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“You’re good for her.” He adds and my brows raise to my hairline. He chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know that already.”
“I do, it’s just shocking for you to say it.”
He smiles. “I’ve seen enough of how she is with you to admit I was wrong about you.”
“Wow. A compliment and an admission in less than thirty seconds.” I tease and Declan punches me in the shoulder.
I grunt and grip the joint.
“I’ll deny everything.” He says playfully with a wink.
I smirk. “Well, I appreciate your words.” I dip my chin. “They mean a lot.”
“You might want to tell Emily about the party tonight. I told Paige and while she was happy and excited, she nearly kicked my ass because she didn’t get to find a dress for tonight.”
I chuckle. Paige is a spitfire and despite her small stature, she’d definitely kick his ass.
“I’ll make sure she knows.”
“Good.” Declan slaps me on the back and turns toward the house. “Rhys and Sarah should be arriving soon, and we still need to drive to the venue.”
I stand frozen against the wall opposite my ma who stares at me with sad-filled eyes. I expected her to come and see me, and I thought I was prepared for it. But seeing her before me has me feeling a plethora of emotions.
She looks older. The place between her brows has two lines indicating how often she furrows her brows. Her once bright red hair is dimmer with more gray strands than the last time I saw her.
“Airím uaim thú,” she whispers. I miss you.
My chest constricts and my throat swells to the point of suffocation.
“Is fada liom uaim thú freisin ma” I miss you too, ma.
She moves toward me with her hands out, palms up. My lip quivers as the space between us shrinks. When her arms wrap around me, tears flood my eyes and I sob.
My knees give and we both fall to the ground. My arms circle her middle and I bury my face in her chest. Her hand strokes my hair lovingly.
“It’s okay,mo stór.” She whispers, pressing her lips to the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry, ma. I’m so so sorry.” I cry and my vision is even blurrier with the tears that fall.
“You don’t need to apologize, Emily. You needed time.”
Seeing my ma is nothing like simply hearing her voice on the phone. Instead of paralyzing fear, everything inside me needs the comfort only my mother’s love can provide. Her floral scent calms my soul and feeds the peace I’ve been searching for.
She rocks our bodies back and forth and begins to hum the lullaby that soothed me in my prison and helped lull me to sleep. I sob until my body is vacant of tears.
She pulls me away from her chest, holding me at arm’s length. Her eyes match mine, puffy and red-rimmed from crying.
“I understand if you need more time – “
“No. I don’t need time away from you, ma.” I cut her off. “I might need more time before I’m able to go back to Ireland though.”
She sniffles while nodding. “Of course, Emily. Whatever you need.”
There is a soft knock on the door before it’s pushed open. Liam steps into the room and pauses when he sees my ma and me on the ground.
He clears his throat, shutting the door with a soft click. “Everythin’ alright in here?” he asks, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels.
