Page 3 of Faithless Vows

So the match was made, but we wouldn’t marry until Alannah turned eighteen. The wedding still felt far enough away that I could pretend it didn’t really count yet. And it wasn’t as if I’d been innocent when I’d agreed to it. I’d already had women by then, and being promised to Alannah hadn’t made me stop. I told myself there was no harm in it, not when none of it had really been my choice.

But what I hadn’t considered—what had only started dawning on me lately—was that the same logic applied to her. She hadn’t chosen me either. If anything, she’d had even less say in it than I did. I’d been asked, and I’d said yes. By the time it reached her, the decision had already been made.

And ever since that thought first crossed my mind, I haven’t been able to shake it.

Because Alannah is mine. She’s promised to me. No other boy has any business getting close to her, and with the wedding still a few years off, it’s time I make sure she understands that.

That’s why I’m heading over to see her now.

I stop at the florist on the way, the same shop my mother has used for years. Buckets of flowers line the front, and I choose a small bundle of blue cornflowers mixed with white daisies. The blue is nearly the same shade as Alannah’s eyes, and I know she’ll like them. I take them to the counter to be wrapped.

I pull up to the O’Connell house and spot Mick out front, leaning against the fence with a cigarette between his fingers. He looks up when I get out of the car, noticing the flowers in my hand. He smirks. “Look at you,” he drawls.

I give him a flat look.

“Docks at noon?” he confirms, flicking the cigarette away.

I nod as the front door opens and Seamus O’Connell steps out. His eyes go to the flowers first. “You’re early,” he says, approval clear in his voice as he holds out his hand for me to shake. Then his focus shifts to his son. “Don’t you have somewhere you’re meant to be?”

Mick rolls his eyes but mutters, “Yes, sir,” before pushing off the fence and heading down the walk to where his car’s parked.

Seamus gestures to the open doorway. “Come on.”

When I step inside, the smell of freshly baked soda bread greets me, and Siobhán O’Connell comes toward us from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, her strawberry-blonde hair clipped back and out of the way. She stops beside her husband, and Seamus slips an arm around her waist, drawing her close. She rests a hand on his chest and smiles at me. “Good morning, Ronin. It’s nice to see you.”

“Morning, Mrs. O’Connell,” I say.

Seamus dips his head close to her ear and says something too low for me to catch. Her eyes flick to the flowers in my hand, and her smile warms. “I’ll get Alannah,” she says. “One moment.”

She heads upstairs to get Alannah, and Seamus excuses himself. “I’ve got a call to make.”

A moment later, I hear light footsteps on the stairs. Alannah appears on the curve of the staircase in a pale yellow dress, her hand trailing along the banister as she comes down the last few steps. I offer her the flowers. “Alannah.”

Her gaze drops to the bouquet, and surprise flickers in her eyes before she takes it from me. “For me?”

“For you.”

A grin spreads across her face as she looks down at them, then back up at me. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, her mother comes back down the stairs. “I’ll put those in water,” Siobhán says, taking the flowers from Alannah. “You two go on and sit.”

Alannah hands them over. “Thank you, Mam.”

Siobhán takes the flowers back to the kitchen, leaving Alannah and me to step into the sitting room. She sits in one of the armchairs by the window, and I take the one across from her. We make small talk for a little while, but I’m due at the docks soon, and I need to get to the reason I came.

“I’m sorry for stopping by without calling first,” I say. “But I was hoping you might like to go out for dinner with me on Friday.” I clear my throat. “I know we’re already engaged, Alannah, but I’d like us to get to know each other before the wedding.”

Her breath catches, and colour rises into her cheeks, making the freckles across her nose and cheekbones stand out a little more. “I would really like that,” she blurts out, then presses both hands to her cheeks and laughs softly. “I mean, yes,” she says more calmly. “I’d like to get to know you too.”

I can’t help smiling at how flustered she looks. “Then I’ll pick you up at seven.”

She nibbles at her lower lip before nodding. “Seven.”

I stand to leave and lean down to kiss her cheek. When I pull back, she looks up at me with a small smile. “See you Friday, Ronin.”

At the door, Seamus stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “When Cormac mentioned the match between youtwo,” he says quietly, “I told him I trusted the man he was raising. I’m glad I was right. I believe you’ll make her happy.”

“Thank you, sir,” I say.