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I watch her shoulders draw tight as she considers a reply, so I give her one.
“It’s an inconvenience.”
Sera turns her head. “Aye, for me.”
“How come?”
Her eyes hold mine. “I’m the one losing my best friend.”
“Right. And you only like losing when there’s something in it for you.”
She nips the edge of her bottom lip with her teeth, and I track the movement even though my fiancée is right next to us.
A glass smashes near the bar. Every head turns except mine.
I keep my eyes on Sera because she’s just standing there, brow creased, and a hand on her belly.
Another glass breaks, and chaos erupts around us.
Another glass shatters behind me. Footsteps hammer closer, and chairs overturn as people scramble out of the way. I pivot to find the same two idiots charging back through the bar, unfamiliar men fanning out behind them.
Dumb fucks.
The tall one I almost strangled has red marks on his throat, and the broader one looks between Sera and me.
Eilish catches Sera’s elbow before she moves. “Wait.”
“Not now,” Sera says. “These guys are here to cause trouble.”
“I don’t want Fionn,” Eilish rushes the words. “I don’t want the marriage. But I do want my best friend, and I’m trying to find a solution where I don’t lose you.”
Sera’s eyes narrow. “What d’ya mean?”
Eilish’s eyes dart from me to Sera. “You could move in with us.”
My attention snaps to her. I should shut the idea down immediately. Instead, I picture Sera’s boots at my door, her voice carrying through my house, and her bedroom close enough to reach in the dark.
Footsteps rush up behind me. I pivot inside the first man’s swing and drive my fist into his face. His nose gives beneath my knuckles with a wet crunch, and I grin as he staggers back.
“In public, I’ll be his wife,” Eilish continues. “At home, you can be his—”
“No. I’d rather get trampled by a horse than be hidden inside someone else’s marriage.” Sera pulls her arm free. “We both deserve better than that.”
My jaw tightens as the uncomfortable truth digs in deep. That’s exactly what this becomes if I let it.
“We deserve all or nothing, Eilish.”
Eilish looks from her to me. “Do you want all or nothing with him?”
A knife flashes at the edge of my vision before Sera can answer. I step across her and sweep one arm behind me, forcing both women back as a man lunges.
When he slashes again, I catch his wrist, twist the blade to the floor, and drive my forehead into his nose. His fingers open. Steel strikes the floor, and I kick the knife out of reach before throwing him across the nearest table.
Deeper in the room, Darragh sends another man crashing into a row of chairs.
Some brunette screams.
A bottle swings at Kane’s head, and he ducks before driving the man face-first into the bar. Nolan catches another by the back of his collar and throws him into the fruit machine, making the lights flash.
