Chapter 21
Swirling the chardonnay in her glass, Megan watched as the firelight reflected off the crystal. As much as she complained about going home, there was something so comfortable about sitting in the den next to the fireplace in the house where she’d grown up. Especially at Christmastime, when the entire place was decked out in garland and lighted trees.
A platter full of cookies appeared under her nose. She looked up and saw her mother smiling down at her.
“Megan, dear, please have a cookie. You’re too thin. Connor, don’t you think she looks thin?”
Gotta love mothers, right?
Megan leaned forward and picked up a wreath-shaped sugar cookie as she heard her father say, “Meggie looks perfect, as always. Leave her be.”
Her mother scanned her for a moment longer. The silent evaluation had been ongoing all day. All through the morning and afternoon, she’d felt her mother’s curious eyes on her. Megan had smiled and acted as if everything was perfectly fine. But she had the sneaky suspicion that her mother knew otherwise.
Megan was going to do it. She was going to tell her family about her divorce. Her plan was to wait until everyone was together so she only had to tell her story once. Dancing around the topic of Niall had been torture since she arrived in Ballagh on Thursday. She just had to keep it up for a little while longer until the rest of the family got there.
“Hello?” they heard from the foyer.
“Oh, they’re here!” Katherine exclaimed, shoving the plate of cookies into Connor’s lap and rushing to the front door.
Connor looked up at Megan and shrugged, shoving one of the snowman cookies in his mouth. Moments later, Quinn walked through the door, followed by Megan’s cousin, Ewan, whose arms were full of presents.
“Merry Christmas!” Quinn’s smile was contagious. She dropped a kiss on Connor’s cheek before crossing the room to Megan. “Hey, Megan. Great to see you!”
Megan quickly put her drink down and stood up to greet her cousin’s soon-to-be bride. Quinn gave her a tight hug and stepped back, beaming. “It’s been way too long. You look great!”
“You do too,” Megan replied honestly.
Quinn was a burst of sunshine on a cloudy day. With her long honey-brown hair and her bright blue eyes, she could light up any room just by being there. She was exactly what Ewan needed in his life. Megan couldn’t have handpicked any other couple more suited for each other.
“How was your Christmas?” Megan asked Quinn.
Quinn sighed. “My aunt behaved herself so that’s always a plus.”
“Maura and Ewan still aren’t getting along?”
Quinn shrugged. “They’re getting better.”
Quinn lived with her Aunt Maura, who’d yet to warm up to the idea of her niece dating Ewan. They were all pretty sure her animosity for Ewan stemmed from some deep-seated prejudices because Maura’s family was from the Republic of Ireland and the McKennas were from Northern Ireland.
Or it could be that Ewan had had a bit of a reputation and a penchant for fighting when he was younger. Whatever it was, Megan hoped for Ewan and Quinn’s sake that Maura Hughes would get over it before their nuptials in May.
Ewan stopped next to Quinn. He had deposited the presents under the tree for Katherine to organize.
“I still don’t understand how anyone couldn’t love this face,” Quinn said with puckered lips, her voice turning playful as she squeezed Ewan’s jaw. He just rolled his eyes at his fiancé’s jesting and gave Megan a hug.
“Merry Christmas, Megan.”
His deep, monotone voice sounded the same as it’d always been, but Megan knew that he’d changed. She couldn’t help but notice the love in his dark blue eyes every time he looked at Quinn. It was a look that had been absent much of their childhood.
“Merry Christmas,” she replied.
She was about to ask him how things were going at the pub he managed when the front door opened with a bang.
“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas,” came a booming voice from the foyer. It was followed closely by a feminine voice saying, “Do you have to be so loud? And why am I the one carrying all the goddamn presents?”
Sean had arrived with his childhood friend-turned-girlfriend, Darcy Owens.
Ignoring the profanity, Katherine actually clapped her hands as she sprang up from the Christmas tree. “Wonderful! Now we’re all here!”
She shoved the present in her hands into her husband’s already full lap before hurrying toward the foyer. Megan walked over and took the presents from her father before he dropped all the cookies and his beer.
“Holiday greetings, Mother!” Sean boomed.
Darcy was right. Her brother was incredibly loud.
