Shamrocks and Secrets (19 page)

“
No more condoms,
”
I whispered to him.

The look of confusion on his face was nearly comical. However, that lasted long enough for him to quickly bury himself to the hilt inside me. I had forgotten how much a condom restricted and confined and I wasn
’
t prepared for the sheer true-to-life size of Patrick. I almost felt like a virgin all over again.

As I crawled into my car on Monday morning, I winced as I felt the muscles in my thighs and nether regions protesting. It had definitely been a good weekend.

My sister would be dropping Abby off so she could go take care of some honeymoon preparations. I had embarrassed her to death last week when I asked Dillion if he preferred bare, triangle, or landing strip. He had looked at me confused while thought about my question. Finally, the light bulb went off in his head and he requested bare.

“
Auntie Christi, look at what my daddy gave me!
”

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn
’
t hear the door open. Abby was running full steam around my desk, her eyes were big and bright with joy. Once she was standing directly beside me, she showed me the beautiful shamrock necklace Dillion had given her.

“
Isn
’
t it pretty?
”
Her voice raised three octaves as she bounced in place. I couldn't describe the feeling I got when I heard Abby refer to Dillion as her daddy. But that was exactly what he was. That little girl had him so tightly wrapped around her whole hand, forget the little finger. She had taken total possession of his heart.
“
He says it
’
s for good luck.
”

I smiled as I kissed her pink cheek.
“
It
’
s very pretty, Baby.
”

“
And look what Uncle Patrick gave me.
”

This took me aback. Patrick had given her something and he hadn
’
t told me. However, there on her tiny wrist was a miniature diamond bracelet that matched mine and Shannon's.

“
Uncle Patrick said I was his perfect princess and that all princesses deserved to have diamonds.
”

Uncle Patrick would certainly be hearing from Auntie Christi later.

“
I think it
’
s even prettier than mine, Abby.
”

She only giggled as she danced around the room.

Shannon and Frankie walked into my office together, laughing and whispering about something. Shannon took one look at me and her eyes went wide.

“
Holy
…
S-H-I-T!
”
She pointed her index finger at me. With little ears around, Shannon and I had become very good at spelling out the bad words. It was comical when Abby would try it and just spout out random letters.

“
Frankie, that
’
s the face of a woman who
’
s been well f-u-c-k-e-d, and by a man who clearly knows how.
”

I was certain my face was crimson, but I just grinned.
“
I
’
m certain I have no idea what you
’
re talking about.
”

“
Oh, don
’
t play coy, Christi, if Dillion had given me a rock like yours, I
’
d still be riding him.
”

“
Why would you ride Daddy, Mommy?
”

Shannon had also become quick on the uptake,
“
Because he likes to play horsey with Mommy.
”

“
Oh,
”
her little brows wrinkled in the middle.
“
Is his horsey named Oh God, Mommy?
”

Poor Frankie was doing everything she could to keep from bursting out laughing. Shannon was quick to keep a straight face as she responded,
“
He has a couple of names for his horsey, Sunshine, but they
’
re a secret so let
’
s not tell Daddy we know about his pretend horsey, okay?
”

Abby shrugged her shoulders and went back to dancing around the room.

“
Good morning, Ladies!
”
Paige shouted as she walked into the room.

“
Good morning, Paige. How are you?
”
I smiled and rose to hug her.

“
I hear a certain man is smiling from ear to ear this morning.
”

“
He
’
s not the only one,
”
Shannon quipped with a smirk.

“
I
’
m sorry, you
’
ll have to excuse me, I have to go over the flower order for the wedding this weekend and I also have to meet with the Birches to finalize the cake selections for their wedding,
”
Frankie smiled as she turned to leave.

“
Al
l
right, Frankie. I
’
ll be out of the office for a little while so call me on my cell if you need me,
”
I instructed her.

“
No problem, Christi, I
’
ll be here.
”
Frankie replied as she exited the room, winking at Shannon as she left.

“
Auntie Christi, what are we going to do today?
”

“
Well, what do you want to do today?
”

“
Wait,
”
Paige interjected. I looked toward her quick-moving form as she made her way to Abby,
“
How about you and I go have our nails done so Auntie Christi can get some work done?
”

Thank God for Paige, Shannon's wedding was in six days and I still had several things to do.

