Perfect Sinner by Maggie Cole

21

Gemma

The cold compressNolan holds to my cheek makes me wince. My mother has never hit me before. I've never seen that crazed look in her eye or imagined she could have any violent tendencies in her. Her hand left a mark on my cheek. A faint bruise has already appeared, and my face is swelling.

I thought I couldn't feel any more shame, but I was wrong. My mother hurting me creates an additional layer. It weaves around the lies I told Nolan and everything Orla's put me through.

Nolan's green eyes study me. Excruciating silence stands between us. He knows I lied to him. I see it in his expression. Every second that passes without him calling me out about it only makes my anxiety deepen.

My voice shakes. "Are you sending me to Liam's?"

His chest slowly fills with air. In a low voice, he asks, "Why did you lie to me, Gemma?"

Tears blur my vision. I turn toward the wall and attempt to contain them. My lips, hands, and insides quiver so hard, I fail at my attempt to stop my emotions. I wipe my cheek without the ice on it. "I didn't think it could be true. I-I know you already hate my mom. I thought if I could somehow prove it wasn't true, then maybe Orla would stop coming after us."

"Before today, I didn't hate your mom. After today, I'm not a fan. I don't know what to think, but I'm trying not to loathe her since she's your mom," he admits.

I close my eyes, wishing I could stop my tears, afraid Nolan's going to send me to Liam's.

He turns my chin and forces me to look at him. "You should have told me. I could have helped you."

I choke out, "It's my mom."

His arms circle me, and he pulls me into his chest. I lose it, not able to keep it together. He strokes my hair and mumbles against my head, "Shh."

"Please don't send me to Liam's," I cry out.

Nolan fists my hair and tugs it. "I'm not sending you to Liam's."

I sniffle. "No?"

"No. But don't lie to me again, Gemma."

Relief consumes me. I nod, unable to speak.

He kisses my forehead and slides me onto his lap so my unharmed cheek is against his warm flesh. He holds the ice pack on the hurt one, and I grimace.

"Sorry, princess. You'll thank me later."

I curl into him more, trying to ignore the sting of the cold on my sensitive skin. I mutter, "I like your slaps better."

He strokes my hair and kisses my head. "I wish we could have one normal day."

"Me, too," I agree, and the foil plate Molly dropped off catches my eye. I sit up and attempt to keep my voice even, but the stress I feel about her doesn't help. "What was Molly doing here?"

Nolan shifts and stares at the ceiling.

I quietly ask, "You aren't going to tell me?"

He pins his green gaze on me. In a firm voice, he answers, "She brought over thank-you cookies and to invite me to the surprise party her mom is throwing for her brother, Colin. I was going to talk to her, but your sister walked in and accused me of screwing her and you."

I blurt out, "I didn't tell Hailee about us. She asked, and I blew her off."

He clenches his jaw. "Did you miss the part where I said she stated I was sleeping with Molly?"

"I'm sorry."

He studies me then says, "I told her you're living here. Hopefully, she'll realize it's not ever going to happen between us. I still plan on talking to her though. And Colin is back Saturday. I'm going to discuss this with him, too."

I nod. "All right. I'm sorry about Hailee."

His face hardens. "Do you think you could tell her to back off? I'm getting tired of her coming at me every time we're together."

"Yeah. I'll talk to her," I promise.

He runs his hand through my hair and holds my face in front of his. "If I take you to the surprise party, can you be nice to Molly? Even if she does something to get under your skin?"

My stomach flips. "Do you prefer I stay home?"

"No. I want you to come with me and meet Colin. But I don't want any issues in his mom's house."

I understand why Nolan is concerned, but it still hurts. I assure him, "I know how to behave."

He sighs. "Gemma, I didn't mean it like that."

I force a smile. "I'm fine. Are you working all day?"

Nolan's phone vibrates. "Hold on." He glances at the screen. "Killian and Declan are on their way over. I have to discuss some things with them in private."

"About my mother?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "No. It's something to do with Sean's wife's family."

The hairs on my arms rise. "Are they okay?"

He smiles, but it looks as forced as mine. "Yeah. Hey, do you want to go to the gym and have a boxing lesson with my uncle Patrick today?"

I cringe. "Like a legitimate boxing session where someone is hitting me in the face?"

He laughs. "No. You're too pretty to risk your face getting destroyed. Plus, I think you got hit enough today. But he'll put us through a hard-core workout if you want."

"That sounds fun. I'm in. Can you take me to Ella and Ciara's apartment later tonight? I need to tell my sisters about my mom."

"Sure." He picks up his phone and sends a text message.

I put my hand behind his neck. "I have a question."