Sean, looking as handsome as ever with his megawatt grin, walked into the den with his arms outstretched. In a quieter tone, he said, “Please tell me you all are halfway to getting shit-faced. This whole shindig would be so much more entertaining.”
“Sean McKenna! Language!” their mother yelled from the foyer.
Snickering, Sean bent down to hug their father. He snagged a candy cane cookie before walking over and clapping Ewan on the back. After giving Quinn a hug and a kiss on the cheek, he turned to Megan. “Hey there, little Meggie,” he garbled with his mouth full before enveloping her in a giant hug.
She smiled up at him and wiped a spot of red icing from the side of his face. “Hey, Sean. Great to see you.”
“So what have we missed? Did they sacrifice any animals yet? Please tell me I didn’t miss Pin the Tail on the Donkey?” Sean winked at her, talking loudly enough for his mother to hear him.
“Where you got your smart-aleck antics from, I’ll never know,” their mother replied, coming into the room. “And for the last time, we do not sacrifice animals.”
“If anything is going to be sacrificed, please let it be Sean,” Darcy pleaded, coming into the room. Decorative bags hung from her arms and she carried a pile of wrapped presents.
“Can we please not talk about sacrificing?” her brother said, finally offering Darcy some assistance. “It’s inhumane, and it’s Christmas, for Pete’s sake. What’s the matter with you, Darcy?”
The lovely, raven-haired woman ignored Sean as she dumped all the presents in a heap near the tree. Darcy came over to greet Megan. “Hey. Welcome home.”
When Megan’s mother had called to tell her that Sean and Darcy were dating, Megan was shocked. She’d always liked the fiery woman, and she knew that if anyone could put up with Sean’s shit, it would be Darcy. Thank God Sean had wised up and realized Darcy was the best thing that would ever happen to him.
“How’s your grandmother?” Connor asked Darcy.
“Doing great. She wishes everyone holiday greetings, and she sent over a Bundt cake.”
“Bundt,” Sean repeated and snickered. “Am I the only one who thinks the word Bundt sounds funny?”
“Yes,” Ewan replied with a sigh from the couch, where he had his arm around Quinn’s shoulders.
Megan returned to her seat, smiling to herself. As crazy as they all were, she had a great family.
Her mother always went out of her way to make everyone comfortable, even if she had an issue with boundaries. Her father wasn’t bothered by anything as long as he had a stout nearby. Ewan was quiet, serious, and completely in love. Sean would always be endearingly charming and a complete clown. And then there was Megan, the overachiever who did everything right. Or so everyone thought.
Her smile faded. It was getting close to her big reveal. Since she was sharing, she might as well tell them all her recent failures. She slept on a mattress on the floor of her apartment. She drove a car that was probably a day away from completely falling apart. She’d barely had enough money to buy a plane ticket home for the holidays. Oh, and there was a good chance she was allowing the man she was falling for to use her for sex.
As she looked down at her wine, an all-too-familiar pain burned through her chest. She’d exchanged a few texts with James since the night he’d shown up at her door, fucked her, and immediately left. One of those texts, which she’d received a day before she left for home, sounded almost apologetic. In it, he explained that he’d love to make plans with her but was swamped at the garage. Plans for sex, most likely, but she didn’t ask.
She didn’t like what had happened the last time they’d seen each other. All along she’d tried to tell herself that their relationship wasn’t serious. That it was just two adults having a good time and good sex. But something had changed and not in a good way. The sex had still been amazing, but afterwards she’d felt cold and…alone.
That was not what she’d signed up for. And she refused to allow herself to be used that way.
This morning, she’d pathetically caved and sent him a text wishing him a Merry Christmas. He’d promptly replied, wishing her the same. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but instead of making her feel connected to him, it’d just made him feel even more distant.
She wanted to know if he was thinking about her. She wanted to know he missed her. And she really wanted to know if she gave him a choice to date her exclusively or not see her at all, which would he pick?
Exclusivity wasn’t all she wanted from James. She wanted a relationship. She wanted to be able to share good news with him, whenever she got it. She wanted to hear about his days. She just wanted a little more of him…of his heart.
Was that something that he could give her?
Deciding to worry about that later, she turned to Quinn and Ewan. “How are the wedding plans going?”
