“Sorry to disappoint you, Fal, but I don’t think you’ll be calling me sister-in-law anytime soon. If you want, you could help me pick out Sean’s next date,” I said, changing the subject.

  “You know who I’d choose as his date.” She smiled, pointing a finger at me.

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, she declined. On to the next.”

  Fallon picked at her food, but more along the lines of nibbling her bread, which wasn’t like her. She usually inhaled whatever we had in front of us.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “I just thought maybe something was going on between the two of you.”

  “It’s not, so you can actually eat now instead of worrying,” I snapped a little too harshly since she wrinkled her nose.

  “I’m not as hungry as I thought. Still haven’t been feeling one-hundred percent. Irish allergies or something,” she muttered.

  “Still sick? Maybe you should go to the doctor,” I said, finally dropping the harsh tone. Dammit, I’d been a jerk. This was what stupid boys did to me. I should have been focusing on her feelings, not my little crush on her brother-in-law.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. We are always fine, you and me.”

  I sighed, guilt twinging my gut. “Yeah, we always say we’re fine, at least.”

  She looked up from her food, her eyes serious. “But we’ve still turned out okay, right? Might not be where we thought we’d be in life, but we’re somewhere. If we want to keep succeeding, we keep going for it.”

  “I feel like you’re trying to give me a hint at something,” I said, and there went the hair raising again at the back of my neck, as if it were a sign that I was about to take a pretty heavy blow of words from my best friend.

  She shook her head. “Just saying, I know there’s the marriage clause and all, but if you do want something with Sean, it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

  “Not a chance,” I muttered, taking a big bite of my sandwich, hoping to end the conversation.

  This had to just be a one-time thing.

  If I told Fallon that I had feelings, she would push me forward to pursue him, and I couldn’t do that. Not when the family needed a wife for Sean so they could have the company and I needed this job to help my sister out.

  I couldn’t mess that up for any of them.

  No matter how much it hurt to think about letting Sean go forever.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sean

  “So, when are you going to introduce us to the girl you’ve been having all of these video calls with?” My teammate Noah asked, wiggling his eyebrows while we sat around the table for a post-game drink at the hotel bar.

  The boys didn’t know about the inheritance clause, the ticking clock that meant my rugby career would soon be over and I’d be behind a desk with a wife at my side.

  “Leah’s not some random girl. She’s my assistant. And you did meet her. Remember that night at the pub when O’Donnell was doing shots with the spiky-haired girl before Fallon dragged her away?” I asked, trying to unclench my jaw.

  “Seeing her at the pub is different than meeting her,” he added.

  “Ah, I hate to say it, but Noah’s right. If you’re saying her name, you are smitten with the girl, so she should obviously meet your best mates,” my teammate Callum added, and the other guys laughed in agreement.

  “Who the hell said you guys were my best mates?” I asked before taking a pull of my beer and trying to unclench my fists.

  That garnered another jab in the arm from Noah. “Who else would put up with your shite but your teammates?”

  “Good question.” I played with the label on my beer bottle as if it were the most interesting thing in the world and hoped my teammates wouldn’t notice my reaction.

  I’d been in Rome for over a week now and done nothing but play rugby and drink.

  This was the life I’d chosen. All I ever wanted was to play the sport, and things were going great after my meeting with the All Blacks recruiter, even though I told him I wasn’t ready to leave Dublin.

  It was Leah’s words that kept ringing in my ears.

  At some point, you have to participate in the business end. I can’t do it alone.

  I did as much as I could when it didn’t interfere with games. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t enough. That someday I’d have to go all in with the business.

  Sooner rather than later, too. The upcoming marriage clause deadline gnawed at me constantly.

  “I think I’m going to call it a night, fellas,” I said, setting down my bottle and pulling out my wallet, throwing a few notes on the table.

  “Leaving your mates so you can go have a little private chat with your girl?” Noah asked, and the others laughed.

  “Better to have someone to talk to than just my hand.” I smirked and headed up the stairs to my room, ignoring the souring feeling in my stomach.

  Lying in bed, I stared up at the ceiling.

  Leah had emailed me every day to tell me what I was missing in the day to day operations of Murphy’s business. She was way better at this stuff than I ever could be.

  How the hell was I going to run a company, get married, and keep my rugby career?

  Something would have to give, and if I gave up on the marriage, then my brothers lost the company. If I gave up on the company altogether, they’d lose as well. I couldn’t think of a way to move forward, and it kept me constantly up at night.

  I wanted more than one moment with Leah.

  I wasn’t a forever type of guy, but I needed to be—for the company, and for someone I still had to find. I just wished I could get Leah out of my head long enough to do that.

  …

  My phone rang with a video message, long after I hit the snooze a few times on my alarm.

  Realization hit me as soon as I saw the message was from my brothers.

  Feck, Leah put this meeting in my calendar, and I ignored it. I really was a shite company president.

  I was surprised my brothers still included me.

