Benevolent Stranger

‘What?’ I stared at Kieran. ‘You must be kidding. Where did you get that?’ ‘From the way he looked at you.’ Kieran tossed me a glance. ‘It’s the kind of look a man gets when he visualises the woman naked, in his bed.’ ‘You are crazy. Conor doesn’t like me. He hates me.’ ‘Thin line between love and hate, darling.’ ‘That’s…bullshit.’ I didn’t know why the idea of Conor having feelings for me unsettled me so. I shuffled my feet. Conor’s chiselled face flashed across my mind. ‘I know what I saw.’ Kieran’s voice had gone quiet. I looked over and caught the tightening of his jaw. ‘Are you jealous, honey?’ ‘Do I have a reason to be?’ I reached for his hand. ‘Even if that’s true, which I still highly doubt, you have nothing to worry about. You know I love you.’ As proof, I planted a kiss on his cheek. Whatever Conor felt for me couldn’t trump the hatred he had for the Finnegans. Apparently, the fact that I was adopted and not a true Finnegan didn’t make any difference to him, as evidenced by h