“Great.” Quinn shrugged. “Got the venue, the caterer, the cake, the music, the dress, and the flowers. I think we’re pretty much set.”
“That’s great. Where are you going on your honeymoon?”
Quinn said “camping” at the same time that Ewan said “Barbados.”
The couple looked at each other and frowned. “I’m not going camping,” Ewan insisted.
“Don’t tell me you bought plane tickets already?” Quinn protested. “We said we’d talk about it first.”
“I didn’t buy plane tickets, but I reserved a suite at the resort.”
Quinn turned back to Megan and sighed. “I guess we’re going to Barbados for our honeymoon.”
“It could be worse,” Megan said, trying not to laugh at how dejected Quinn looked at being dragged to a beautiful Caribbean island.
“Shall we open presents before dinner?” Katherine asked.
The present opening commenced with everyone tearing into the brightly wrapped boxes and bags at once.
After everything was unwrapped, and everyone had a drink in their hands, Megan sat forward on her seat to make her announcement. It was now or never. She was just about to open her mouth when her brother hit his hand against his leg.
“Damn it!” Sean cursed. “I almost forgot!”
He pushed his tall frame up from where he sat on the floor and walked over to his coat. After digging around in his pocket, he pulled out a smallish rectangular box.
“Darcy, this is for you.”
He handed the poorly wrapped present to his girlfriend. She eyed the box suspiciously and raised an eyebrow at Sean.
“Should I be afraid to open this?” Darcy asked.
“Just open it,” he insisted, standing next to where she sat on an armchair.
Darcy carefully peeled back the wrapping paper. The box inside was white as far as Megan could see from where she sat. Darcy turned the box over to the front.
“Oh, Jesus,” she said, dropping the present like it was a bomb.
“What is it, dear?” Katherine asked.
“Sean!” Darcy yelled. After sending a scathing look his way, she covered her eyes.
Megan leaned forward and saw an image of a vibrator on the front of the box. She couldn’t stop the giggle that shot up her throat. Quinn must have noticed at the same time, because she sank down in the couch and tried to hide her smile.
“Darce, you have to open it,” Sean said, smiling from ear to ear.
“I’m not opening the box. I can’t believe you bought me a vibrator and made me unwrap it in front of your entire family!”
“A what?” Katherine asked.
Connor patted his wife’s hand. “Just leave it, dear.”
Sean bent down and lifted Darcy’s chin until she met his eyes. “Please, open the box.”
Something in his tone made Darcy freeze.
After picking the box back up, she opened it and immediately bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. Her trembling hands covered her mouth as she continued to stare down at whatever was in her lap.
Sean reached down and pulled out a black ring box. Darcy’s watery eyes watched him as he opened it and dropped to one knee beside her. A tiny sob broke free from her throat.
“Darcy Owens,” Sean began, his voice losing all its playfulness, “there is no way I deserve you, but I’m hoping you’ll say yes anyway. Will you do me the immense honor of being my wife?”
Her whole body shook as she cried. “Yes!” she shouted through broken sobs.
Darcy had secretly loved Sean since they were both ten years old, and Megan knew her life-long dream was coming true. Sean slid the diamond onto her shaking finger, and Darcy threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck.
Megan wiped a single tear from her cheek. Her mother was silently crying across the room as she clung to her husband’s hand. Quinn broke the silence by clapping loudly, and then everyone joined in.
Darcy pulled back from Sean and punched him in the shoulder. “I can’t believe you proposed to me with a vibrator box!” she cried, big, giant tears streaming down her face.
Sean just laughed and pulled her back for another hug. Katherine converged on the pair, followed by Quinn.
Her father pushed himself out of his chair. “We need more drinks!” As he headed to the kitchen, he clapped Sean on the shoulder.
Megan glanced over at Ewan, who sat on the opposite end of the couch. He shrugged, a beautiful smile pulling up one side of his mouth. They were probably thinking the same thing.
Sean, the uncatchable lady charmer, had finally been caught.
There was so much love and joy filling her family’s living room that it was nearly bursting. As wineglasses and beer mugs were refilled, Megan realized she’d just have to find another time to tell her family about her divorce.