  After a few pints one night, I even toyed with the idea of seeing if I could give Leah, who was so much better at business, my share of the company. But I couldn’t even do that without being married.

  Something I had a feeling this meeting was about, since as soon as I opened the video call, I saw my brothers weren’t in the office, but in Connor’s living room, with built-in bookcases filled with Fallon’s books as a background.

  “What’s up? Are you asking my opinion about adding a franchise in Aviva stadium? Because that would be a grand plan,” I said, smiling at the stern faces of my two brothers on the other side of the screen.

  “Yes, Leah brought up putting new locations near stadiums at our last meeting. The one we had after I just got back from my honeymoon, but you couldn’t make,” Jack said, nodding but not looking at the screen.

  Connor cleared his throat before speaking. “But we didn’t call about business business. We need to talk about you and Leah.”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, but I had to hide my reaction, so I rolled my eyes. “What about Leah and me? She’s my assistant and, if you must know, is even helping me to find a wife. She’s planned a few dates for me, though nothing’s coming of it. But she’s been grand in the business of Murphy’s.”

  My heart thudded hard in my chest.

  Connor drummed his fingers on the table, looking down at the wooden surface as he let out a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, Leah’s grand as an assistant. The problem is, it’s November. Five months from now will be a year since Da’s death, and according to the will, if we all aren’t married, none of us will get the company.”

  I shook my head as a lump caught in my throat, my mouth going dry as I tried to come up with the right words. We’d had this conversation a million times before, and it was always the same. They said to buckle down and get serious about finding a wife, and I’d tell them I was on it. Though, they’d never brought up a specific woman until today.

  “And we aren’t talking about you shagging Leah. If you are, well, you need to seriously think about the future of the company and more than just shagging,” Connor said.

  “I’m not shagging her,” I blurted quickly. Too quickly, by Jack’s smirk.

  “You two have been talking ever since she first came here this summer, and I think she’s a good choice to present to the board as a wife. If you could just have a ring on her finger by April, something to show the board and maybe even get an extension so long as the marriage is happening,” Jack said, his jaw tightening like he regretted even bringing it up.

  “Are you saying I should have a fake engagement? Is this a joke?” I asked, staring wide-eyed between the two stoic men.

  Connor groaned. “We aren’t saying that. None of this, especially our positions in the company, is a joke.”

  He leaned forward, his eyes finally locked on mine in a cold stare. “Look, I get that you have your rugby career, but you can’t play forever. And without this company, you wouldn’t have had your first endorsements. You wouldn’t have had the funds for all of your rugby equipment, or to go to the best schools in the country to play the sport. I’m not saying you have to give it up, but I’m telling you that without you married, this company could fall. Jack and I could lose everything.”

  I licked my lips, grasping for the right words. As I did, I stared at the shamrock tattoo on my hand. I’d tried to put Murphy’s fate in the back of my mind. I always figured everything would work itself out, but now that it was practically staring me in the face, I couldn’t ignore it.

  I was in between a rock and a hard place with New Zealand knocking at my door and the company my da built needing me.

  “Maybe I can talk to Leah about a proposition. Even if it’s just a show for the board. As unethical as it sounds,” I muttered.

  “There’s nothing wrong with it if you do care for the girl and this company,” Connor said.

  I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I believed him. Leah knew about our situation and my lack of good dates. Maybe she would agree to this. Though, with her, I didn’t know if anything could be fake. “Ah.”

  “There’s only, what, two and a half more weeks left in Rome, then you’ll be back? Good time to see about a proposal, or at least introducing her as your girlfriend. Pique some interest,” Jack said, standing and buttoning his jacket. He may have been smiling, but it was forced.

  “Sounds very scripted,” I muttered.

  He shrugged. “You do what you want, but the clock is ticking. And as much as we love these little chats, it’d be nice to meet in person to discuss business. Like asking the board for a Murphy’s Pub in Aviva stadium to celebrate your engagement.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Leah

  Whatever sickness or Irish allergies Fallon had, she’d now passed them on to me.

  All I wanted to do was lie in bed and watch Reality TV instead of stare at the computer.

  At least by lunchtime, my stomach was less rumbly, and by evening I was fine again. But I tried not to show any of that in my daily video calls with Sean, or when I interacted with the stuffy board members or other guys in the office—the guys who would take one look at my pinstripe pants or wiggle dress and give me a look of disgust. That was, until I opened my mouth at a meeting. Then some actually smiled, agreeing with my ideas.

  Just like Sean had. Every time we met in our calls, I’d tell him about my day in the office, and he’d give me that gorgeous smile, saying how “grand” I was.

  Damn, I needed to stop thinking about him and looking for his affirmation.

  Luckily, being sick didn’t give me much time to think. Just a lot of time sitting still and trying to count my breaths so I didn’t heave all over the floor.

  I needed a doctor.

  Growing up, we never had real insurance, so it was a lot of free clinics and waiting in long lines for my number to be called while other kids and homeless men coughed on me.

