“Your career over? The injuries are that bad?” I interrupted, my eyes widening as I surveyed the bandages covering his flesh.

  His words were a coarse whisper on my cheek. “I chose to leave the game, mo gra.”

  My words caught in my throat as I took a deep breath, tears pricking my eyes. “I guess that’ll be good for when you find a wife and take over the company.”

  “I don’t need to find a wife. She’s standing right here. The woman who is going to run this boutique for me. To have my child. To make sure I never, ever lash out in pain again.”

  He whirled me around, his hands wrapping around my waist as he pressed his forehead to mine, his whiskers tickling my chin. All the warmth that had left my body flooded back as I melted into him.

  “I want you, Leah. I have since the moment I met you, and I was an eejit to mess that up. We can take this as slow as we need to, but at the end, I want you to be mine. We don’t need to think about the inheritance clause or anything else.”

  His hand slipped down to my stomach, splaying his fingers across the expanse. “All of us.”

  “We don’t need to do this. Any of it,” I whispered, trying to keep my emotions at bay even though my lip quivered as I spoke.

  “I know we don’t. I want to. I love you, Leah.”

  I gasped. The first time hearing those words from his lips had warm tears springing from my eyes. I couldn’t hold back my feelings anymore. “I love you, too. But—that’s not always enough.”

  I didn’t mean to let the L word slip out, but I felt them through every part of me.

  “Dreams change, I know that now. I always thought it would be rugby, then the pub. But then I met you and that damn little sassy smirk that knocked me on my arse the first time I saw you.”

  The sentiment made me smile and I tried to scold myself. I couldn’t just give in that easily, though I wanted to. My hormones were saying one thing, but my mind was thinking another. There was still so much we had to work on.

  He took my hands in his. “My dreams changed because now they all involve you. I want you to be the one to make decisions with me in our careers. Partners. Equals. I have a lot to learn, but please be patient with me. Let’s make this work.”

  There was a long pause with the air thick between us.

  “Stay with me, mo gra,” he whispered.

  “Do you really think we can make this work? Us? A baby? A business?” My heart pounded as every negative thought ran through me, but also every dream I’d ever had, now bursting onto the surface.

  “Well, if we fight, we’ll just get ice cream and talk it out. But I also did arrange for some other help,” he said, taking my hands in his as he stepped back.

  The rest of the lights came on in the room, and slowly I looked behind Sean to where three women I would have recognized anywhere came out from behind a closed door.

  My eyes widened as my whole body shook with elation and surprise.

  “Ma? Abuela? Sophia? What…what?”

  Sean moved to my side as three of the most important women in my life stepped forward, each embracing me tightly before letting go and nodding to Sean.

  My tears of happiness poured down my face. They were here. The people I’d been running to for help had come for me.

  Ma was the first one to speak. “This man here called us.”

  “He wouldn’t stop calling,” Abuela said with a muffled laugh.

  “And he convinced us that we should come here to help. He said we’d have our own apartment above this building if we wanted and could stay as long as you needed us,” Ma said, her smile aimed at Sean.

  “But what about school…work…?” I looked between the three of them, my heart beating so fast, I swore it was going to leap out of my chest.

  “Finishing my senior year in a foreign country? Um, sign me up for that,” my sister said.

  “Sean tells us there’s a lot of work to be done for this new boutique, and he needs some employees to help start it up,” Ma said.

  “I…I don’t know what to say,” I finally spit out, not caring that tears were streaming down my face and my shoulders shook like a leaf.

  Abuela put her hands up. “Say you forgive this man and agree to marry him.”

  “Abuela,” Ma and my sister shouted in unison.

  She looked between the two of them. “What?”

  Sean smiled, stepping forward and pulling a familiar velvet box out of his pocket. “I’ve been holding on to this for a while, and I had semi-private little proposal planned, but I guess Abuela beat me to the punch.”

  Very slowly, he held on to my hands as he bent down to one knee, looking up at me with his face strained, but love shining through those eyes that I knew I wanted, but pretended I didn’t, from the moment I first saw him. Because I knew if I fell for this guy, he’d be it for me. That he’d either break my heart or keep it forever.

  “Leah, this hurts like hell bending down, but probably not as much as I hurt you. And I promise not to do that to you ever again. We may fight, especially after sleepless nights with a baby. But no matter what, I’m always going to love you. I’m always going to do everything I can to take care of you. So, will you be my forever and marry me?”

  And with those words, I said the only thing there was left to say.

  “Yes.”

  …

  A Few Months Later

  I didn’t want a big wedding, and after Fallon’s shit show, it kind of scared me to do the whole church thing.

  But I also didn’t want to wait any longer to marry Sean.

  Even if by spring I was as big as a house, and even though Ma and I had been ordering a lot of items for the store, nothing seemed right for my wedding day.

  I was sitting in the living room of Sean’s house, now our house, with a pint of ice cream on my swollen belly as Sean came in from therapy.

  “Need me to pick up some more flavors?” he asked, setting down a large garment bag on the counter.

