Page 82 of Sins of Innocence

"I'm pretty sure my boss wants you to call him dad, but until then, stick with Kieran. Like with your mom, he'll always be a real live man you can rely on in your life, not a ghost."

"Can't you rely on him?" my mom asks.

Ellie loses her perpetual look of cynicism and meets mom's eyes first, but then pauses to make sure me and the girls are listening. "Wraith is one of the few people I know I can absolutely trust to have my back. He keeps his word and he'll put his life on the line for the people who rely on him."

As much as those words warm my heart, they sends a frisson of fear through me too. Whatever his job, the man I'm going to marry in a matter of days will always put himself on the front lines with his people.

Considering he's some kind of leader in the Irish mob, those front lines are every bit as dangerous as a war zone.

Troy didn't die because he risked his life to protect his brothers, he died because he betrayed them.

My brother died because he was a man like Kieran. A leader who stood with his men on the front lines.

Ellie claps her hands together. "Let's find some hoodies and cardies to go with those outfits. Anaheim might be in Southern Cali, but it can get chilly at night right now. You're going to need layers and a lightweight jacket for the evenings."

"They all have spring jackets already." Mostly thicker hoodies, but that's what they like to wear.

"Wraith gave his orders." Ellie gives me the look that says arguing will do no good. "He wants you all outfitted with everything you need for the trip."

"Like travel size flat iron?" Neeve asks with quiet hope. "I could keep it in my gym locker at school when we get back."

This girl.

She breaks my heart sometimes.

"I would have gotten you one if you'd asked, honey." The preteen years are tough.

The transition from little girl to teenager is confusing and hard to navigate. For her and me. Some days she still wants to play with her animal hospital. Others, she wants to experiment with my makeup.

The girls won't be wearing makeup out of the house until they're thirteen, and then only light foundation powder and lip gloss, but that doesn't stop them from wanting to experiment at home.

I was the same. Only I experimented with Ellie's mom's makeup. Mine never wore any except lipstick.

"I don't really need it," Neeve says.

And I determine right then to add a stop at Ulta onto our list of stores to visit today.

Exhausted from shopping, I plop down onto the first chair I reach at the table the hostess leads us to at the restaurant we chose for lunch. "Ugh. If you girls get sick of being my sidekicks, I'm pretty sure you could get jobs on Million Dollar Shoppers."

We all have new luggage for our trip and enough new clothes, shoes and accessories to fill it. Even me.

Ellie and the girls took care of that. When I refused to try things on, my bestie bought them anyway. Cute dresses that show too much leg and tops that will show my cleavage while clinging to my breasts. When I tried to balk at them, Ellie mouthed the words pretty boobs at me and I was too hot and embarrassed to stop her tossing the shirts on the counter for the sales clerk to ring up.

"We're not old enough to get jobs." Neeve pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looks at me like she's trying to decide if I'm joking, or not.

"Speak for yourself young lady. I'm plenty old enough to be employed," mom says with a wink. "If I didn't have you hooligans to look after, I might be one of those personal shoppers. Spending someone else's money sounds like a grand way to while away my days."

She should know. For the past four hours, we've all been spending Kieran's money. And I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

Telling my girls no was beyond my mom guilt capacity though.

"Oh, no. She's got that look on her face again," Ellie says conspiratorially to the rest of the table.

Sadie looks at me and rolls her eyes. "Stop it, mom. Whatever you're feeling guilty about is not a thing."

"No. It is not," mom says, all humor gone from her blue eyes. "If your man wants to make your life a little better, let him. You're no gold-digger and if Kieran Lleshi is half the man I think he is, he knows it too."

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's not worried I'm marrying him for his money. Keeping my family safe is a much bigger priority than sizing up his bank account.