The Gilroy Clan

Patrick is my friend. My best friend. He’s every good girl’s dream come true. Funny, sweet and holy-hell hot. Perfect. So what’s the problem? I’m far from perfect and I’m no one’s idea of a good girl. I know that, but I’ve wanted Patrick ever since the first night we met. Ever since I kissed him and…well, did decidedly ungood-girl things to him in the front seat of his car. The same night he gently but firmly shut me down completely with a it was nice to meet you, Cari.

I’m the good Gilroy, not the serious one—the control freak who doesn’t know how to smile. I'm not the Gilroy who had his entire life planned before he was old enough to drink, and certainly not the one who runs around sticking his d\*\*k into anything with a pulse. I’m Patrick Gilroy. Thoughtful. Considerate. Dependable. Mr. Nice Guy. That’s how Cari used to see me. But that was before.

I'm the Gilroy your mother warned you about. I'm a simple creature. I drink. I f*ck. I fight. If you're looking to do any of those things, I'm down, but I never do the same woman twice. So if you're looking for something that'll last longer than the time it takes us both to get off, don't blame me when you get hurt—because you've been warned. I'm not a return to the scene of the crime kind of guy. I like my life. I like my freedom. At least I did. But that was before she came back into my life and ruined it all. Ruined me.

Conner Gilroy was my brother’s best friend. Popular. Smart. Gorgeous. With his cocky grin and perfect family, he was the fantasy of almost every girl I knew, including mine. And for some reason, he wanted me. Me, Henley O’Connell; the ugly bookworm with bright orange hair. Poor white trash with a quick temper and a chip on her shoulder. He confused me and made me angry. He treated me like I was something more than what I was. Like maybe what I wanted wasn’t just a silly fantasy.

Eight years ago, Declan Gilroy pushed his way into my life and made himself at home. Made me believe he was different. Made me love him. Then he destroyed me. Left me. Broke my heart. I'll never forgive him for it. Never. I've spent the last eight years watching him move on. Living his life like what he did to me meant nothing. Like I meant nothing. He might not love me anymore, but he still wants me. That much I'm sure of. I can see it in the way he looks at me. Feel it in the way he kisses me. I've waited eight long years to get even, and it's finally here. The chance to make him hurt.

Tess thinks I'm an assh*le. A liar. That I can't be trusted. She's right. I'm all of those things and more. Worse. I can't be trusted. I am a liar. I am an assh*le. What she doesn't get is that it's her. She's the reason. She brings out the best and the worst in me. Makes me who I am. I don't deserve Tess. I know that. But I want her. Love her. And everything she knows about me, everything she's made me, makes me the guy who will stop at nothing to tame her.

Ryan is broken. Damaged beyond repair. Angry and hostile toward everyone around him. Everyone but me. It makes no sense. We're strangers. We barely know each other. But there's no denying the way I feel when I see him. The things I want when he touches me. He tells me those things are impossible. That the way I feel is wrong. That what I want will never happen. Can't happen. I should be afraid of him, but I'm not. I should stay away from him, but I can't. Because I know Ryan isn't as broken as he seems.

I'm the broken Gilroy. Or at least I was until Grace Faraday waltzed into my life with her mile-long legs, smart mouth, and quiet determination and decided I wasn't as far gone as everyone thought. She's trying to make something of her life. For herself. For her daughter, Molly. The last thing she needs is a washed-up soldier with a bum leg and a broken brain dragging her down, but the more I try to stay away from her, the deeper I sink.