Shamrocks and Secrets (23 page)

“
Oh, Makenna , I nearly forgot to introduce you to my new daughter. Makenna, Christi. Christi, Makenna .
”

I extended my hand out to her, and just as she brought her hand up, that was when it happened. It was the motion of her hand that caused my mind to flash back to that night in the parking lot. This was the over-processed, hooker wanna-be with Patrick that had flipped me off.

“
I
’
ve wanted to meet the person who
’
s taken our Patrick off the market.
”

Our Patrick? Bitch, please
…

The sound of Nora
’
s cell ringing stopped me from saying what I really wanted to.

“
Lass, I
’
m sorry, but this is Thomas and I have to take it.
”

She gracefully rose from her plastic chair and left the office.

“
You
’
re not at all what I expected,
”
Makenna
’
s facade dropped and the demeaning tone in her voice did nothing but piss me off.

“
Funny, you
’
re meeting all of my expectations,
”
I sneered back at her.

“
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
”
She threw back at me.

“
Don
’
t think for one minute that I don
’
t remember you,
”
I spoke as I leaned in her direction.

“
Whatever. I
’
ve never
…”

“
Gino
’
s parking lot, you got out of the car with Patrick and decided he was paying too much attention to me and decided to flip me off. Ring any bells?
”
I spat, giving her the bitch brow.

She could only glare back at me.

“
See, it wasn
’
t that you did that just to me, my four-year-old niece was in that car and she could have seen you
…”

“
Who gives a fuck about
your niece
?
You do realize he
’
s only marrying you because he and your father have a contract?
”

I didn
’
t believe her for a second. Makenna was no better than Sophia. They would say whatever they had to in order to hurt people.

“
Well, that and the fact I can fuck his brains out.
”

I could tell by the look on her face that I had hit a nerve. She and Patrick had obviously never been together, but that clearly wasn
’
t by her choice.

“
You wouldn
’
t know anything about that, fucking him I mean.
”

She didn
’
t get the opportunity to respond as Nora came back into the room. She wasn
’
t alone, she had Thomas and Patrick on each side of her.

I rose from my seat as I crossed the room to greet Thomas. With a quick hello and a kiss to the cheek, I turned my attention to Patrick as he pulled me into his arms.

“
Chaill me` dathuil tu`.
”
(I missed you, handsome)

“
Chaill me` dathhil tu` croi fresinin milis.
”
(I missed you, too, sweetheart)

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Makenna had not one clue what was just said. She may have had an Irish name, but she didn
’
t speak a word of Gaelic.

“
Oh, Thomas, remember when we were like that?
”

“
What are you talking about, my love? We
’
re still like that. I love you very much, my Nora.
”

As I peeked at Thomas and Nora
staring
at each other, I questioned if Patrick looked at me like that. Directing my attention up to his beautiful face, I had my answer
…
oh, hell yes.

“
I was just discussing with Christi the plans for your upcoming wedding, Patrick,
”
Makenna purred, batting her lashes. Seriously?

“
Oh, and what did you decide?
”
Nora questioned, her face still glowing.

“
Yes, Makenna, what did we decide?
”

I had already made up my mind about her planning my wedding. The second I knew it was the same trashy woman from the parking lot, I knew.

“
Well
…”
she muttered uncomfortably,
“
She has, um
…”
Keep digging.
“
I thought
…”

Patrick
’
s arms were still wrapped around my waist and he was softly moving his thumbs in a circular motion on my hips. I couldn
’
t take her stupidity anymore. She had no idea how to handle a situation like this. She could spew venom, but that was about it.

“
Makenna, allow me,
”
I said interrupting her rambling.

The look on her face was of relief, but that was about to change.

“
You see, Nora, Makenna here has somewhat of a history with
my
Patrick,
”
I said removing myself from his very talented fingers and then encouraging him to sit in my chair.
“
She showed her true colors one night when they were out together.
”

I looked to Patrick
’
s face, he was confused.

“
I had been eating dinner with my father and my niece when I saw Makenna, standing in what would be described as
‘
prostitute
’
attire.
”
I looked directly at Nora as I continued,
“
Makenna here, didn
’
t know me from Adam, and when she decided that Patrick was looking at me too long, she flipped me off. Thankfully, my niece didn
’
t see the gesture.
”

The look on Nora
’
s face was one of concern.

