeting because Jasper and I just got back from Argentina a few hours ago,” Cage says casually. “I met with some people there, did some hunting for Smoke. It’s my understanding you guys found a girl there a few years back who had been kidnapped and sold?”
If Ronan weren’t sitting directly across from me, I probably would have missed the way he goes rigid, his knuckles turning white as he clenches his fists.
“We did. She was my sister’s best friend, Tessa Murphy. We never found who kidnapped her, but the people she was sold to no longer exist,” Declan answers. “We found a dozen girls there and returned them all to their families.”
Cage glances at Jasper and then back at us. “Any chance we can talk to your sister’s friend? See if she remembers anything about who took her?”
“No,” Ronan replies, his voice deadly. “You won’t fucking talk to her. She went through enough shit back then. You’re not going to dredge up those memories for her.”