Love and Shenanigans (Ballybeg, Book 1) (The Ballybeg Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

room, swinging her naked arse for all to see.

    This time tomorrow, I’ll be a married man.
    The sick sensation that had been building in the pit of Gavin’s stomach rose up his throat. He swallowed hard, tried to stem the surge of panic.
    Breathe in. Breathe out.
    Everything was going to be fine, he thought, flexing his fingers over the steering wheel. He was experiencing a bout of the pre-wedding jitters. Everyone got them, and everyone got past them.
    He’d been on edge for the past few days, anxious to get the wedding over and done with.
    Not that he didn’t want to marry Muireann. Of course he did. Marrying her made perfect sense. They both wanted kids, eventually, and they’d been a couple since university. They were good together. Content. Not the most passionate of relationships, but he’d gladly sacrifice wild passion for stability and security. In short, he and Muireann were the polar opposite of his mother and the numerous men who’d paraded through his train wreck of a childhood.
    With a grim sense of déjà vu, Gavin pulled his car to a stop beside Muireann’s Mini. He’d left Wiggly Poo with Jonas’s parents for the night. At least that was one problem sorted.
    The other problem was a little trickier.
    Fiona.
    His stomach lurched. If only she hadn’t blasted back into his life. Fiona was the last person he needed right now. He’d been stunned to see her standing in Deirdre’s parlor wearing that awful dress. No one had mentioned she was invited to the wedding, let alone the maid of honor.
    What the hell had Muireann been thinking? She loathed Fiona. Always had.
    And the feeling was mutual.
    A vision of Fiona’s exposed backside danced before his eyes, and he quashed the memory with a mental sledgehammer.
    Fiona was in his past. His distant past. A short interlude that had ended badly. In all likelihood, she barely remembered their drunken night together in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, he remembered it only too well… in all its pixilated glory.
    He sighed and pushed open his door. He’d barely had time to lock his car before Muireann appeared in the doorframe. She looked radiant. And happy. And if her happiness were accompanied by a hint of smugness… well, she’d make a beautiful bride.
    “You look lovely.” He kissed her on the cheek, careful not to ruin her makeup.
    She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about Mummy earlier. You know what she’s like about her Chihuahuas.”
    “Don’t worry about it. We’re all on edge at the moment.”
    She nodded and looked past him at the car. “What did you do with Wiggly Poo?”
    “He’s with Jonas’s parents, wreaking havoc.”
    She slipped her hand into his. “Come through to the living room. We’re having a drink before dinner.”
    In the Byrne’s antique-ridden living room, Bernard stood before the fireplace. One bulky arm rested on the mantelpiece, while the other hand clutched a tumbler of whiskey. His florid cheeks were redder than usual. This was not his first drink of the day.
    Gavin swallowed a sigh. Bernard was hard to deal with sober. Drunk, he was a nightmare.
    “The man of the moment.” Bernard’s smile was a rictus of protruding teeth. “How are you enjoying your last hours of freedom?”
    The acid in his stomach gnawed his insides. “Apart from dealing with an untrained puppy, I’m grand.”
    “What are you drinking, Gavin?” Deirdre sniffed, not looking in his direction. Mitzi and Bitzi were by her side, ears cocked. They glowered at him with their rat-like eyes.
    “Fizzy water’s fine. I’m driving.”
    “Nonsense. The boy will have a whiskey. The MacAllan nineteen seventy-four.” Bernard leaned closer. His breath alone was fit to put a man over the limit. “I’m cheating by going for Scotch over Irish, but this is worth it. Retails for over eight thousand euros a bottle.”
    “That’s obscene.”
    “That’s success, my boy.” Bernard’s mustache bobbed. “Success in a glass. Go on. Taste it.”
    Gavin