His lip twitched. “You hadn’t turned around at that point so I just got a frontal image of you. I didn’t get a good look at my baby until we were in woodwork class and you were at the gluing station. I swear I instantly fell in love with you when I saw your ass.”

I snorted.

“You’re such a perv.” Bronagh said, but I could tell she was pleased with his original answer.

Dominic shrugged. “I’ve always made my fondness for your ass known, don’t act like it’s a sudden surprise.”

Ain’t that the truth.

“Okay, next question,” my sister said. “Alec, what won’t Meatloaf do for love?”

“Anal,” he replied. “It’s definitely anal.”

We all laughed.

“Are all these questions going to be about sex, or a sex act?” Alannah then questioned when she entered the room and leaned her arms on the back of the sofa beside Bronagh’s head. “Because sex is overrated.”

Every one of us snapped our attention to Alannah when she spoke. She rolled her eyes at us and said, “It is, just because you all have good sex lives doesn’t mean everyone else does.”

Meaning her?

Alec grinned. “I know someone who would be more than happy to rectify that problem for you, darling.”

He didn’t understand the term ‘subtle’.

“I’m going to get some water,” Damien said and shot up from his position on the sofa, and briskly walked into the kitchen.

Alannah focused on Alec. “I don’t think I need a someone when I have a somethin’.”

“Sex toys?” Keela questioned, with her eyebrows raised. “You’re filled with surprises.”

I was surprised too, because Alannah was very timid compared to the rest of us, the fact that she was openly taking part in a conversation about sex was shocking in itself.

“It’s 2016,” she replied to Keela. “Vibrators are perfectly acceptable life partners.”

Bronagh frowned. “We need to get you a boyfriend.”

I second that.

Alannah laughed. “Trust me, as long as I recharge me double A batteries, I’ll never need a man again.”

Dominic blinked. “Right now, as a man, I feel cheap. We’re more than sex machines, we have feelings too, you know?”

Alannah rolled her eyes. “Please, in school you fucked your way through the girls in our year for sport. Their hurt feelings never made you feel cheap, but I can guarantee your actions made them feel cheap.”

The conversation took a turn from playful to serious in a spilt second.

Dominic frowned. “I was a kid…”

“That doesn’t change anythin’.” Alannah angrily cut him off. “You were old enough to know what you were doin’ was hurtful, but you did it anyway. You broke hearts and didn’t care about it. You were so horrible.”

Shit. I thought. What the hell was up with Lana?

Dominic looked sullen as he said, “I’m not Damien, Alannah. I didn’t do those things to you.”

Alannah blinked her eyes then darted a scared look over her shoulder to make sure Damien wasn’t in earshot. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she didn’t see him. I looked over my shoulder too, and from my angle I saw he was leaning against the wall outside of the sitting room. There was no doubt from the expression on his face that he had heard everything she just said.

Fuck.

“I know,” Alannah then mumbled to Dominic, “it’s just hard for me to separate him from you sometimes. You have his face and when I see it, I hurt all over again.”

“Lana—”

“Look, I’m sorry,” she quickly stated. “I had a bad start to me day and I’m takin’ it out on all of you and that’s not fair.”

“What happened?” Ryder asked, and I heard it in his tone that he was concerned.

Alannah may not be dating any of the brothers, but she was part of our family and we all loved her.

“Some arsehole rear ended me and I’ve to fork out a fortune to get me car fixed. It’s the last thing I need. Shit has just been goin’ from bad to worse for me lately. I just can’t catch a break,” she said and shrugged her shoulders.

I felt like a pretty shitty friend because I had no clue she was having problems, and from the look on my sister’s face, she didn’t either.

“Talk to me,” she stood up and rounded the chair until she was in front of Alannah. “What’s wrong?”

Alannah looked at Bronagh then out of nowhere she burst into tears.

“Me da,” she cried. “He is havin’ an affair and me ma has no clue about it.”

“Oh, fuck,” Alec whispered when Bronagh folded her arms around Alannah.

Oh fuck was right.

“What am I goin’ to do, Bee?” she sobbed. “If I tell me ma it’s goin’ to break ‘er heart, and if I don’t, I’ll be the worst daughter for keepin’ it from ‘er.”

Bronagh hugged Alannah tightly.

“Are you sure he is havin’ an affair?” she quizzed. “Maybe you’re mistaken, babe.”

“I’m not,” Alannah sniffled. “I went into town yesterday evenin’ to get some ink cartridges for me printer, and as I was passin’ by a restaurant somethin’ told me to look through the window. I did, and there he was, sittin’ with a woman half his age at the table near the window where anyone could see them. I think she might be the same age as me! At first I didn’t even consider anythin’, then he reached out and took ‘er hand in his. One-second they were holdin’ hands, and the next he leaned over and they kissed!”

“Double fuck,” Alec whispered.

“I didn’t know what do,” she said, her lower lip wobbling. “I was scared he would see me so I just ran back to me car and drove back to me apartment. I rang me ma to see what she was doin’ and she said she was preparin’ dinner for me da, his favourite because he had been workin’ such long hours lately. She doesn’t know, Bronagh… how could he do this to ‘er? To our family? I hate ‘im.”

My heart broke for her, and for her unknowing mother.

“We’ll figure this out,” my sister said, consoling her friend.

I knew Bronagh was saying what she thought was necessary, but I could see from her face that she had no clue how she was going to help Alannah through this, but I knew she’d do everything possible to help her. We all would.

“About your car,” Aideen added, shifting the attention onto her. “I’ll ring me da and have ‘im hook your car up at his garage. Me brothers love you. Dante thinks you’re, and I quote ‘im, a goddess, so I’m sure he will work on it free of charge.”

Alannah pulled back from Bronagh’s hold and looked at Aideen.

“I’ll pay, I don’t want them to help me with no charge, but if it could be in instalments, that’d be perfect.”

Aideen said, “We’ll work it out, just don’t worry about it.”

Alannah nodded, but she wore her heart on her sleeve, and I could see worrying was all she would be doing. When I looked at her, I saw myself only a few months ago. She knew her whole life was about to change, and she wasn’t sure if she could handle it.

“Lana,” I said and stood up, feeling Ryder’s hand drop away from me. “Come with me, I want to talk to you.”

We left the room then, and went outside to the front garden where we could speak alone without being heard.

“Don’t bottle it up,” I said. “No good will come from holdin’ it inside. Trust me.”

Alannah’s shoulders slumped. “I know that’s why I told you lot.”

“I’m proud of you for that.”

She wiped her face with her hands. “I can’t tell me ma, this will kill ‘er.”

I didn’t want to tell her what to do so I just listened while she spoke.

“I think… I think I’m goin’ to talk to me da. I don’t know when, I’ll figure it out, but I need to talk to ‘im. Maybe… maybe I can make ‘im stop the affair… I mean, this could have been their first date together, right?”

Her mother said he had been working long hours recently, so I doubted it.

“Lana—”

“I can make ‘im stop,” she continued. “He will pick me and me ma over some little thing. I know he will… he just… he just made a bad decision. That’s all.”