“Earnshaw still coming?” I asked, still feeling guilty about acting like a complete eejit toward him.

“Yeah, but he’s bringing his kid sister so he’ll meet us there.”

“Seriously, arsehole, you’re cutting off the blood supply to my brain,” complained Tommy as he tried to get enough leverage to punch Kieran in the kidney.

“How’ll you know if it does any damage?” Kier taunted back.

“Fuck you! Let go, and you can have the last fucking cake, lard arse,” Tommy said.

“You snooze, you lose ladies,” Liam muttered as he reached behind them both for the cake and devoured it in two bites.

“Motherfucker,” Kieran exclaimed, slack-jawed at Liam’s audacity. He let Tom go and they both scowled at Liam before pouncing on him. Liam was a big fucker, and instead of taking him down as they intended, he just dragged them both across the floor. Rolling my eyes at the losers, I said my good-byes and grabbed my girl.

“Wait!” Kieran yelled as Em was kissing Mary good-bye. Most people had gone, and I frowned trying to work out what he wanted with Em. Liam reached under the table to grab a box. It looked like a toddler had gotten hold of paper and tape and had decided to cover the whole thing as much as they could before it ran out.

“This is from all of us at Driscoll’s,” Liam told her. Em bit her lip and said nothing and I knew she was trying not to cry again. She handled the parcel reverently as she searched for a gap in the tape. Seeing there wasn’t one, she reached into her pocket for her keychain with the fold-out scissors.

“You are seriously the most organized woman I’ve ever met,” Kieran joked.

“Come on, Em. Hurry up,” Tommy grumbled.

“Why are you rushing her? You already know what’s in there,” Kieran retorted.

“I wanna know if she likes it,” Tommy argued.

“Why wouldn’t she like it? It’s a brilliant idea.”

“Oh my God,” Em whispered. I was so focused on the two arsehats arguing that I hadn’t realized that she’d already opened it. Peering over her shoulder, I saw her pull out the emerald green robe that matched my own. The words “Mrs. The Hurricane” were emblazoned on the back in thick black letters.

“It’s silk, mind, so you’ll have to be careful not to get stains on it,” Tommy informed her matter-of-factly, watching her cheeks color.

“Way to fuck up a really good present,” Liam chimed in, smacking Tommy on the arm.

“Oww! That really hurt,” Tommy moaned.

“Man up,” Liam said with a chuckle.

“Thank you so much guys. I love it,” she told them and, handing me the box, wrapped her tiny arms around all three of them.

“Well, you know,” Kieran said with a shrug, as they all hugged her back, “you’re our girl. Happy birthday, Sunshine.”

Chapter 8

I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I hadn’t been able to all night. Nikki’s gift to Em had been a fitted black dress and black heels. If Nikki hadn’t gotten ready at our place, making sure Em was halfway tipsy before we got out the door, I don’t think she’d have worn it. I’m so fucking glad she did. It was definitely the most revealing thing she’d ever worn, and I loved it. My cock, which had been semihard since she walked out our bedroom door, loved it as well.

“I’m having such an amazing night,” she shouted at me. If she was tipsy when she left, she was definitely well on her way to being hammered now.

“Me too, baby,” I replied.

“You know, O’Connell, you’ve been talking to my boobs all night,” she replied.

“I know, Sunshine, but we’re married now. It means I’m legally entitled to stare at your tits every time you wear something hot and not get punished for it.”

She thought about this really hard for a moment. “I don’t recall that being in the small print of our marriage certificate but I’ll take your word for it.”

I patted my knee, and she sat down in my lap with a thump, making me smile. Damn she was cute when she’d been drinking.

“Great, the one place I go to kick back on my only night off, and you’re here.”

We both turned our heads to see that bitch Em waitressed with.

“Seriously, Katrina, what is your problem with me?” Em confronted her, and I knew she’d never have been in her face if she’d been sober.

“What’s my problem? Where do I start? How about the fact that you looked me up and down the first day you started and pinned me as a slut without knowing a thing about me. Do you even know how you look at any sexually confident girl?”

“So the fact that you’re always late, if you turn up to work at all, isn’t enough reason to dislike you? You know, it’s me who covers when that happens or when you’re not doing your job properly,” Em retorted but without much conviction.

“If I’m even less than one hundred percent, it’s usually because I’m exhausted, and in case you haven’t wondered why I’ve never been fired for taking time off at short notice, it’s because Rhona and Mike are good people who took the trouble to get to know me before judging me.”

“Look, I don’t know what’s been going on with you, but you’re not the only one with problems.”

I honestly never thought about how Em saw other women, didn’t really give a shit either to be honest, but there was no way this girl was fucking up my wife’s birthday, if she hadn’t already. “Look, whatever you have to say to Em can wait until another day. Her twenty-first fucking birthday ain’t the time to do it.”

“No, it’s okay, O’Connell,” Em said looking pretty white and seeming a lot more sober than she had a few minutes ago. “Baby, would you go and get us some drinks?” she asked me.

“Uh, no,” I replied. “Darlin’, I ain’t leaving you alone for some bitch to rip into you as soon as I’m gone.”

Rolling her eyes at my stubbornness, she asked the girl to join us. Looking suspicious and a little less pissed off, Katrina sat down.

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that way, and you’re absolutely right. I have been judging you. Thing is, O’Connell was my first but I was beaten and called a slut every day for as far back as I can remember for doing things like wearing strappy tops with no sleeves or leaving my underwear on the dryer. When that’s your benchmark for slutiness, I guess it’s easy to judge. I should have taken the time to get to know you. I’m sorry.”