Chapter Five
Sara
I’d seen photos of Niall Stella, so of course I was prepared for the resemblance between my brother-in-law and my husband—same lighter brown hair, same warm brown eyes, way too pretty to be fair—but what I wasn’t prepared for was the impact of having not one, but two Stella men standing in the doorway of our apartment.
Niall let a black leather laptop bag slip from his shoulder, and straightened to his full height, before smiling widely at his brother.
He was just as tall as Max, but a bit more on the slender side. Years of rugby had left Max with broader shoulders and arms and legs defined by ropes of thick muscle. Niall was definitely built, but leaner, the type of build with wide shoulders and narrow hips. A body designed to wear a suit.
From the way he walked into the apartment, it was clear he was comfortable in his own skin, but he was quieter, missing that boisterous quality that seemed to seep into a room whenever Max entered it. In its place was a gentle confidence and a touch of vulnerability that made me want to push Max out of the way and hug Niall myself.
Niall had been unable to come to the States for our small, last-minute wedding ceremony—he’d been in the middle of a divorce, a new job—but had promised to come as soon as he was able. I knew he and Max, being only ten months apart, were the closest of the siblings, and Max had been more excited for this visit than he’d wanted to let on.
Max loved Will and Bennett—and there wasn’t a situation in which I could imagine him not doing whatever it took to help out his boys—but it had nothing on the embrace he gave his younger brother. The two men wrapped their arms around each other in an all-encompassing hug, and maybe it was the hormones talking but it’s possible the closed eyes and small smile on each of their faces might have left me a bit teary. Maybe.
Max whispered something in Niall’s ear I couldn’t make out, before he clapped him on the back and pulled him inside. It was clear that Max had been even more worried about his brother than he realized.
“It’s been too long,” Max said, reaching for Niall’s bag before closing the door.
“Absolutely,” Niall said, and oh. Two British men under my roof. I didn’t stand a chance.
I stepped out of the hallway and into the living room, and offered Niall a small wave when I caught his eye.
“And you must be the lovely Sara,” he said, crossing the room to place a kiss on my cheek. “So lovely to finally meet you.”
Niall was a great hugger, bending at the knees and wrapping his arms completely around me. When he pulled back to meet my eyes, I almost swooned.
“I can see what has him so smitten,” Niall said.
“Truer words were never spoken,” Max said.
“I may need the two of you to cut down on the cute for a bit,” I said. “I’m not sure I can handle it.”
“We’ll do our best, Petal,” Max said with a wink, and led Niall to the living room. “You look bloody fantastic. Divorce suits you.”
Max had explained the circumstances behind Niall and Portia’s divorce, that they’d married when they were fresh out of high school, and been with only each other up until the previous summer, when they both decided it wasn’t working anymore. Max also told me that “not working anymore” was code for Portia was a beast.
If Max’s comment bothered Niall at all, he didn’t show it. Instead, he sank back against the sofa and exhaled in what looked like his first real breath in a very long time.
“You know I would never speak poorly of Portia,” Niall said, shaking his head with a smile, “but yes. I feel better than I have in years.”
A small sound emanated from the baby monitor on the end table, and I stood, explaining that I’d go get the baby up from her nap.
I could hear the men talking while I changed Anna’s diaper, hear the clink of their beer bottles and laughter, and I smiled down at my daughter.
“Ready to go meet your uncle?” I whispered, and she cooed, smiling up at me and kicking her little sock-covered feet. I gathered her up and we made our way into the living room, and both men stopped. Max looked like the proudest daddy in the world, but Niall looked completely in awe.
“She’s breathtaking,” Niall said, setting his bottle on the table and standing to meet me. “She’s absolutely bloody gorgeous, Sara. Well done.”
“She’s a beauty, yeah?” Max crossed the room to take her from me, kissing me on the forehead before sitting next to his brother.
“Mum must be over the moon,” Niall said, running a finger along the edge of the blanket.
“You’ve no idea,” Max said. “I’ll be at her flat not five minutes before she’s nicked her from me.”
My heart swelled as I watched them together, and I took a few steps back and into the kitchen, leaving them alone while they caught up.