Page 14 of Irish Betrayal

Spoiler alert. He most definitely would.

“Seriously,” Blair shook her head and smiled, “No one needs to go to Oklahoma to see me. The time will fly, and I’ll be swamped. I’ll for sure be home for the birth, Bébhinn.

“I plan on doing such a fantastic job for OSU that they might even let me finish early. I admit, I’m excited to stay part of the time with the Stantons.”

“Mom loves Katy and said you couldn’t be surrounded by better people. I am so excited for you,” Bébhinn said.

“Mom loved growing up in Oklahoma, and her parents still keep a flat there to visit family and friends for when they aren’t traveling, which reminds me,” Gray said, grinning, “Grandma told me over Christmas to tell you that you’re welcome to use their place anytime if you want to stay in Tulsa. Maybe for a weekend break from trekking through the wilderness.”

“Mary and Dean are the best,” Blair signed and then, before she lost her nerve, she added, “I’m going to the Christmas party tomorrow night with Daniel.”

Blair was deaf, so she was kind of an expert on describing silence, and it was staring her in the face. Gray, Mags, and Bébhinn had become mannequins, posed and stiff.

Mags was the first to move. “I fucking knew it, you shady-ass bitch,” she crowed, slapping her palm against the table, drawing a few censorious looks from nearby diners.

Gray tapped Blair’s hand to get her attention. “I’m so happy for both of you. Truly.”

“You’ll be my niece by marriage! I can’t wait to call Dagr and Mom,” Bébhinn patted Blair’s other hand, beaming.

Blair held up both hands in a stop sign. “Whoa, guys,” she felt her throat vibrate in amusement. “We aren’t anything official, and I am getting ready to be gone for months. We haven’t made promises, so don’t make it weird tomorrow night.”

“What are best friends for if we can’t make things weird?” Mags asked.

At Blair’s glare, Mags conceded. “Fine, we’ll tone down our excitement, but really, I think we can all agree that it won’t be us escalating your relationship status. If he’s anything like our guys⁠—”

“Then Daniel already has a house and wedding venue picked out,” Gray finished.

Blair leaned back and couldn’t help the satisfied grin spreading across her face. If anyone would know how an O’Faolain man would treat their women, it would be her friends.

“I’m happy.” Blair didn’t sign, she used her voice, never sure if what she said came out right—because she didn’t practice speaking out loud enough—but if her friends’ nods of approval were anything to go by, even if her words weren’t perfect, they understood.

She would be lying if she didn’t admit that she already regretted accepting the Oklahoma school’s offer. It was a great opportunity, not nearly as amazing as the one Ulf Griffiths had offered her in Wales, but Blair needed the distance America provided. It was time.

The rest of the lunch was more of the same. Everyone shared what they were wearing to the party, how they were fixing their hair, how Gray’s babies were doing, updates on Bébhinn’s growing baby, Mags’ home renovations, and more about Blair’s travel schedule. All too soon, lunch was over, and she was hugging her friends goodbye before ordering an Uber.

Peter texted her twice during lunch, asking if she still planned to stop by his flat since he was still on holiday leave.

Daniel wasn’t the only man she’d been avoiding lately. Daniel, because her face flamed the worst sort of red the moment their eyes met. She was unable to not think about what they’d done together in her garden. As for Peter, she avoided him for a whole host of reasons, none of them worthy of mention.

Unfortunately, Peter was a master at finding her haunts or guilting her until she finally went to him.

Why was she so weak where her mentor was concerned? In her world, Blair didn’t ask. She demanded. Nothing was more important than her plant research, well, except for her family and friends. Still, no one messed with Blair Barr. Her soft spot for Peter didn’t make sense. It just was.

After what happened with Daniel, she could no longer live in denial. He was the one she couldn’t live without. Even if some of Peter’s dire predictions were to come true, Blair knew that she and Daniel could handle them.

Deep down, she knew that Peter hadn’t meant his words to ever be cruel. He simply wanted her prepared for any eventuality that life might throw her way.

When she’d first told Peter that she had a crush on Daniel, he’d gotten so upset. Blair remembered thinking that his reaction was strange, but then he made her understand that he was only thinking about her, and the thought of her being hurt crushed him.

She remembered the conversation like it was yesterday.

“I’m not angry at you, my sweet girl,” Peter explained. “It’s only that I’ve explained to you so many times that with your…deficiencies, you aren’t what men typically, if at all, go for. Your body is like a child’s, and your deafness…well, it can be a lot even for me.”

Blair remembered her whole body flushing in humiliation. He was right. She was lucky he could overlook so much. But Daniel… Surely, he cared enough to look past…everything.

After dodging Daniel and his texts for a few weeks, until she was safely ensconced with her family, that was, she realized that no matter her past with Peter, no matter what she’d believed for years, and her personal hangups, Daniel was the only one she wanted.

After the garden, she was positive he wanted her as fiercely as she wanted him. It was mind-blowing, heart-melting, extraordinary. And scary as hell.