  “What’s that?” I asked, pointing my spoon at the offending bag.

  “This?” he asked, holding it up.

  “Yes. That. If Ma convinced you to order those damn weird sparkly leotard things for the store, I’m gonna be pissed.”

  It took everything I had to stand up and waddle toward the kitchen.

  Sean’s shoulder was mostly healed, and he would normally be faster than me, but I got to the bag before him, unzipping it to reveal a white wiggle dress with cap sleeves. I had a similar dress in green that I loved.

  The dress I wore the night of Grace and Jack’s wedding.

  Where our lives were forever changed.

  Sean’s hands were on my shoulders as he placed a small kiss on my neck. “You don’t have to wear it, but I saw it at a shop near the doctor’s. I thought, you know, if you did still want to do this marriage thing.”

  We hadn’t talked much about when the wedding would be. We just both knew if he wanted the company, it had to be in April.

  Which was a week away.

  There was a ticking time bomb, and no time like the present to stop it.

  I grabbed the dress and raised an eyebrow. “Still have a suit you can wear?”

  He grinned. “Does this mean I need to call the solicitor and then we’ll head to the chapel?”

  “Hell, yeah it does.”

  …

  The dress fit like a glove.

  If we’d waited another week, it might not have.

  All signs pointed to us getting married. Today.

  We met Thomas O’Malley, the family lawyer, in a conference room near the registrar’s office, where he had to rush our marriage license for us, using whatever power and connections he had.

  “So, is everything grand? We just sign a few sheets of paper and go on our way?” Sean asked, his knees bouncing with excitement as he stared down the old man across the table.

  But there was something else in the air. Something didn’t feel right, and it chilled me to the bone.

  I had a knack for things going wrong in my life, but for this day, I just wanted everything to work out.

  Our families were waiting for us to all to head down to the chapel.

  What would they say if we couldn’t get married?

  What would happen to the company?

  Thomas pulled out a stack of papers from his briefcase, perching a pair of reading glasses on his nose. “The marriage license did go through, but that’s not why I wanted to meet with you here.”

  Every hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

  Shit.

  Of course, something would go wrong.

  It was like the universe was always trying to mess with us.

  But now what?

  Thomas cleared his throat. “The matter of the inheritance clause…”

  “I know all about that,” I said quickly, giving Sean a small smile.

  Okay, we could deal with this. We all knew about the clause. It wasn’t a secret anymore.

  I let out a small breath of relief.

  Thomas nodded. “Ah, well, there is what you would call another clause. One that cancels out the need to be married.”

  Sean raised his eyebrows and I leaned forward, trying to not let a shocked gasp escape my lips.

  “That can’t be possible. Jack had dozens of lawyers look over that document,” Sean said, flabbergasted.

  Thomas nodded, pushing a piece of paper in our direction. “Ah, and they probably all knew about the heir clause.”

  “Heir?” Sean asked, looking down at the legal document.

  “If there is a child sired by one of the Murphy brothers, the inheritance of the company would go to him or her, no marriage needed,” Thomas said, folding his hands on the table.

  All of this struggle and grief over Sean needing to get married for the company, and a little human growing inside of me answered all of their prayers.

  We never had to get married.

  I didn’t need to stay here in Ireland.

  My eyes widened as I stared at my shaking hands.

  Would he still want to go through with a wedding now?

  Sean must have sensed my tension because he took my hand, squeezing it. “It’s good to know that our little Clover will someday get the company, but that’s not stopping me from marrying you here today. What do you say, Leah? Will ya still have me?”

  I looked into his deep blue eyes, the ones that had maddened me for so long. I loved this man with every fiber of my being, and I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do more than marry him.

  Well, there was one other thing.

  And that’s what I did.

  Leaning in, I placed a light kiss on his lips before whispering, “Time to walk me down the aisle. For better or for worse.”

  He smiled. “Well, there is one more thing. It was going to be a wedding gift, but I believe Thomas filled out some other paperwork.”

  My heart beat so loudly in my chest, I swore it echoed throughout the room.

  “A prenup?”

  Sean laughed slightly, a breath of air blowing out of his nose as he shook his head. “No, mo gra, but you may want one after this.”

  He turned toward Thomas and motioned to him. “The other paperwork I asked you to file?”

  I raised an eyebrow, turning toward the old man who gave Sean a tight-lipped smile then pulled out another stack of papers, pushing them toward us.

  With shaking hands, I pulled the documents closer, my breath catching in my throat as I read through the first words.

  “Sean…this…this…says…”

  Words were escaping me as my entire body trembled.

  He put his arm around me, squeezing my shoulder. “Ah, it says that after our marriage, my share of Murphy’s Pub will go to the new president, Leah Harlowe-Murphy.”

  Tears pricked my eyes for what felt like the millionth time, but instead of sadness, these were filled with something else that had my shoulders shaking as I looked up to meet those beautiful blue gaze that held so much promise. “But…what about the boutique? You bought that, and this is your family’s company.”