Abby was so easily pleased as she ran around the room shouting,
“
Yeah!
”

Two hours later, I had finished my remaining tasks for Shannon's wedding. Paige had texted me that she, Abby, and Nora were headed to lunch and then doing some shopping.

I had half a mind to see if Patrick was busy.

With my phone in hand, I was almost ready to hit send when I heard it, a thump coming from the room behind my office. I listened closely to see if I had been imagining it, when I heard it twice more. I slowly made my way to the storage room to investigate.

The door was wide open and the overhead light was illuminating two figures against the wall. I was so shocked at what I was seeing that I stood cemented in my tracks. The blonde-haired woman was shoved against the wall as the darker-haired man kissed her passionately. His hands cupped her face as he consumed her mouth with his. My hand went to my mouth to prevent any sounds of surprise from alarming the couple.

“
Shuu, caithfidh tu
’
a behith ciucin.
”
(Shush, you have to be quiet.)

“
Oh,
”
The girl
’
s quivering voice responded.

“
Mo ghra
’
, fhois agat do mo challin cert?
”
(My love, you know you
’
re my girl, right?)

“
I think you just called me your girl, is that right?
”
The blonde was now looking into his eyes as he continued to cup her face.

“
Caith me
’
dul, ta
’
me
’
garde Ms. Christi. Ba mhaith liom tu
’
roinnr a
’
it speisialta.
”
(I have to go now, I
’
m guarding Ms. Christi. I want to take you somewhere special.)

“
I have no idea what you just said, but my answer is yes. It
’
ll always be yes.
”
I had to hide my gasp as the couple parted and for the first time, I was able to see who they were.

I watched as Frankie reached up and gently kissed Shamus on the lips again, their hands falling as she moved to exit the room. I quickly and quietly went back to my desk. Frankie came in a half second behind me, startled as she came into my office, surprised I was still here.

“
Oh, God,
”
her eyes were huge as she realized the possibility that I had overheard what had just happened.
“
I...I
…”

I could only smile at her. Shamus was a very handsome man. Even though he was no Patrick, he was easy on the eyes nonetheless.

“
Sit, Frankie, we need to chat.
”
Her face fell as she quietly took the chair that faced my desk, her fingers playing with an imaginary string on her skirt.
“
Frankie, would you mind telling me what that was all about?
”

She continued to stare at her lap as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe. She slowly took in a deep breath as she began to lift her eyes to mine.

“
Well, you see...
”
she crossed her legs and looked everywhere except at me. She was nervous, I fully expected it, but it was unwarranted.
“
Christi, he
’
s so wonderful. At first, he was just trying to teach me Gaelic.
”

I looked at her bewildered.
“
Why?
”

“
Why what?
”

“
Why was he teaching you Gaelic? He barely speaks English.
”

“
Because, I fell in love with him and I wanted to be able to tell him.
”
I smiled as she continued.
“
He
’
s always been nice to me, even when I was Harley. He never tried anything with me, like some of the other guys. He gave me a flower one night for no reason, just being sweet. He even rejected me when I tried to suck him off for doing it.
”

I remained silent as she continued.

“
I don
’
t know when it happened, but it did, I
’
ve been taking lessons from him for a while. He
’
s never pressured me for anything and he treats me like...
”

I watched as a single tear ran down her cheek.
“
Like what, Frankie?
”

“
Like a real lady,
”
her words were slightly above a whisper as tears continued to roll down her face. I smiled as her words lingered in the room, her sniffles the only noise that remained.

My voice was soft when I spoke again,
“
Isn
’
t that what you wanted, Frankie?
”
She nodded gently, her head still bowed.
“
Then what
’
s the problem? Why are you crying?
”

“
Because it
’
s probably going to get him in trouble with Mr. Malloy and me fired from my first real job.
”

“
Why, Frankie? Has Patrick ever said you couldn
’
t date his men?
”
She shook her head no.
“
Have I ever said you couldn
’
t date on your own personal time?
”
She, again, shook her head no.
“
Then I fail to see the problem, my Dear.
”

Her head snapped up in my direction.
“
Do you mean that, Christi? I
can
still see him?
”

I laughed as I nodded my head,
“
Of course, he
’
s a wonderful man. You have my blessing,
and
my encouragement.
”
Her smile now larger than life, her body vibrating.

“
I was so scared that this was all a huge dream and I was going to wake up and still be the disgusting whore I was before.
”

It was my turn to shed a tear as her words hit my heart.