Duncan (Lucky Irish, #1)

by Anna Castor

If he had stayed, he would have had to return his man card and his balls in the process.

💩

He was amazed his normal charm wasn’t getting him anywhere with her—no, not exactly amazed. He was rather intrigued.

🙄

The angelic light blonde beauty was eyeing the elevator rushing by the floors and checking the time on her watch with a big frown on her slightly freckled face.

🤢

Her wavy hair kissed the top of her butt cheeks, and when she had walked across the elevator, he glimpsed a body that could easily star in other kinds of movies, the adult kind.

🤮

As Duncan was thinking of a quick reply, the ding of the elevator interrupted his thoughts.

...

but he wouldn’t let her get away from him, even if it meant he would follow her the whole damned day.

😒

For some this might be a real contradiction to a man who could discard women so easily in his private life, but Duncan knew Donovan was always up front with his dates. And because Donovan was a Mills brother, he was also known for his loyalty, honor, and strength. Donovan was a guy who you’d have to get to know better to understand his ways, because he didn’t open up easily. But when you proved yourself to him, he’d have your back no matter what. Donovan took after their oldest brother, Brennan, who had a whole different kind of issue to deal with. But they both had a way about them that seemed to make people wary to approach them. This often proved to be an aphrodisiac for the ladies, because they all seemed to believe they would be the one who could get past their barriers. It was a never-ending cycle of girls coming and going growing up at the Millses’ house—except for their dad, Sean, who had been happily married to their mother, Edith. When she died when Duncan was only nine years old, Sean never seemed to be able to forget her, and he never had a new woman in his life, or at least not around his sons. That was true love, and Duncan wasn’t sure if he was ready for that kind of commitment at this time in his life.

Blah exposition but at least some redeeming characterizations

Somewhere during her coffee making, Duncan and Calum talked trash over sports teams and discussed why Calum was a Mets fan. At least they both seemed content when the other also rooted against the Yankees.

...

She looked up at Duncan, who’d shortened her name, which she’d always hated. She never wanted to be called Kay, not when she loved her name and was proud of it. “Please never call me Kay again. If you want to call me anything other than Kayla, stick with wildflower.” Duncan chuckled and nodded at her. “There she is, my wildflower.” Kayla rolled her eyes at him with a goofy smile on her lips. “How bad was it?” Calum wasn’t bothered by Duncan’s flirting. He looked defeated, and he wanted answers from his sister. “I checked into the hospital Thursday night and left New Jersey Saturday morning.” Kayla heard the scraping of one of the barstools before Calum started pacing in her kitchen, shouting curse words. “Who hurt you? Tell me now, Kayla. This is no joking matter.” Her body stiffened at his words. This was the exact reason she hid all of this from Calum. She knew he would barge in and be her hero, and if he had seen how badly she was hurt, he would have killed him. Duncan squeezed her hand softly before he stood from his barstool and stopped in front of Calum. “Listen to her, Calum. Take a deep breath and let her tell you what happened. Please sit down.” Calum scowled as if he wanted to punch Duncan in the face, but then he looked over at Kayla and sighed. He walked around the kitchen counter, picked her up from her stool, and pulled her into his arms for a warm hug. “I’m so sorry, Kay-Kay. I’m so sorry you went through this alone and you felt I couldn’t be there for you.”...

dialogue 🙁

“I want you, Kayla. You are my wildflower.” He gave her a pointed look when she scowled and tried to interrupt him. “You feel it too. I don’t know how these things work. I’ve never, ever experienced what I feel for you before. I’m starting to fall for you.” He chuckled when her eyes opened wide at his confession. “Yeah, I know. I don’t even understand it myself.” He smirked at her when she narrowed her eyes at him and tried to jerk her chin from his hand. “Duncan...,” Kayla scolded. “Come on, you know what I mean. I don’t understand how I could fall so fast, but it’s happening, and I’m not backing away. I know you’re in your head right now, thinking about New Jersey, but I know when you give me a chance, you’ll see how good we are together. I know you felt it too last night.”

😒

“I don’t know if it’s my story to tell, dear.” Maureen looked at Kayla, and when she nodded, Maureen smiled softly and continued. “The first day I met Kayla, she was looking as if she was in pain. Standing halfway in the doorway, she looked like a skittish little kitten who’d been beaten and bruised.” Duncan noticed Calum clenching his jaw, and he was feeling the same kind of tension coming over his body. “But at the same time, I detected a powerful tigress, because although she was obviously hurt herself, she still had the guts to open her door and look if she could help some other person in pain. In that moment, I knew she was a fighter, that she couldn’t be stopped.”

Uuuuuuuuugh

“That was all it was in the beginning. But then I started to run into him when I went places with people outside of work, such as my friend Tessa from the gym.

Example

he was a creep who stalked me for several months. “I kept asking our sisters if they ran into people I knew, as they had met Tom before, but his name never came up. I prayed that he didn’t attack someone else in the meantime, but I was too scared to come out of hiding and search for him to know for sure. I still don’t know how come I didn’t see him for what he is. I’m so stupid,” she sobbed.

Transition????

“We went out to Loco’s, where they have happy hour at six. We went with several colleagues, men and women. It was nothing out of the ordinary. At around seven, the first of our group went home and another couple of people went over to the pool table, and I was left alone with Tom when my colleague Isabel went to the bathroom. He scooted over to me in the booth, all close and in my personal space. When I tried to put some distance between us, he made a crude remark.”

Police report, not natural convo? Sounds like the author's backstory outline and not natural convo.

Kayla knew she had some curves to work with, although her D cup was a bit hefty on her five-foot-five frame. But she was happy with her small stature and her toned waist. She had a tiny, but firm, apple-shaped butt, and the right thong made her buttocks look a little bigger. She knew she had nothing to be ashamed of.

🤮

“We both know my sister is like no other. She’s special. You treat her good, as she deserves, and you and I have no problems.”

Mary Sue

Such beautiful big breasts on such a tiny frame; how did he get so lucky?

Yuck

He took her chin in his hand and nudged her head up gently, so she could look him in the eye. “I meant you can have me, take all of me. Not only my body but also my mind. Kayla, stay with me in Austin. Take me. Choose me.”

Highlight of book/writing?

He hoped Kayla considered herself to be his girl so he could look after her. The way they’d left things made him feel as if she was trying to back away from him. She needed “room.” She wanted the two alpha males to let her be. Ha, she had another thing coming.

I hate this.

“Because you are all I need. The intoxicating wildflower who had me from the moment she bumped into me, the independent Kayla, the playful buster, and the beautiful woman that makes my heart beat a thousand times faster. If you tell me that you’ll be having my baby, I would be experiencing yet another side of you. I want that. I want all of you.”

🤮🤮🤮