  He smiled, the little gesture warming my heart. “Mo gra, we both know I’m a little bit better at the people part of the boutique, and your Mom and Abuela are great with handling the business end.”

  He took my hand, interlacing our fingers as he continued, “But you, you’ve always been better at the Murphy’s business than I was. Jack and Connor agreed, as much as I hate to admit they like you more. They said you would make a great addition as president. Of course, I’ll take a seat on the board now that Grace’s granddad is stepping down, but I trust you, and so do my brothers. You’ll always do what’s best for Murphy’s.”

  My gaze trailed from his to my stomach where the new little Murphy heir rested.

  I was a flame of joy and trepidation.

  Could I run a company?

  Be a mother?

  Yes.

  For the first time in my life, I felt like I could handle anything—as long as I had Sean and the rest of the Murphys by my side.

  “Let’s get married, Sean.”

  “Grand.”

  Epilogue

  Sean

  One Year Later

  “Leah, have you seen my tie? The green one with those little horseshoe things?” I yelled from the bedroom, buttoning the top of my shirt, something I was finally able to do after months of therapy for my shoulder.

  “You mean the jacquard?” Leah stood in the doorway, holding the green tie in her fingers.

  “You’re the best,” I said, walking to her and leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead, taking in the new smell that seemed to surround her, the scent of clean laundry and baby shampoo.

  She was still my superwoman, after all, finding my tie, dressed herself in a black dress that hugged her curves. It may have hid those beautiful tattoos on her neck and chest I loved so much, but it did show off the new growing bump. The one that made me smile and my heart warm every time I saw it.

  “You wouldn’t say that if you saw me trying to pry that out of Niall’s hands and not wake him from his nap. Wasn’t my finest moment,” she said, coming into the room and grabbing a pair of black heels. My favorites.

  I tied the tie in a Windsor knot before looking at my beautiful wife at the edge of the bed. The president of Murphy’s Pub. Mother to my children. All of this because of a little clause and a night we said would only happen once.

  But has obviously gone on, multiple times.

  “Maybe this new little clover will be a girl. I’ve heard they’re easier,” I said, sitting next to her and letting her lean her head on my shoulder.

  I breathed her in, my chest swelling as I put my arm around her waist.

  We’d need to wake Niall up and head to Connor’s soon, but for now, I just wanted to enjoy a moment with her.

  She brushed her lips against my neck, careful not to smear her lipstick on my collar, but still, warmth spread straight from her lips to every part of me.

  Maybe we did have a little time before Niall woke up.

  “Whatever we have, he or she will be fine. I know we can handle anything together,” Leah said, her hand on my knee.

  “We have gone through more shite together,” I said with a small laugh, but then shook my head, looking down to meet those beautiful brown eyes of hers. The ones that, even after all of this time, still gave me an electric zing.

  “But I don’t think I’d change a thing.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Not the marriage clause? Me hiring you. The one-night stand that led to…well…”

  She leaned in, her breath a warm whisper on my lips that had my entire body standing at attention. “Not a damn thing. It all led us to exactly where we’re supposed to be.”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket between us.

  I wanted to ignore it and get back to where we’d been headed, but once Leah pulled out her phone as well, I knew there was something more to this message. A group text appeared on the screen, including my wife, all of my brothers, and their wives.

  Jack: Won’t make it today. Meet us at the hospital instead.

  My eyes widened as a chill coursed through my body.

  Connor: Is everything okay?

  Jack: Yeah, but it looks like the celebration is going to be your first niece’s birthday, so bring cigars instead of whiskey.

  …

  I looked down at the little pink wrapped bundle in my arms.

  My first niece.

  Jack’s daughter.

  Two things I would have never thought possible. Maybe I would have been right if not for that blasted clause—the one I’d always cursed—that Da put in his will.

  But when I looked around the room at my wife and her best friend, both holding their little Murphy boys, I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face.

  “What’s that look for Sean?” Jack asked, clasping my shoulder.

  “Nothing. Just thinking.”

  Connor sidled up to me, shaking his head. “That’s dangerous.”

  “It usually is. Especially when it comes to a Murphy, though this time, it isn’t about business. It’s about all of us. How none of us would be here right now if it wasn’t for that marriage clause.”

  Jack nodded. “Ah. The kick in the arse we all needed to get our lives together, even though we didn’t think it at the time.”

  Connor looked over at our wives then down at our niece. “Where would we all be right now without them?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t even want to think about that. Nowhere as happy as we are now.”

  “Ah, I’d have to agree with that,” Jack said with a nod as he took his little girl back into his arms, smiling down at her like she was the most important thing in the room.

  Then I looked over at my own little family. My wife, who started out as my assistant, hired to help me find someone. But after what we swore was just one night together, it changed, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

  Or the rest of my family gathered in the small hospital room, for that matter.

  Sometimes our parents do crazy things, but now that I’ve become a father and husband, as have the rest of my brothers, I understand why Da put that clause in the will when he wrote it.

  It was as if he was looking down at all of us right now and smiling.