Becoming a Legend

  Fiona laughed at the memories of their longtime friendship. “Now if only the Kavanagh brothers would get together to create some type of nineties boy band…we’d be living the dream!”

  “Can you imagine?” Now Nora was laughing, picturing the hulking fighters in tight, sparkly shirts and leather pants strutting around a stage. “If only.”

  “If only my mother could see us,” Fiona said, her words barely audible as she sighed. “She’d be really proud of both of us, you know.”

  Nora felt a lump in her throat as she remembered the woman she’d grown up calling Aunt. When Fiona’s mother was killed, Nora’s mother couldn’t handle it, and she started skipping out of town on long trips to casinos. Luckily, Nora had always been part of Fiona and Shea’s little family, and they’d never left her side.

  “Your mom would be proud of you, too, Nora,” Fiona said softly, picking up on Nora’s sad thoughts.

  Nora shook her head. “My mother could be here if she wanted. She chooses not to.”

  “Maybe, but she does love you.”

  “She isn’t capable of love, Fi. It’s not in her nature.” It was a reality she’d long ago accepted, but one that still hurt in the deepest parts of her soul. A daughter whose own mother couldn’t love her…the significance wasn’t lost on her, and she was constantly feeling a need to prove to the world that she was lovable.

  Fiona shrugged. “She may not be capable of loving you the way you need to be loved, but she loves you in the way she knows how.”

  “It’s not good enough.” Nora knew Fiona was right, but it didn’t make the pill any less bitter to swallow. It was one thing to know and accept that her mother was never going to be who she wanted her to be. It’s another to grieve and feel the pain of that loss.

  “So true.” Fiona squeezed Nora’s arm. “This’ll be good for you, you know.”

  Nora turned back to her friend. “What will?”

  “The trip, the party!” Fiona wiggled her eyebrows, changing the melancholy mood of their conversation. “It’s time to get you back out there, girl. Get a smile on your face!”

  “I get out plenty.”

  Fiona waved her hand, dismissing Nora’s comment. “It’s been at least a year since I’ve seen you go on a second date with someone.”

  That was true. Her last boyfriend had a small issue with being a lying asshole, so it had soured her off men for a while. Problem was, she had a thing for bad boys. She always had.

  “What about one of Kieran’s brothers?” Fiona gestured toward the gym, where all five of the Kavanaghs were scattered about in different areas.

  Nora shook her head no so fast, she felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. “Are you kidding? No way!”

  “Why not? There are at least three single ones. Jimmy is a cop, and you’ve always liked a man in uniform.”

  “Me? With a cop? Can you even imagine?”

  Fiona tapped her finger to her bottom lip. “That’s true. You dress like a modern-day flower child.”

  Nora scoffed. “I do not! I’m not a hippy, I’m just—”

  “Hipster.” Fiona smirked.

  Nora scrunched up her nose. “Ew, no.”

  “How about Bohemian chic?” Fiona was laughing now.

  Nora grinned, nodding her approval and holding her index finger just over her thumb to indicate just a little.

  “Okay, well, what about Quinn? He’s very grunge, a real bad-boy type.”

  “He’s also more ink than skin,” Nora teased, though she didn’t actually have a problem with that at all. Plus, Quinn was one of the funniest and nicest guys she’d ever met. The problem was, he had eyes for someone else, and she wasn’t about to get between them.

  “I know you guys bicker a lot, but what about Kane?” Fiona gave her a long, exaggerated wink. “All that fighting could be some steamy foreplay!”

  “Hell no. No way. Not a chance. Never, ever, ever.”

  Fiona narrowed her eyes, as if sensing there was something Nora wasn’t telling her. Nora just held her stare, trying her best not to let her expression reveal that Fiona was right on the nose. Months and months of bickering and unfriendly banter had turned very…friendly.

  “Well, maybe they have some male cousins or something,” Fiona finally conceded, but she clearly wasn’t ready to drop the matter entirely. “He’s really a great guy, Nora.”

