Page 69 of Ruined Wrath
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on leaving.” She grins at Scout.
Scout chatters away as I pour the milk into the mugs.
The sound fills the kitchen, and for a moment, it almost feels like it did before all the secrets and the lies.
Before Lorcan.
I hand Scout his mug first, and he blows on it dramatically.
“Careful.” Cormac reaches out to steady the cup.
Ciara offers Cormac a reassuring smile. “He’s got it. Right, Scout?”
“So good,” Scout says through a mouthful of marshmallows.
It’s enough to ease the tension in Cormac’s shoulders.
I quickly make up another mug, adding a mountain of cream on top, and sliding it across the island at him.
Our eyes meet, and I smile, hoping he can see how much having this time with him and Scout means to me.
Cormac doesn’t look away even as he takes a long sip of his cocoa.
But when he sets his mug down, I have to clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter.
“What?”
Scout clocks the whipped cream mustache that Cormac is sporting and bursts out laughing.
Cormac frowns. “Is there something on my face?”
“Not at all,” I say, feigning innocence.
I catch Scout’s eye, and the two of us burst into laughter.
Cormac narrows his eyes as he takes another sip, leaving an even bigger streak of whipped cream behind that sends his son into a fit of giggles.
Hearing Scout laugh again makes my heart feel like it could burst.
Cormac meets my gaze across the island, and something unspoken passes between us.
And for the first time in a long while, I let myself believe that maybe there is something left that is worth saving.
Chapter Sixteen
CORMAC
“I don’t like this.”I slam the car door shut.
The SUV sits running in the driveway, the smoke from the exhaust curling into the cold morning air, and every instinct in my body is screaming that I should be staying put.
Ronan leans against the trunk, looking back up at the house.
“Neither do I, but we don’t have much of a choice.”
Boots crunch on the gravel behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see Kieran approach.
He looks just as happy about this plan as Ronan. He doesn’t speak right away, but he doesn’t have to. We both know this feels wrong.
