Amusement quirked her lips. “Free with your endearments, are you?”
“I’m Irish,” he said by way of explanation.
“What about that thing you keep calling Kennedy?” Was there a touch of prospective jealousy beneath that casual tone or did he just want there to be?
“Deifiúr beag means little sister, as she’s been mine from the day we’ve met.”
Her brows winged up. “Really? All these years and you two never…”
Flynn smiled. “No. I might have thought about it for about five minutes at the very beginning, but it was obvious her heart belonged to someone else. Now I know who.”
They both looked across the dance floor to where Kennedy and Xander swayed, eyes only for each other.
Pru sighed, and he didn’t miss the edge of sadness to her expression.
“Here now, what have I said to make you sad?” Please don’t say you’ve been carrying a torch for Xander yourself all these years. He didn’t know why that mattered so much, but it did.
“I just wish our mother was here to see them together like this. It was one of her greatest wishes that Kennedy would find her way home and back to him.”
Flynn felt her tremble, saw her throat working against s
ome strong emotion, and recognized the brittle armor she wore for everyone around her. He stepped back, pulling her with him. “Come on.”
Pru blinked. “What?”
“Let’s get a little air.” He didn’t wait for her assent before taking her hand and weaving through the patrons, to the door that led to the designated outdoor smoking area. No one was there, and he was grateful. She needed a few moments away from everyone who knew her. “There. Just breathe for a bit.”
In the dim glow of the patio lights, tears glimmered in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m a little emotional.”
Before she could do it herself, he gently wiped away the first one to escape. “We don’t shy from emotion where I come from. If you need to cry, cry. I’ll not think any less of you for it.”
“I’ll ruin my makeup.”
“All right then. All joking and flirtation aside, maybe just take a minute to lean instead.” He opened his arms.
Pru frowned. “You don’t even know me.”
“Consider me a shoulder by proxy. I’ve been one often enough for Kennedy over the years.”
“You were there when I called her about Mom.”
“I was.” He’d held his friend, while her world shattered into a million pieces. “I don’t know what it was like for you in the days and weeks after Joan’s death, but I get the feeling you’ve been too busy being the shoulder for everyone else to take some support yourself.”
She hesitated, as if not at all certain what to make of him.
“No judgment. No strings. Sometimes you just need to be held.”
As another tear slid down her cheek, Pru stepped into him. Flynn wrapped her tight. She laid her head against his chest and released a bone-weary sigh. He said nothing as her body relaxed by degrees against his, just slid one hand beneath her hair and gently massaged her nape.
“I thought I was all cried out. But, God, I miss her so much right now, I can barely breathe.”
“You and your sisters would have imagined her at all your weddings and births and other milestones. It’s natural to feel the ache that she’s not here in body to share in the joy.”
“I need to get a handle on this, at least until after the wedding. I won’t let anything spoil Kennedy’s day.”
“Letting yourself be human won’t spoil anything.”
“I don’t get to be human. I’m the glue. The mediator. Jesus, I’m about to be the actual mom—which is scary as hell. And I wouldn’t not do that. I love that child. But sometimes it’s all just…”