“I’m so fecking glad I don’t have a sister,” Kieran said to us both. Earnshaw’s once smug face now looked ashen as he loitered awkwardly, not dancing but trying hard to look anywhere but at his sister. Taking pity on him, I nudged his shoulder to get his attention.

“Come on. I’ll buy you a pint while your sister lets off some steam.” He nodded gratefully, and I turned toward Em who was still kicking it with Nikki.

“If you’re going to the bar, can you get me a lemonade?” she asked, “I’m going to stay and dance.”

“You had enough to drink, baby?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m happy to stick to soft drinks now that I’ve danced all the tequila out of me.”

Leaving her with Nikki, Earnshaw, Kieran, and I headed to the bar. The barman slid three pints and a lemonade across on a tray and I handed him a note.

Walking back toward Em, Earnshaw frowned, looking confused. “We’re going back on the dance floor?” he asked Kieran. I placed our drinks down at a tall table that overlooked the lower dance floor.

“Em’s been drinking, so we stand somewhere he can keep watch over her,” Kieran explained. Earnshaw looked at me like I was some kind of freak with three heads, which made me laugh.

I nodded toward the girls. “See Em, cutting loose and having a good time?” He nodded in response. “It’s taken a long time for her to feel that comfortable in her own skin. Even with her stepdad behind bars, she’s confident and carefree because she knows that she can have a drink and I’ve got her back. And if I haven’t, Kieran has or Tommy has. So as long as she’s there, we stay here.” I figured that I’d done a pretty good job of explaining how me and Em worked but he still looked at me like I was some kind of possessive Neanderthal. Whatever. I gave it a week before he watched over Sunshine as much as the rest of us.

We shot the breeze about boxing mostly while Earnshaw tried hard not to look at his sister and I tried hard to peel my eyes away from Em. Watching her dance in that figure-hugging black dress with those long, gorgeous legs that I’d had wrapped around my waist was making my cock twitch. If I had my way, she’d finish off her birthday clutching the sheets and screaming my name. A couple of the lads joined us, and Liam, who I hadn’t seen much of all night, stood next to me. He shifted from side to side looking pretty uncomfortable.

“Spit it out,” I told him finally. “What’s on your mind?”

“Just wondering if we’re still good. You know. About the other night.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” I asked him, confused.

“A lot of people won’t be when they find out,” he admitted. Liam was usually laidback and steadfast. There was no pressuring or pushing him into doing anything he didn’t want to do. He was one of us but he was also his own man, and we respected him for it.

“Look, mate, when the truth comes out, everyone who means anything to you will feel exactly the same. We love you for who you are, not where you stick your dick. Finding someone to love who loves you back is a pretty big achievement in this shitty, little world. So if you get that, be brave, and everything will work itself out in the end.”

“Thanks, Con. I appreciate that,” he said.

“You know you’re going to have to tell the other guys eventually,” I pointed out.

“I know,” he said looking around wistfully, “just not today.”

As our friends trickled slowly from the dance floor to our table, Tommy and Earnshaw’s sister joined us. Earnshaw had gone from clenching his teeth to full-on grinding them. I couldn’t tell if the look on Tommy’s face was because he was really into this girl or because he was yanking Earnshaw’s chain. When a beautiful redhead walked past our table and Tommy stared at her adoringly like she hung the moon, I had my answer.

“Hey, Evelyn,” Liam said to her. “You seen your brother round lately? I don’t have his number, and I was looking for his help with a job.”

“I haven’t seen him for a couple weeks but I can give you his number, if you like,” she replied. They made small talk while she programmed her number into Liam’s phone. When she caught sight of Tommy and Amy, she took in their intimate position and her expression became completely stone-faced. By the time anything resembling hello came out of Tommy’s mouth, she was gone. When he realized that she’d seen him with his arms around another girl, Tommy looked devastated.

“Hello, love,” Em said, bouncing toward me.

“Still think it’s the best birthday ever?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I can think of something that would make it even better though,” she said with a cheeky grin, then leaned over to whisper something erotic in my ear. I had us both in a cab home less than ten minutes later.

Chapter 9

Slumped in the chair, I folded my arms and tried not to laugh as the newest member of Danny’s dream team got comfortable.

“Can I help you, Father Pat?” I asked him as he messed around with a load of papers.

“Well, now that you mention it, Cormac, I could use a nice cup of tea,” he replied as he unloaded his old leather satchel while he searched for whatever it was he was looking for. By the time I placed his tea down in front of him, he was ready.

“Now, did Danny explain why I’m here?” he asked me.

“Not really,” I answered.

“Well, Danny is concerned about your difficulty controlling your temper in certain situations, so I’m here to help you talk through those issues.”

“Kind of like a therapist,” I clarified.

“Exactly!” he said, as he smiled broadly.

“But you’re our parish priest. I don’t mean to be rude but why does Danny think you can help?” I asked, intrigued and a little shell-shocked about what he might want me to do in this makeshift therapy.

“Well son, let me ask you. Would you ever lose your temper at me?”

“It’s doubtful, Father,” I responded.

“And if I asked you a question, would you give me an honest answer?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Well, how is it any different from confession then? What you tell me stays between us and God, and you have someone to speak to if you ever want to talk to someone other than Em.”