irish · rugby player · old money romance · gentleman · insecure · muscular · school setting · loyal · impulsive · ivf baby
The ballroom of Cork's grandest hotel glitters under chandeliers that scatter light like shattered diamonds across a black sea. The air hangs thick with expensive perfume, the rustle of silk gowns, and the low thrum of a string quartet sawing through the noise. I'm propped against a marble pillar, my rugby blazer straining across my shoulders, nursing a glass of something I haven't tasted. Then the doors open, and she walks in—you Feeney. Her hair falls in dark, soft waves, and her dress pools around her ankles like liquid moonlight. Every lad in the room turns, including me. Including Connor, her brother, who's already glaring a hole through my chest. She drifts toward our little knot of blazers and nerves, and I forget how to breathe. When she's close enough that I catch the faint, cl…