  “Don’t let him hear you say that. His ego is big enough.” The sarcasm dripped through Nora as she glanced over in Kane’s direction again.

  “I’m serious. He may be a bit arrogant, but he’s earned it. He trains harder than anyone in here but still finds time to take care of his family and give back to the community.”

  Nora scoffed lightly. “Please. Kieran said he had to practically strong-arm Kane into helping out with the kids today.”

  “You wouldn’t think that if you got to know him better. He just likes to operate behind the scenes. I’m not sure even he knows how good of a guy he is,” Fiona said, her brows scrunched together as she defended her future brother-in-law. “Did you know that, every year for the past five years, he has completely funded and managed a full scholarship for underprivileged students at his old high school? Not only does he read every application himself, but he keeps tabs on the kids their whole way through college. And yet he never talks about it.”

  Now that was news to her. “Really? I had no idea.”

  “Kane may brag about a lot, but he keeps quiet about a lot, too. He’s just like the rest of the Kavanaghs in that way. They all do a lot more for the community than most people would guess.”

  That part Nora did know. The Kavanaghs were insanely rich, a lot richer than owning a gym would suggest. However, they didn’t live like that. They lived simply in beautiful but normal houses, rarely flaunting their wealth. Instead, they participated in tons of charities around the area, including helping fund her youth center. Pretty much every nonprofit or social service in Woodlawn was aided by this wonderful family. It was part of the reason she loved being around them and had been glad for the introduction when she first met Kieran after he’d gotten out of jail and was assigned to do community service at the youth center.

  Fiona let out a big sigh, bringing Nora back to the moment. “I wish you and Kane would get along, Nora. He is Kieran’s twin, after all. It’s awkward that my best friend and my fiancé’s brother can barely be in the same room together without arguing.”

  Nora hadn’t considered what that must be like for Fiona, or how bad of a friend Nora had been to her lately. She frowned as she realized that there had once been a time when she never would have kept anything from her best friend, but lately it seemed that she was hiding more and more. “Fi—”

  “No, it’s fine.” Fiona waved her hand as if to say they should move on. “I’m not trying to be dramatic. I just feel like we haven’t really been there for each other lately. I feel like I’m missing out on a lot in your life.”

  That part was definitely true. Her night with Kane, her failing grades, her new job…she’d told Fiona none of it. “You’re right, Fi. No more fighting, okay? I promise.” And she meant it. She wasn’t going to let Kane get under her skin, especially now that she was seeing him in a whole new light. “Now, what else is on the to-do list for the bachelorette party?”

  Fiona finished going over a few more party plans with Nora before saying good-bye and leaving.

  Nora wandered back over to the teenagers from the youth center, again enraptured as she watched the Kavanagh men in the ring. Kane was back in the octagon, facing his twin, both of them concentrating hard as they showed various moves to the young men.

  Kane’s jaw was clenched, making him look more intimidating than she’d ever seen him. A sheen of sweat coated his skin, and his muscles flexed with each movement.

  An emptiness settled in Nora’s stomach.

  As much as she wanted to be with him again, as much as she knew she’d felt something special during their night together, there was no
way that it could work between them. The serious look on his face as he perfectly executed move after move told her how much fighting meant to him.

  The biggest moment of Kane’s career was in three months.

  Sighing, Nora knew she had to keep her distance for both their sakes. Being around her would ruin everything he’d built for his career. If the people her mother owed a gambling debt to found out about her connection with him, bad things could happen. Worse even than her losing her opportunity to graduate. Lachlan, her mother’s bookie, was a scary guy, and Nora had no choice but to take him at his word when he’d said that either she paid off her mom’s debt or she and her mother would pay in ways a lot more painful than cash.

  But after all her hours of work, she was no closer to paying off the debt than she had been at the start. She just couldn’t involve Kane in that. Not even a little bit. Despite their months of bickering and everyone thinking they hated each other, she liked Kane way too much to put him at risk for a few, admittedly amazing, hours in his bed.

  Some things just weren’t worth the risk.