“
Now, I have pretty tough skin when it comes to those things, I simply thought she wanted me to know her IQ.
”

Thomas let out a snort of laughter, Nora shooting him a look, leaning into his arm, a smile beginning to form.

“
However, as a professional, I would
’
ve never acted toward any of my clients as she has toward me while you, Nora, were out of the room just now.
”

Nora looked to Makenna and then to Patrick.

“
Patrick, Makenna simply cannot believe you
’
re marrying someone like me. And informed me that you are only doing it out of a contractual obligation between our fathers.
”

Before Nora or Patrick could question, I dealt my final blow.

“
I realize that Makenna is a friend of the family, but if you want me to marry you, Patrick, it
’
ll have to be planned by someone who doesn
’
t want to climb up your dick, cutting my throat on the way.
”

You could have heard a pin drop in that room.

“
But
…
we had a deal,
”
Makenna
’
s voice now sounded desperate.

I turned back to face her,
“
What deal?
”
I demanded. No one spoke, as Makenna looked desperately at Patrick.
“
I said, what deal?
”
M
y voice a little louder.

“
Makenna owes the family quite a bit of money and this was how we arranged for her to pay it back,
”
Thomas finally answered.

It had nothing to do with me and I could've care less who she owed money to. She was not getting anywhere near my wedding. I pulled my phone from my purse and dialed Charlotte
’
s number.

It rang three times before she answered.
“
Sick of Makenna already?
”
She chuckled into the phone.

“
Cut the shit, Charlotte, I need a name.
”

“
A
…
al
l right,
”
she responded startled.

“
I want someone who
’
s new to the business, who
’
ll be more interested in the planning of my wedding than bedding my husband,
”
I looked directly into Makenna
’
s ashen face.
“
Oh, yes, and I need her to be Irish. The wedding will be mostly in Gaelic and I don
’
t want her confused.
”

“
Wow, I
’
m having a proud moment here. You
’
re cutting her where it matters. Excuse me, I
’
m feeling verklempt.
”

I ignored Charlotte
’
s sarcasm; I was mad and I wanted to stay that way.

“
Maggie Callahan. She
’
s been trying to get her business rolling, but she
’
s still wet behind the ears.
”

I looked at Nora as I responded,
“
It's a good thing I
’
m registering for towels then.
”

Charlotte gave me the number and I made a point of calling while I was still sitting in Makenna
’
s office. I wanted Makenna to know she had messed with the wrong woman when she pulled her little stunt.

Maggie was available immediately and lucky for me, so was Patrick. I said a quick goodbye complete with a
‘
go to hell
’
smirk to Makenna, and out the door we went.

Maggie
’
s shop was only a few blocks from Saint Josephine's church where Paige and Caleb, as well as Patrick and I, would be married.

I knew Maggie
’
s was the place we needed to be when we pulled up to the shop. There was nothing cold or sterile about it, it was night-and-day different from Makenna
’
s.

Maggie was a young, beautiful woman; I would have guessed her to be in her late twenties. She was a little taller than I was, with beautiful red waves of hair falling around a pale face that was sprinkled with freckles. Her bright green eyes twinkled excitedly. She was the poster child for all things Irish.

She invited us into her shop that was so welcoming. Her furnishings were all soft and neutral. The music that played quietly in the background was pleasant and not too disturbing. But the best thing was the wonderful smell of freshly baked Irish scones. Walking into her shop reminded me of visiting my grandmother when I was a little girl.

“
Please, have a seat, I have the tea on. You can
’
t have a good conversation without a proper cup of tea and a good scone.
”

I looked to Nora, who had already fallen in love with Maggie.

I let Nora take the lead and do the introductions.

“
Ah, Lass, so I
’
m betting that you
’
ll be using the Malloy colors, yes?
”
Maggie
’
s thick Irish accent questioned.

“
Yes, Ma
’
am,
”
I responded.

“
Ah, fine, fine.
”
She nodded her head in agreement.

“
And will you be using the Gaelic?
”

“
Yes, Ma
’
am, I want it to be a traditional Irish wedding, down to the Jameson whiskey at the bar.
”

As we continued to sip our tea and get a feel for the type of wedding we would have, the better I felt about having Maggie work for us.