damage and the ice had been broken the second she opened
her mouth and blurted, "What the hell is in the water here? You all are
freaking gorgeous!"
It was on that note that the rest of them had burst out
laughing and Gus started arguing about being the sexy one again.
Lucas may have been handsome, but that wasn't what made her
so envious of Aislinn Brannock. It was the way he looked at her, the way he
couldn't take his eyes off of her, and the way he fielded her brothers' teasing
remarks. Before long, Lucas and Ash had both stepped away for some privacy and
Emily watched as Gus and Conall set the table for dinner, all while griping
about their little sister getting married.
They obviously had some difficulty with it, but when Lucas
walked back into the kitchen with an intense glare and said, "You asshats
are going to be in charge of writing Thank You cards if you don't knock it the
fuck off," they shut their mouths. Ash came back into the kitchen a moment
later and Lucas smiled and pulled her into his arms with a brief kiss as if
nothing had even happened.
All the while, Emily sat at the island with an amused smile
and watched the love they all shared. The ease with which they interacted.
Family was important to them, just as it was to her.
Dinner had been entertaining and once the issue of coming up
with a back story for her and Conall was resolved, they had all settled into
reminiscing and informing her that Conall had a word limit for each day so not
to worry when he suddenly stopped talking to her. He hadn't denied it and
instead, kept his head down and focused on eating.
It was Ash who had come up with an idea of what they could
tell people when asked about their 'relationship'. She was Emily Moore from Los
Angeles and met Conall on a ski trip she took over the winter in Colorado. They
had been keeping a long distance friendship, the reason why no one had heard
about her, and when Conall had come back to California recently, they decided
to get together more seriously. Conall was going to transfer to Oakland and
Emily was moving here to be with him.
She didn't think they would have to go into too much detail,
but Gus had other ideas and wanted to make sure they stuck with their story.
"People are already asking about him."
"What people?" Conall had asked.
Gus cleared his throat and gave him a look, "People who
want to catch up ."
Ash had rolled her eyes and clarified for Emily. "That
means the sluts that he leaves behind after visiting Dad every so often. These
two have built up quite the collection."
She had laughed in response, but it was forced. Emily didn't
like the thought of Conall bringing women back to wherever they would be
staying. Her worry was erased, however, when Conall spoke.
"Doesn't matter anyway," he grumbled. "They
won't have a chance to see me while I'm here. I have a job to do. I'll make
sure Miller gets all the paperwork done by the time we leave here. It will all
be fine."
After that, the conversation had lightened and Emily
discovered that Liam Brannock was not only a respected father, but a highly
respected man in the community. The party for his retirement was going to be a
pretty big event and was supposed to be a surprise. Ash hadn't been too happy
when she was told he knew all about it but had shrugged it off when Lucas
pointed out that she would have more help because of it. Gus hadn't taken that
well since he was the one that was supposed to keep Liam busy until the party.
It was during dessert that Emily finally learned what
happened over the last few months that had resulted in Liam's mock funeral and
Ash's shoulder injury. The mood had changed dramatically when Lucas told her
about his ex-partner. He was still stinging from the betrayal, but Ash
reassured him that it all worked out and it wasn't worth their grief.
Ash was a lot stronger than Emily had taken her for in the
beginning. She was silly and genuine with a very acquiescent way about her, but
she had a fire in her
her mouth and blurted, "What the hell is in the water here? You all are
freaking gorgeous!"
It was on that note that the rest of them had burst out
laughing and Gus started arguing about being the sexy one again.
Lucas may have been handsome, but that wasn't what made her
so envious of Aislinn Brannock. It was the way he looked at her, the way he
couldn't take his eyes off of her, and the way he fielded her brothers' teasing
remarks. Before long, Lucas and Ash had both stepped away for some privacy and
Emily watched as Gus and Conall set the table for dinner, all while griping
about their little sister getting married.
They obviously had some difficulty with it, but when Lucas
walked back into the kitchen with an intense glare and said, "You asshats
are going to be in charge of writing Thank You cards if you don't knock it the
fuck off," they shut their mouths. Ash came back into the kitchen a moment
later and Lucas smiled and pulled her into his arms with a brief kiss as if
nothing had even happened.
All the while, Emily sat at the island with an amused smile
and watched the love they all shared. The ease with which they interacted.
Family was important to them, just as it was to her.
Dinner had been entertaining and once the issue of coming up
with a back story for her and Conall was resolved, they had all settled into
reminiscing and informing her that Conall had a word limit for each day so not
to worry when he suddenly stopped talking to her. He hadn't denied it and
instead, kept his head down and focused on eating.
It was Ash who had come up with an idea of what they could
tell people when asked about their 'relationship'. She was Emily Moore from Los
Angeles and met Conall on a ski trip she took over the winter in Colorado. They
had been keeping a long distance friendship, the reason why no one had heard
about her, and when Conall had come back to California recently, they decided
to get together more seriously. Conall was going to transfer to Oakland and
Emily was moving here to be with him.
She didn't think they would have to go into too much detail,
but Gus had other ideas and wanted to make sure they stuck with their story.
"People are already asking about him."
"What people?" Conall had asked.
Gus cleared his throat and gave him a look, "People who
want to catch up ."
Ash had rolled her eyes and clarified for Emily. "That
means the sluts that he leaves behind after visiting Dad every so often. These
two have built up quite the collection."
She had laughed in response, but it was forced. Emily didn't
like the thought of Conall bringing women back to wherever they would be
staying. Her worry was erased, however, when Conall spoke.
"Doesn't matter anyway," he grumbled. "They
won't have a chance to see me while I'm here. I have a job to do. I'll make
sure Miller gets all the paperwork done by the time we leave here. It will all
be fine."
After that, the conversation had lightened and Emily
discovered that Liam Brannock was not only a respected father, but a highly
respected man in the community. The party for his retirement was going to be a
pretty big event and was supposed to be a surprise. Ash hadn't been too happy
when she was told he knew all about it but had shrugged it off when Lucas
pointed out that she would have more help because of it. Gus hadn't taken that
well since he was the one that was supposed to keep Liam busy until the party.
It was during dessert that Emily finally learned what
happened over the last few months that had resulted in Liam's mock funeral and
Ash's shoulder injury. The mood had changed dramatically when Lucas told her
about his ex-partner. He was still stinging from the betrayal, but Ash
reassured him that it all worked out and it wasn't worth their grief.
Ash was a lot stronger than Emily had taken her for in the
beginning. She was silly and genuine with a very acquiescent way about her, but
she had a fire in her
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