how he felt. Trust his youngest brother to cut to the heart of the matter. He’d always been too perceptive for his own good. Even though his first instinct was to beg off or make a joke to deflect the whole conversation, Teague found himself telling the truth. It was something that had been happening more and more with Devlin as he got older. “I’m worried. There are bigger things at stake, but Callie is keeping something from me that might be dangerous.”
Devlin’s dark eyes studied him. “We all have our secrets.”
Did he know about Finch? As soon as the thought crossed Teague’s mind, he discarded it. There was no way anyone could know—especially Devlin. But the flicker of unease wouldn’t dissipate. “I want to keep her safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know where the threat is coming from.”
“If she’s not telling you, there’s a reason.”
“She doesn’t trust me.” He’d known that, at least in theory, but saying it aloud seemed to make it real. Callie didn’t trust him. He rubbed a hand over his mouth.
Devlin’s smile was a little bittersweet. “And what have you done to earn that trust?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? He cared about her, but did he trust her completely? Teague climbed out of the car and shut the door. He’d feel better if he knew what she was hiding, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to pry the information out of her. Damn it, he was fucking this up. He shook his head. “When did you get so smart?”
“When you have five older brothers and sisters, you learn fast on your feet.”
Teague laughed. “I won’t pry the information out of her. I promise.” It would mean that much more when she finally trusted him enough to tell him the truth. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still talk to Carrigan. With his mother in full wedding planning mode, it was only a matter of time before she dragged his sister to ambush Callie again.
“She seems nice.” Devlin snorted. “I know that’s kind of stupid to say, but it’s the truth.”
“She is nice.” And gorgeous and passionate and smart. Fuck, he really was head over heels for the woman. He didn’t know if it was a good sign or a bad one that he didn’t care that he’d gone and lost his mind where she was concerned. He opened the back door and led the way into the house. “Do you want to get drinks with us sometime and actually get a chance to have a conversation with her?”
“Yeah, I would. Though don’t say that too loudly in here or you’ll bring all three of our sisters down on your head, demanding the same thing.”
And, just like that, an idea spawned. He grinned. “Devlin, you’re brilliant.”
“You’re not the first to say that.” He gave Teague a playful push. “Now go hatch your plans. I have a paper due Monday that I need to work on.”
“Better get an A.” Another thought occurred to him. “Hey.”
Devlin turned. “Yeah?”
“You want to get a beer tomorrow?” He suspected he’d been neglecting his siblings recently, and he damn well knew it for sure when his brother’s face lit up.
“That’d be great. I’ll let Cillian and Aiden know.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Devlin not to, but the truth was he had to face Aiden eventually. And Cillian might drive him up the wall, but he was still family. “Good. We’ll go down to Jameson’s and have a few beers.” He waited for his brother to disappear through the doorway before he made his way up to the attic.
Carrigan looked up from a giant box she was digging through when he climbed up the last step. “You’re late.”
“I was talking with Devlin.”
Her entire expression softened at the mention of their youngest brother. “He’s really kicking ass at school.”
“Good.” Though they both knew he wouldn’t get a chance to use that web design major any more than Teague would use the master’s degree in business that he was working on in his spare time. “How are you doing?”
She raised her eyebrows. “I’m the same as I’ve ever been.” Which wasn’t a damn answer.
He crouched down to peer into the box holding her attention. It was filled with what looked like embroidered handkerchiefs. “What’s all this?”
“Mother Dearest has me on a wild-goose chase, looking for Grandma Donaghue’s second-favorite blue handkerchief to give to your fiancée for the wedding.”