  Chapter 6

  “Ma, these are great,” Kane said as he dipped a finger into the mashed potatoes on the kitchen counter and scooped it into his mouth, savoring the buttery deliciousness that was a trademark of Dee’s cooking. That was one of the reasons he didn’t really mind the not-mandatory-but-you-better-be-there dinners at his parents’ house every Sunday.

  “Ew!” Casey complained. “We’re all eating from that bowl, you jerk.”

  “For Christ’s sake, Kane, get your fingers outta there!” Dee, mother of the rough-and-tumble Kavanagh brood, huffed in her slight Irish accent. Years of living in the United States had softened it, but the sounds and lingo were still audible to anyone. “If you’re done arsing around, how ’bout you go set the table?”

  With a grin, Kane took one more swipe then complied. He enjoyed pushing his mother’s buttons occasionally. “Fine, but on second thought, the potatoes need salt.”

  Dee turned from the stovetop, where she was stirring beans, and narrowed her eyes at him. Nobody insulted Dee’s cooking, and Kane knew he was definitely pushing his luck with that line.

  “Seamus, get your son outta this kitchen before I give him a clatter in the jaw!” Dee called out to her husband, who was in the living room watching football.

  “Which son?” he yelled back, simultaneously turning the volume higher on the television.

  “I’m going! I’m going!” Kane laughed, grabbing a stack of clean plates to set the table.

  Once in the dining room, he began placing dishes one by one on the long family table until he reached the far end, where a frazzled-looking Clare was sitting before a clutter of wedding-planning notes.

  “Mind if I set this up for dinner?” he asked her.

  “Oh, right. Yes, of course.” Clare blinked slowly and then began gathering papers. “Let me move everything out of your way.”

  “Where’s Rory?” Kane asked, worrying over the anxious look on his future sister-in-law’s face. “He should be helping you plan all this stuff.”

  “He does. He’ll be here shortly. He’s at the clinic making sure the dogs are taken care of.”

  Rory owned a canine clinic and animal shelter in Woodlawn called Ace’s Dogs, at which Clare apprenticed while she attended veterinary school. Between that and training Kane at Legends, Kane wasn’t sure how the two had any time at all to plan a wedding. They hadn’t even set an official date yet, because Clare wanted to finish school first and Rory was busy training him.

  “What about your bridesmaids? They can help. I’ll help, too, if there’s something I can do,” Kane offered, helping her pick up the last of her papers and stack them on a side table.

  “Thank you. The bridesmaids are amazing.” Clare sighed with relief. “I don’t know what I’d do without Casey, Fiona, and Nora.” She held up a small piece of fabric. “In fact, Nora should be here any minute to pick up this color swatch from me.”

  Blood pounded through Kane’s ears, and he set the next plate down with an unexpectedly hard thud. “Nora’s coming here? Now?”

  “Yeah,” Clare said, then turned and gave him a funny look. “Why?”

  Kane looked away and finished lining the table with plates. “No reason.”

  There was a pause as she studied him, before she chuckled. “Oh, I get it now!”

  “There’s nothing to get,” he assured her as he pulled the good silver out of the top drawer of the china cabinet.

  “Please,” Clare scoffed. “You’re turning bright red. That little squabbling, we-hate-each-other act is all for show, isn’t it? You totally have a crush on her!”

  “Clare, I’m twenty-six. I don’t have crushes on girls.” He grimaced for effect. “Especially Nora.”

  “Nora isn’t a girl. She’s all woman, and probably a little too grown up for you,” Clare stated, not pulling any punches. He always had loved that about Clare, but this time she was dead wrong.

  As he laid down the last fork and knife, he schooled his expression and turned to her. “First of all, I’m a lot more mature than your Neanderthal fiancé—”

  Clare burst out laughing.

  Speaking louder to be heard over her, Kane continued. “And second of all, I don’t think of her like that.”

  “Who is Kane in love with?” Rory asked, walking into the dining room at the perfectly inopportune time. “This Neanderthal would like to know.”

