Page 108 of Sins of Innocence

"Who is Celeste?" I ask with foreboding.

Mom pushes between me and Kieran. "What is Celeste doing here?"

"She's the officiant," he replies calmly.

"Officiant?" I ask faintly.

"As in she's here to marry you and my daughter?" mom asks, sounding a lot less upset than I would have expected with that question.

"Yes." Kieran touches my cheek. "I thought it would be romantic."

Romantic? I doubt it. Expedient? Definitely.

"But why not tell me?" I ask him, the question laden with words I can't say in front of my family.

If this was the new plan, why keep it a secret from me?

"I didn't want to spoil the surprise," Kieran says using his impressive ability to speak truth while meaning something entirely different than what the listener is hearing.

It's a good plan. Springing the wedding on me. It makes the whole engagement to instant wedding idea more believable, right?

Looking at Kieran like he's a naughty, mischievous boy, but not a bad one, mom is clearly buying it.

"You said yes," Kieran reminds me, like springing a wedding on me right after asking me to marry him is perfectly normal.

The thing that worries me the most is that even if this wasn't a marry-me-to-protect-you-from-my-mob deal, I'm not sure he would do things any differently. Kieran Lleshi is a man who knows his own mind and doesn't see any reason to wait to act on the course he's set for himself.

I mean, it was only two days ago… Oh, my gosh, can it really have only been two days?

No, it's been three.

That's so much better. But three days ago, Kieran told me within thirty minutes of meeting me that he was going to take care of it and I wasn't going back to work for Kenneth Shaughnessy ever again.

Kieran was right. And this right here? This is him doing what he promised with the same impatience. No, impatience isn't the right word.

Certainty.

This man lacks any doubt in his path forward and sees no reason to delay because of that certainty. And by hook, or by crook, he's going to make sure me and my girls are on that path with him.

I don't realize I'm standing there just staring at him in stunned silence until Ellie nudges me gently. "You did say yes, friend."

Mom grips my wrist with a hold I don't think even Kieran could break and tugs me away from everyone else. By some miracle the girls and Ellie stay where they are.

But then I look at mom and see it's not a miracle.

It's the look of an Irish-American mom on a mission and she's not going to be deterred. It's also the look that says stay where you are if you know what's good for you.

Even Kieran stays.

"When your man decides to move, he moves fast," mom says, when we're as far away from the others as we can get and stay in the grotto.

My man?

Amidst the inner chaos, something settles in my chest. Yes, my man. Whatever our reasons for getting married, Kieran and I are going to speak vows. There will be vows, right? And we will belong to each other.

Maybe in an even more real way than Troy and I did. Kieran won't have a whole chunk of his life hidden from me. That feeling of rightness gets bigger.

"I know." Man, do I know.