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Darragh steps through the door.
“Are you done?” he snaps, but his mouth falls open as his eyes lock with mine. It’s only a few seconds until he looks away. “Cian is driving me crazy. If we leave him unattended any longer, he will get kicked out.”
“How much do I owe you?” I ask her.
“Don’t be silly, it’s on the house,” she says with a wink.
“Thank you, but I was going to make him pay anyway, since this is partly his fault.”
Iris laughs, and Darragh narrows his eyes at me.
“How is this my fault?” he asks as we follow Iris out of her home salon.
“Because when you pulled me by my hair, it was the last straw,” I whisper. “I won’t let another man weaponize my hair against me.”
“It suits you,” he says, as he walks away from me to round up the girls.
“We don’t want to go,” they whine.
“You know they’re safe here. Go see Cian—you can swing by and get them later. It will be good for them to spend time with family.”
Darragh looks torn, but he nods. “Fine, but I will be back in a few hours. Do not let them out of your sight.”
The girls squeal, racing over to hug his legs. Darragh looks down at them and puts a hand on both their backs.
“Thanks, you’re the best,” Sadie says with a smile, and Darragh freezes. But whatever it was, he recovers quickly.
“Make sure you are good. Listen to Aunt Iris and use your manners.”
I doubt the girls hear the last part because they have already run off. I wave goodbye to Iris, and Darragh and I leave. Neither of us speaks—Darragh turns on the stereo while I look out the window and try to imagine what it could have been like growing up around here, among the middle class. My life could have turned out so very different.
The doctor has maintained a steady dose of painkillers trying to keep me docile. It shows how well she knows me, as the second I have a chance, I’m out of here. I know I’m fine; a broken leg won’t stop me. I’m honestly surprised it’s not worse. My father used to tell me I had a hard head and maybe he was right, though the concussion sucked.
Darragh was supposed to be here over two hours ago, and I’m bored. The nurses are no fun, and won’t entertain me—apparently it’s not in their job description. All I wanted was for one of them to race me in a wheelchair.
“So, I hear you have been a colossal pain in the ass,” Darragh says, stepping through the door. Thank fuck he is here. I need to spring free.
A figure steps into the room behind him, and I try to look around Darragh. Then Harper moves out of his shadow.
“Oh fuck! I didn’t think it was possible for you to get more beautiful, but damn, you went from fuckable to wifey material with a haircut. How many kids are we having? Probably just one, right? More than one Mini-Me might be a lot.”
Harper smiles. “First, thank you, and second, remember, I don’t want to get married or have children.”
“Never say never, Sweetheart.”
“He is like a dog with a bone—just ignore him,” Darragh says, taking a seat next to my bed.
“Speaking of bones,” I say, wiggling my brows, “mine has been hard since you walked in the door. Come here.”
Harper hesitates, and I hold out my hand, which she takes when she gets close enough, and I use it to pull her into my side. “Come snuggle with me. I’m injured. We can watch a movie.”
Harper nods, slipping off her heels and climbing up onto the bed. She is careful not to bump the cast on my leg.
“You can come back later if you don’t want to stay.”
Darragh glares at me. “No fucking way am I leaving. If she runs again, and I have to chase her, I would prefer she doesn’t have a head start. But I’m picking the movie,” he says, swiping the remote attached to the side of the bed.
I’m grateful to be in a private hospital, with my own room, nice meals, and a TV with access to streaming services. Ronan has promised I’ll be out today or tomorrow morning at the latest. There is one last test the doctor wants to run before she’ll set me free. Yeah, right—she wants to make sure I have a clean bill of health, so nothing can happen and fall back onto her. It would be really shit for her if I went home and dropped dead, as Darragh would probably murder her entire family and she knows it.