  Quinn was right on his heels. “Himself. A lot.”

  “For fuck’s sake, can we stop talking about this? You guys are completely deranged.” Kane had no desire to make his love life the topic of conversation for Sunday dinner, especially if Dee heard them. The way she begged for grandkids, he’d never catch a break.

  “Talking about what? Is dinner ready? I’m starved.” Jimmy stepped into the dining room. His crisp navy police uniform added a dark accent amid the beige walls and ivory tablecloth. “I have only an hour before my shift starts.”

  “I’ll go ask Ma,” Kane volunteered. Any excuse to get the hell out of the dining room and away from his brothers’ interrogation.

  “Ma, need help with anything?” he asked.

  “Fiona and Shea are finishing the lamb for me, so you can help Kieran bring the food out to the table,” Dee instructed as Kane greeted his twin with a pat on the back and Fiona with a kiss on the cheek.

  “Gorgeous as ever, Fi,” Kane told her.

  His glance flickered to Fiona’s little sister, who stood next to her, completely oblivious to everyone and everything around her except Rory’s battle-scarred dog, Ace. Her hand trailed over the head of the once-abused dog and scratched him between the eyes. The canine could always be found by Shea’s side during family events. Patiently, Kane waited for her to look up, knowing the autistic girl had to take things at her own pace.

  Ace licked her hand, and she finally lifted her gaze. The barest hint of recognition for him registered.

  Seizing his opening, Kane crouched in front of her before she could look away again. “Good to see you, Shay-Shay.”

  Shea nodded but didn’t respond, so he gave her a warm smile before standing and grabbing a heaping bowl of thick, creamy potato salad to take to the dining room, where the other family members were already starting to take their seats around the table. The chatter was loud and raucous, as it was every Sunday in the Kavanagh family home.

  Carefully maneuvering with the bowl, Kane sidestepped Quinn, who was in the middle of animatedly telling a story to the group. Quinn flung one arm up in an exaggerated gesture and slammed the bowl directly into Kane’s chest, pouring the lumpy mixture straight down his front.

  Kane shouted in surprise. “What the hell, Q!”

  “Oh…hi, Kane. Didn’t see you there!” Quinn gave him a not-very-sorry smile. “You got a little something on your shirt there, bro.”

  Shaking his head and doing his best to keep the bowl’s contents trapped against his shirt so it wouldn’
t spill all over the floor, he awkwardly turned and walked back into the kitchen. “Ma, help.”

  “Are you okay?” Dee waved him over and took the bowl from him. “Don’t fret about it. I’ve got plenty more.”

  “I’m fine,” he told her. “Blame Quinn.”

  Dee laughed and nodded her head. “I assumed.”

  Quinn definitely had the reputation for being the troublemaker of the family. To be fair, they’d each made a hell of a lot of trouble for their parents at one point or another in their lives, but Quinn seemed to be perpetually stuck in that phase…and completely unapologetic about it.

  “Go upstairs and get a clean shirt from your old room. And maybe some cologne,” said Dee, sniffing the air. “You smell like mayonnaise.”

  “I’ll be right back.” As Kane headed out of the kitchen and through the front hallway to the stairs, he could hear his family’s loud and happy discourse behind him. Despite his annoyance at a soiled shirt, he was happy.

  The Kavanaghs might be chaotic and crazy, but they were his chaotic and crazy. After the last couple of weeks, Fiona and Clare’s bridal shower and his night with Nora, plus the stress of his own training and the added responsibility of mentoring the kids from the youth center, he needed the day just to unwind, away from all those things, and be around people who loved him.

  And no house was filled with as much love as the Kavanaghs’.

  —

  “Hello? Clare?” The front door to the beautiful, old Woodlawn home was partially ajar, so Nora leaned in and pushed it open wider. Upon stepping into the front entryway, she was greeted with the sound of loud voices and laughter, and she quickly realized the house was filled with people—which immediately made her chicken out. Turning and heading back the way she had come, she decided she’d just text Clare and pick up the bridesmaid’s dress fabric another day.