Alistair

Staring at Brynes standing there with that smirk on his face and hearing his insinuation about him and Aisling was pushing me to explode, which I knew was what the smarmy bastard wanted. He wanted a public blow-up with him as the victim and me as the aggressor. Well, I had news for him, but I wouldn’t do it. I did get satisfaction seeing the bruise on his jaw where she punched him. I had no doubt he had one on his torso, too.

“Yes, the art gallery exhibit afterward was great. There was some beautiful artwork. If I recall correctly, I bought a piece for my house,” Aisling responded back calmly, though her hand was gripping mine tightly under the table.

“Come on, you know what I’m talking about,” he taunted.

“Is there a reason you stopped by our table?” Tiernan asked.

“Why wouldn’t I? Aren’t we friends? I thought friends talked to each other.”

“Are we friends? After what you said to Aisling and about my wife and the other wives, I don’t think you can claim that,” Aidan said with an edge to his voice. He was not happy about Brynes’ slumming comments about Karizma and the others. I didn’t blame him. He called my woman a whore. I wanted to annihilate him.

“Aidan, it was in the heat of the moment. I didn’t mean it. I was upset and understandably so.”

“Why was it understandable? In the heat of the moment is a cop-out,” Shane added.

“Your sister led me to believe she and I were to be married. The next thing I know, I’m kept from seeing her for six weeks, and when I finally see her, she claims she’s with him. I merely pointed out he can’t give her what I can, nor does he have the same experiences as she does. She’s making a mistake, and I hope that with time, I can show her that she is.”

I kept my voice low, and I made sure I had a smile on my face as I interjected. I stayed in my chair even. “Brynes, she’s mine, and nothing you say or do will change it. She was never yours. She’s been mine since she was eighteen. Have some pride, and don’t show everyone you’re a childish, spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted. Grow up. Move on. I won’t tell you again. Leave us alone.”

His expression contorted to one of fury. “Fuck you! You don’t tell me what to do. Who are you? Nobody. Some parasite who saw her wealth and somehow tricked her into thinking she loves you. Your friendship with her family is a laugh. I don’t understand what hold you have over them to make them agree, but I’ll find it, and when I do, I’ll smash it.” His voice was louder, and people were turning around to stare at us.

A flash of light caught my attention. A quick peek in the direction it came from, which was the front area, I saw paparazzi. Christ, who called them? No doubt someone did. Maybe even Brynes. If he were hoping they’d catch pictures of me or one of the others hitting him, he was gonna be disappointed. When we didn’t rise to his bait, his pussy excuse for a bodyguard popped off.

“Mr. Byrnes, don’t waste your time on them. They’re not worth it. This one especially isn’t. The better man will win,” he said with a sneer to his lips.

I smiled at them both. “The best man already did. If you’re nice, we’ll send you an invitation to the wedding.”

I knew the instant my words broke the tether on his temper. Rage flashed across his face. His fists balled up, and he lunged in my direction. As he did, I sat there calmly. I could beat his ass into the carpet without getting out of my chair if I wanted. Instead, I sat there, turning the tables on the little prick. He wanted pictures, and he’d get them. Only he’d be seen as the aggressor, not us.

As his fist landed on the side of my face, I heard people gasping all over the restaurant. Aisling cried out in outrage. His so-called guard tried to stop him to no avail. I lashed out with my foot and caught him behind the knee, buckling his leg. As he fell to his knees, I lashed out again with my leg, and my foot took him in the jaw, in the exact place Aisling had hit him. I felt his jaw give.

The beauty of what I did was it was at an angle, and based on the location of our table, no one was on that side of it. My hands were now visible on the table. Other than my companions, no one saw me touch him. He let out a garbled scream of rage as he clutched his dislocated jaw.

“Y’all pay,” he gritted out as Scotty helped him to his feet. The other bodyguard had joined him. The paparazzi were going insane, snapping pictures and yelling for comments. We all sat there with perfectly puzzled and shocked expressions as if we had no idea why he was acting the way he was. I saw Ardal wringing his hands.

“Chris, I think you need to go home. You’ve had too much to drink and don’t know what you’re saying or doing, buddy. Do you need help getting him out to the car?” Rory asked loudly with feinted concern.

“Fuck you,” Scotty spat back as he and guard number two led Chris away.

Once they were gone, we went back to eating as if nothing had happened. Anyone watching would see us as innocent of anything. But we knew he’d declared something tonight, and we’d have to be on our guard even more. He, for sure, wouldn’t let it pass, even if we had to wait a while for him to make his move again.