  But now I was in a different country and had no idea how a doctor’s visit would work.

  Fallon wasn’t answering her phone, and I didn’t know Grace well enough to call her. Same with Connor.

  HR would have probably been an option, but before I could think that far, I was knocking on Jack’s open door.

  He lifted his head slightly, his dark blue eyes barely flicking in my direction.

  “Is everything okay?”

  He finally turned away from his computer, his serious stare making me feel like I was a small child asking for a cookie.

  “Um, I didn’t know who to ask, but I haven’t been feeling well and was wondering what people do around here if they want to see a doctor. You know, if they have like an infection or something.”

  “An infection? Do you need me to call someone for you?”

  Before he could even reach the phone, I put my hands out and blurted, “Not that kind of infection.”

  “Oh…” He put his phone down.

  “Grace might be the one to talk to about that sort of ordeal… I can give her a call and have her come into the office. She’s looking at some real estate right now for her publishing company, but I’m sure she’d help.” His stare was everywhere but on me.

  I sighed. “Like a sinus infection. Not anything weird.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, my shoulders slumped in defeat. This was freaking embarrassing, but I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I had to work. “I just want to know if there’s a clinic where I can make an appointment during my lunch. Then we never have to speak of this again.”

  Jack shook his head, but his eyes went to the computer where he typed a few things. “There’s a General Practitioner, or GP, down James street or another in Temple Bar. I’ve just emailed you their info, and you should be able to call ahead to get an appointment.”

  I nodded, my heart thumping hard in my chest. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s no problem. Just get it taken care of.”

  With that, I left the office and pulled up the email on my phone. Clicking the link, I found the GPs’ offices and called for an appointment with the first one who would take me.

  …

  With a name like “Medical Centre,” I expected a big hospital with multiple stories and those sterile-looking white walls.

  Instead, I almost missed the small, two-story brick building next to a construction site.

  The tiny, white lobby didn’t look much different than the clinics I’d been to in the States, well except this one wasn’t full of crying kids with mothers trying to comfort them.

  I barely waited five minutes before a young woman called me back and handed me a plastic cup.

  This wasn’t my first pee test, yet usually I didn’t fear the results this much.

  “Why do I have to take this?” I asked.

  “Just to rule out any chance of pregnancy,” she said, too smiley.

  “Okay…” I said reluctantly, hoping it wouldn’t turn up some weird Irish STD that Sean gave me from a groupie. Dammit, I should have had him wear a condom. This was all his fault.

  Maybe.

  I didn’t want to think about what else might show up on that test. The thought sent every hair on my arms prickling into goose bumps.

  After handing my pee cup off to a woman in blue latex gloves, I followed another nurse to an exam room where she told me to sit on a small metal table.

  Once the door was closed, it was just me, alone in the white room.

  With my thoughts.

  I was on the pill, but I was never very strict about taking it. I’d always used backup protection with my ex, but the other night with Sean, it was just me and the pill and him.

  Oh. My. Shit.

  Realization dawned on me, sending a cold chill down my spine.

  I mentally calculated when my last period was.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I pulled out my phone to look at my calendar and I saw a stack of missed messages from Sean.

  Sean: Hey, lost our last match. Commiserated a little too hard at the pub last night, but ready to finally come home tomorrow.

  Sean: Shite. That made me sound like a dick, didn’t it? How are you feeling since you said you thought you might have a cold or allergies or something on our last call? Get in to see a GP?

  Sean: Feck. You probably don’t even know what a GP is. General Practitioner, I guess is what you call it. Should only be about 50 euros for the appointment. I’ll send money to your account to cover it.

  Sean: Did that make me sound like an arsehole? I suck at this shite.

  Sean: Are you even reading these?

  I hovered over the button to reply, but what would I even say?

  Hey, this might not be allergies or a sinus infection. This might be something else.

  Before I could think on it further, though, a middle-aged man with a cheery smile burst into the room, accompanied by a female nurse.

  “Well, if it isn’t the new mam,” he bellowed, putting his arms out to the side.

  I froze. The cold chill trickling down my spine now seeped slowly through my entire body.

  “So…it’s not a sinus infection. I’m…?” I asked, tentatively, my palms already sweating as I wiped them on my jeans. I couldn’t even speak the word swimming in my head.

  Pregnant.

  I was freaking pregnant.

  This could not be happening.

  His face fell, and he nodded. “Ah. Not the news you were hoping for, then.”

  He perched some glasses on his nose, opening the file in front of him.

  “No. I didn’t say that wasn’t the answer I wanted… I didn’t say anything,” I blurted without thinking what I was actually saying.

  Freaking hell. Pregnant?

  All of my health teachers and the nurse practitioners at the clinics back home told me that birth control wasn’t one-hundred percent.

  But I didn’t think I’d be one of the 0.01 percent.

  I couldn’t even put my swirling thoughts into words. When I finally focused on the old man, he gave me a tight-lipped smile, like he knew that I might have a breakdown at any moment.