Chapter 7 - The Woman He Chose by the Right Name
Six months later, Fiona stood behind the diner where Ronan’s men had kidnapped her.
Rain covered the pavement.
The neon sign reflected red across the puddles.
Ronan stood beside her.
“You have terrible taste in anniversary locations,” he said.
“It’s not an anniversary.”
“Six months exactly.”
“You counted?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
He sighed.
“Patrick counted.”
Fiona laughed.
A lot had changed.
Victor Dane was awaiting trial on financial conspiracy charges after several former partners turned against him.
His network had collapsed.
Fallon had returned to school under her own name and started working with a nonprofit helping families escape financial coercion.
She and Fiona still argued.
Constantly.
But now they also had breakfast every Sunday.
Ronan had changed too.
Not completely.
Fiona wasn’t naive.
He was still Ronan Gallagher.
Still feared.
Still surrounded by dangerous people and complicated loyalties.
But several of his businesses had moved completely legitimate.
Patrick called it “Fiona’s terrifying influence.”
Ronan called it “better accounting.”
Most importantly, Ronan had never again made a decision for Fiona without asking.
He had learned.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But he had learned.
Ronan looked toward the alley.
“I owe you something.”
“You owe me several things.”
“An apology.”
“You already apologized.”
“Not properly.”
Fiona folded her arms.
He faced her.
“Six months ago, I dragged an innocent woman into my car because I was angry enough to see what I expected instead of what was actually in front of me.”
Fiona listened.
“I threatened you. Confined you. And refused to believe you when you told me the truth.”
“Yes.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
His mouth twitched.
“You could make this easier.”
“I could.”
“You won’t?”
“No.”
Ronan nodded.
“I’m sorry, Fiona.”
She studied him.
“Accepted.”
He exhaled.
“Finally.”
“Don’t ruin it.”
“Right.”
A black sedan pulled into the parking lot.
Fallon stepped out.
Patrick followed.
They were arguing.
“You cannot park there,” Patrick said.
“I just did.”
“It’s a fire lane.”
“Arrest me.”
“I’m not a cop.”
“Then stop complaining.”
Fiona looked at Ronan.
“Are they always like this?”
“Yes.”
Fallon approached.
“What are you two doing standing in the rain?”
“Apparently celebrating my kidnapping,” Fiona said.
Fallon stared at Ronan.
“You really are terrible at romance.”
“I brought something.”
Ronan reached into his coat.
Fiona’s eyebrows rose.
“If that is a ring, put it away.”
Ronan froze.
Fallon burst out laughing.
Patrick turned away to hide his smile.
“It isn’t a ring,” Ronan said.
“Good.”
He produced a small velvet box.
Fiona narrowed her eyes.
“That looks suspiciously ring-shaped.”
“Open it.”
Inside was a silver key.
Fiona looked up.
“What is this?”
“The diner.”
“What?”
Ronan nodded toward the building.
“The owner wanted to retire.”
Fallon groaned.
Fiona closed the box.
“You bought another business?”
“I had a reason.”
“Which is?”
Ronan pointed through the diner window.
A small plaque hung beside the register.
MERCER COMMUNITY FUND.
Fiona stared.
Ronan explained.
“The diner profits will help families with medical debt.”
Her expression changed.
“Like Mom?”
“Yes.”
Fallon stopped smiling.
Ronan looked at both sisters.
“Your mother deserved more than becoming the reason two daughters spent six years apart.”
Fiona swallowed.
Ronan continued.
“You own the diner together.”
Fallon immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Fiona looked at her.
“What?”
“You own it.”
“Fallon—”
“I stole three million dollars. Let me avoid managing pancakes.”
Patrick nodded.
“Probably wise.”
Fallon glared at him.
Fiona laughed.
They entered the diner.
The same waitress who had served Fiona six months earlier recognized her.
“You!”
Fiona smiled.
“Me.”
The woman looked at Ronan.
Then at Fiona.
Then back at Ronan.
“Is everything okay?”
Fiona looked at the man who had once dragged her from this place believing she was someone else.
Ronan waited.
He didn’t answer for her.
That mattered.
Fiona smiled.
“Everything’s fine.”
They took a booth near the window.
Fallon and Patrick immediately started arguing about the menu.
Ronan sat opposite Fiona.
He reached across the table.
Then stopped before touching her hand.
“May I?”
Fiona looked at him.
The question was small.
But six months earlier, Ronan Gallagher would never have asked it.
She placed her hand in his.
His thumb moved gently across the smooth skin between her finger and thumb.
The place where Fallon carried a scar.
Fiona smiled.
“You know what’s funny?”
“What?”
“That scar saved my life.”
Ronan shook his head.
“No.”
“No?”
“It told me the truth.”
He intertwined his fingers with hers.
“You saved yourself.”
Fallon leaned over from the next booth.
“Are you two going to become unbearable now?”
Fiona laughed.
“Probably.”
Patrick raised his coffee.
“Definitely.”
Ronan ignored them.
His eyes remained on Fiona.
Six months ago, he had looked at her face and seen his missing wife.
Now he saw Fiona.
Not Fallon’s twin.
Not Fallon’s replacement.
Not a bargaining chip.
Fiona.
The woman who had survived his worst mistake.
The woman who had forced two sisters back into each other’s lives.
And the woman he had fallen in love with only after learning the most important lesson of all.
You could never love someone by deciding who they were.
You had to let them tell you.
Outside, rain ran down the diner windows.
Inside, Fallon laughed at something Patrick said.
Fiona squeezed Ronan’s hand.
He smiled.
And this time, when Ronan Gallagher spoke her name, there was no mistake.
“Fiona.”
She looked at him.
“Yes?”
“Dinner tomorrow?”
She smiled.
“You’re asking?”
“I’m learning.”
“Then yes.”
And for the first time in six years, both Mercer sisters knew exactly where they belonged.
Not inside someone else’s plan.
Not behind someone else’s name.
May you like
But inside lives they had finally chosen for themselves.
THE END
