“You look tired,” she whispered.
“I miss you.” I dropped my head to her leg. “Fuck, little bird. I missed you so much.” I started at the feel of her fingers, light and soft, running along the base of my neck and up into my damp hair. Unable to stop myself, I crowded closer to her. Wrapped my arms around her legs and waist and held her tight. She didn’t pull back or push me away. For a moment, I basked in the feel of her. The rightness of being this close. I lifted my head, meeting her watery gaze.
“I want to tell you everything. I want to answer every question you have. Will you let me?” I swallowed. “Can I ask that of you, Beth?”
“Yes,” she replied.
Hope, a small bubble of anticipation, pushed at my chest. “I need to have a shower. If I go do that, will you be here when I come out?”
“Yes, I’m not leaving.”
I took her hands in mine and kissed the insides of her wrists. I felt the rapid pulse beat under the delicate skin, her veins faint blue lines of life that led to her heart. Her forgiving, beautiful heart.
I stood. “Promise me.”
“I’ll be right here.”
I walked backward from the room, never breaking our gaze.
Chapter Nineteen
Ronan
I rushed through my shower, pulling on a pair of sweats and a Henley, and hurried back to the living room. Beth wasn’t in the chair, and panicked, I spun on my heel, only to find her standing in the kitchen. I realized I could smell the delicious aroma of breakfast, and I shook my head as I headed toward her.
“You don’t have to cook.”
“Liam says you haven’t been eating. Your face is thin.” She frowned. “I don’t like it.”
I slid onto the seat at the island. “I haven’t been hungry,” I admitted.
“You’re going to eat now. You need to go grocery shopping too,” she admonished.
I captured her hand as she slid a plate my way. “You’ll eat with me?” She looked as if she’d lost weight as well. Her cheeks weren’t as full as they normally were. I preferred them rounded and soft under my touch.
She picked up another plate. “Yes. We’ll eat, then talk.”
She pulled herself up onto the stool beside me, muttering about giants and chairs. I felt the first honest laugh I’d had since that awful day escape my lips. “I’ll get a table and normal-sized chairs.”
She pursed her lips. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
It was a sobering reminder that I had a long way to go. Feeling grim, I looked down at my plate, my fleeting appetite gone once again.
She put her hand on my arm and waited until I met her eyes. “It’s fine, Ronan. Eat, please.”
I picked up my fork because she asked me to. I knew right then I would do anything she asked, because it was her. I cut into the omelet and chewed slowly. It was full of cheese and ham, with onions and peppers added to it. I regarded her curiously.
“I had this in my fridge?”
“No. When Liam said you hadn’t been eating, I asked him to stop at a store.”
“It’s delicious.”
“Then eat it before it gets cold.”
I tucked in, watching as she nibbled on toast and pushed a small piece of the omelet around on her plate. I wanted to pull her closer and feed her from my plate, make her eat, but I decided to hold back for now. I finished my breakfast, then took her plate and ate hers.
“I’ll be feeding you later,” I informed her, unable to keep quiet.
She only smiled. She looked exhausted, and I hated that. She already walked a thin line of permanent weariness, and the fact that I had pushed her over the edge didn’t sit well with me.
I drained my coffee and turned to her.
“My name is Ronan Adam Callaghan. I’m one-third of a set of triplets, and I have an older brother and sister.”
“Your poor mother,” she murmured.
I grinned. “That’s not the worst of it. Wait until you meet my dad. He’s the biggest handful.”
“So, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
I lifted her hand and kissed the knuckles, holding her palm to my chest. “Beth, I have so much to tell you, but I’m not sure where to start. I think maybe it might be easier for me if you asked me any questions you want.” I huffed out a long sigh. “Otherwise, I feel as if I’m just going to spit out facts. I have no idea how to do this. What you want.”
“I want to know you, Ronan. All of you. Why did you hide part of yourself?”
I played with her fingers, then lifted my head and met her gaze. “I liked how you looked at me. How you treated me. I was just Ronan. I wasn’t attached to a name or a family. I wasn’t part of a group. I was just me.”