Lucky This Isn't Real: MacBride Brothers Series St. Patrick's Day Fake Fiance Romance by Jamie Knight (good books to read for beginners txt) 📗

MacBrides,” I continued. “We can be shite magnets, make no mistake, and yet we always seem to be able to land on our feet. Way to stick that landing, Gav.”

With a cheeky wink, I raised my glass to a flurry of clinks on crystal wine flutes with silver forks. It was one of many American traditions I’d never really understood. But, I figured, when in Rome…

Or, at least, When in L.A….

At the end, Gavin pulled me into a bear hug.

“Nice speech, bro.” He laughed. “A bit close to the bone but true enough. You made Maggie sound wonderful, so thanks for that.”

“Meant every word of it, about her and you,” I said, patting his back. “She’s a great woman, Gav. You’re a lucky man.”

He released me and stepped back.

“You meant that bit about me marrying up?”

“Yes, but not in a bad way. I know we got shite from the inverted snobs, but you know as well as I do that mum was the best part of our childhoods.”

“No argument there, baby brother.”

“That’s what I meant. Maggie is great, and your kids are going to be really lucky to have two amazing parents such as yourselves.”

“Aw, shut it,” he said playfully, giving me a light punch on the shoulder.

It was just Gavin’s way of dealing with emotions he didn’t know quite how to process verbally.

“You have the world at your feet now. You really have come far,” I said, undaunted, “and we are all really proud of you.”

“Even Da?”

“That’s a harder one, but I think so, in his own way.”

“How’s he doin’?”

“Pretty good. But I fear that given half the chance, he’d walk out of the sober facility and go to the pub or a back alley looking for heroin. I’ve got my fingers crossed there won’t be another relapse.”

“Hey, let’s not be so maudlin,” he insisted, as I shook my head in agreement. “It’s a happy day.”

“It sure is. And I’m glad to be here celebrating it with you.”

We went to the bar to freshen our drinks. It was there that the rest of the MacBride pack found us.

“Did you see those bridesmaids and the maid of honor?” Noel asked, casting a look over his shoulder. “Yowza!”

“I take it you don’t mean Ciara,” Gavin said with a laugh.

“No, of course not. She’s like our sister. I mean the serious-looking one and the li’l cutie with the big tits.”

My fingers curled into a fist.

I was seconds away from punching his nose.

“Nicole and Darcy,” Gavin said. “Forget it, bro. Nicole is taken, and Darcy is too good for the likes of you.”

“Like Ma was too good for Da?”

“Even more so,” Gavin said firmly, putting an end to it. “I don’t want any of you hooligans messing with Maggie’s friends. Or I’ll have to show you what’s what.”

He raised a menacing fist, but he had a smirk on his face.

We knew he would never hurt us, but we also knew better than to question him. Aside from our parents and Patrick, Gavin’s word was law.

“I wish Da was here to see this important family milestone,” Eoin said.

“With all this booze about? Dream on, little one,” Patrick said, always one to cut through the bullshit.

“I have to agree with you, Pat,” Gavin said, “I mean, I love the old bastard and have forgiven him, mostly anyway, but the risks were just too high, for Maggie’s sake as well as mine. I couldn’t risk having him screw up our special day. He sent us a card, which is all I wanted and honestly more than I expected.”

“They’re right, you know, Eoin,” I said, taking the more diplomatic approach. “It’s best not to risk the drama. Gavin and Maggie deserve a peaceful wedding day.”

“Aye, I just worry about Da’s ability to stay sober without one of us there,” Eoin protested. “I’ve been thinking maybe I should leave college to keep an eye on him.”

“It’s not your responsibility, Eoin,” I said firmly.

This was something all of us had had to learn the hard way, and hopefully now it was Eoin’s turn, as hard as the lesson was.

“He’s supposed to be the parent, not the other way around, aye?” I continued. “You have to live your life and not babysit him.”

“I guess,” he mumbled half-heartedly.

“Guess nothin’,” I said, ruffling his hair, even though he hated it.

It was neat and pristine thanks to the styling gel he had caked into it earlier this morning.

“Hey, careful,” Eoin objected, trying to smooth his hair back down.

“Let’s go get ye a drink, aye?” I suggested.

“Okay,” he agreed.

I had to sneak him drinks since he wasn’t of age. But in Ireland, he had been drinking for years now, so it was a ridiculous rule we tried not to follow here. And after a beer, he was back to his smiling self.

So, after getting my baby brother into better spirits, I went to find Darcy amongst the throng.

“Care to dance?” I asked when I found her.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said, throwing her arms around me.

“Okay, but you have to lead.”

I had never been very good at dancing, outside some of the more traditional Irish kinds. Our mother had tried to teach me, but I never picked it up as well as my brothers had.

As luck would have it, Darcy was amazing and had no issue leading me through things, making me look pretty good out on the dance floor. The wonderful, free feeling was almost enough to make me forget about the bad news I’d gotten the night before.

“I have something to tell you,” I said, as we sat down for a breather.

“Okay,” Darcy said, sounding worried.

“That call I got last night. It was my business partner, letting