His thumb strokes my spine. "What's that?"

"Why did you tell me the first night we met you aren't a boxer?"

His face darkens. "I used to fight like Killian. All of us did. When I was thirty-two, I went down pretty hard. I got a concussion, and it screwed me up for a while. After that, I decided it was better to call it quits. So now I train, but I don't engage in combat."

"Unless you're kicking thugs' asses at the pub?" I tease.

He grins. "Yeah."

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes."

I lean in and kiss him then freeze.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "I should tell you something else I just found out."

"What is it?"

My stomach quivers. "My father is being released from prison in two weeks."

Nolan's eyes turn to slits. "He's not coming near you. I mean it. He'll have to come through me first."

"He umm..." I stare at the ceiling and gather my thoughts. "When Orla made me visit him in prison, he said when he got out, my time was up. The man he said he's giving me to—"

"Giving you to? You aren't an object for him to hand over," Nolan growls.

I bite on my lip.

Nolan closes his eyes briefly. "Sorry. Please finish."

Fear fills me. The memory of the video Orla sent with the man telling me what he wants to do to me sends a chill down my spine. "My father said he's expecting me when he gets out."

Nolan confidently states, "Listen to me. As soon as your father is paroled, we'll hunt him down. My cousins are already tracking the man from the video."

I hold my breath. "You saw the video?"

He tilts his head. "I saw everything."

I look away. More shame fills me. I'm not sure what I thought Nolan saw the night he found me with the pills. Something about him seeing everything embarrasses me.

He turns my chin back. "Why does this upset you?"

"It doesn't. It I-I don't know. I just..." I stare at his chest as more tears fill my eyes. "I hate everything about that night and what I almost did. And everything Orla sent me..." My stomach flips.

He makes me look at him again then sternly says, "None of that is your fault."

There's a knock on the door then Killian and Declan walk in.

Nolan sighs. "I have to deal with this."

"It's okay. Want me to make lunch?" I rise.

"What are you making, Gemma?" Killian asks.

"She didn't ask you," Nolan reprimands.

I laugh. "Not sure. Are you picky?"

Declan steps in front of me. He sternly asks, "Gemma, what happened to your face?"

I glance at Nolan then say, "Nothing. I'm fine."

Killian peers closer. "Yep. You got a shiner."

I turn to him. "Does your mouth ever get you in trouble?"

He opens it to speak, and Nolan cuts him off. "Let's go into the office."

Declan and Killian scan my cheek again but finally leave. Nolan gives me a quick kiss on the forehead and a pat on the ass and follows.

I go into the kitchen and make a salad and sandwiches. Nolan and his brothers come into the kitchen as I'm finishing.

I put the platter of sandwiches on the table and chirp, "Just in time."

Declan and Killian sit across from Nolan and me. After we get salad and sandwiches on our plates, Declan says, "Gemma, Nolan said you're a kick-ass marketing guru."

I shrug. "I'm in marketing, yes."

"Stop being humble. She'll blow any graphic designer out of the water and can think of awesome slogans, too," Nolan brags.

"You should work on some things for the new company," Declan says.

"You should create a new hashtag for us to use when we launch. Something cool and easy to remember but trendy," Killian says.

"Maybe hashtag Killian jerks off to his selfies," Declan says with a straight face.

Killian grunts. "Hashtag Declan has to pay for it."

I laugh.

Nolan grins and puts his arm around my back. "What do you think? Want to design some stuff for our new tech company?"

I smirk. "Are you asking me because I'm unemployed, no one is responding to my job applications, and I'm bored most of the day?"

Amusement fills Nolan's face. His hand reaches under the table and he slides it onto my thigh. "Are you bored most of the day?"

My cheeks turn to fire, and I elbow him.

"Seriously. We should get started on all this stuff," Declan adds.

Nolan wiggles his eyebrows. "You should say yes."

"You haven't even told me what kind of tech company you're starting," I state.

"I didn't?"

"No, you didn't."

"Hmm. Okay. It's a cybersecurity firm."

Killian grabs another sandwich off the platter. "This is how it works, Gemma. Nolan's the algorithm guy. Declan is the hacker. Then you have me. Together we have three excellent brains."

"And what do you do?" I question.

Killian's arrogant expression fills his face. "Surprised you have to ask. I'm sales and marketing...just not what you do."

"Really?"

He sits back in his chair. "Why do you seem surprised? I'm the one with the personality."

I laugh.

Nolan tugs me closer to him. "What do you say? Want to give it a shot?"

Since I've got nothing else going on, I agree. "Sure. What are you naming it?"

Killian snorts. "O'Malley's. What else would we call it?"