Page 115 of Broken Lies
I look up at her, my chest tight.
“You’re scared,” she adds. “That’s okay. I was, too. But if he makes you feel safe, not just physically but emotionally, you owe it to yourself to see where it goes. Talk to him, Riley. Don’t let silence decide for you.”
I nod slowly, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat.
Ciara’s grin returns. “Besides… If he hurts you, I’ll waddle over there myself and kick his ass.”
“I would pay to watch that.” I laugh, and Ciara winks at me.
“Come on. Let’s forget about the Sullivan boys for the rest of the day. I need a distraction, and you need sugar.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Elena?” Ciara calls out. “Can you please bring us all the junk food we have? Literally all of it.”
There’s a muffled response from outside the door and five minutes later, Elena appears carrying a tray so overloaded with snacks it looks like it belongs at a birthday party for ten-year-olds. There’s everything from chips, cookies, popcorn, chocolate bars, and several types of candy.
“Elena, you’re an angel.” Ciara sighs as Elena sets down the tray on the table in front of us.
She chuckles. “Just don’t tell Ronan, or he’ll have my head.”
“He’ll have to go through me first.” Ciara is already reaching for the chocolate.
As soon as Elena disappears, I dive into the snacks as Ciara finds a romantic comedy on one of the streaming services on the enormous TV.
“This is amazing,” I say between a mouthful of popcorn.
“What’s crazy is that this isn’t even the media room.” Ciara laughs. “If you think this TV is big, you should see the one in there.”
“What is it with the Sullivan men and their obsession with having the biggest of everything?”
“I know, right? You would think that they were overcompensating for something, but if Kieran is anything like Ronan, there is no overcompensating necessary.”
I almost choke on my popcorn. “I think you would get on well with my friend Lucy.” I chuckle. “You have the same sense of humor.”
“You should invite her over next time. And I can have my best friend Mila join us too. That way it’s a proper girls’ night.”
“I’d really like that.”
We talk during the movie and laugh through the ridiculous parts and as the time passes, I relax. My shoulders aren’tclenched, and my chest doesn’t feel like it’s caving in. For the first time in weeks, maybe longer, I feel like I can actually breathe.
As I lie there, stretched out across one side of the couch half-buried under a pile of blankets, I can almost imagine what it would be like if this wasn’t temporary. As if Ciara and I lounging around like sisters at a slumber party while our husbands do whatever dangerous, secretive things they do, was my real life.
I imagine summer afternoons in this mansion, with kids running barefoot down the hallways and Ciara yelling from the kitchen while I help set up for dinner. I imagine Kieran showing up, his sleeves rolled up and a scowl firmly in place, only for it to melt the second he sees me.
It’s not a fantasy full of fireworks or epic romance, but something quieter and safer.
It feels like a real home.
I haven’t felt anything close to that since I was fourteen. Since the last time my mom and sister were alive and our house smelled like cinnamon rolls and my mom’s perfume.
The ache starts to bloom in my chest again, but I push it down, not wanting the familiar sting of grief to cloud the fun I’m having with Ciara.
By the end of the second movie, Ciara and I are both in a full-blown sugar coma, curled up on opposite ends of the massive couch with a half-empty bowl of popcorn balanced between us.
“You know,” Ciara mumbles as she fights sleep. “I think you will like being a part of this crazy family, Riley.”
I smile, my eyes heavy and my heart full in a way I didn’t expect. “Yeah. Maybe I will.”
