“All right you feckers, back in your seats. I’d like to thank you all for coming, especially given that it’s Christmas morning now. I’ve been told I should tell the bridesmaids how beautiful they looked. Em only had the one, so gobshite where are you?”

Nikki gave Danny the finger from across the room, which made everyone laugh.

“Lovely. Very lady-like. Till you opened your gob, you looked lovely.” He grinned, drunkenly.

“Where’s sunshine?” I was sat on my husband’s lap a few tables away, but I waved so that he could see me. After he had called Nikki a gobshite, I was a little afraid for my turn.

“The very first time I saw you, the sun was shining on that beautiful blond hair of yours, and you looked like an angel. Course you also looked like a gust of wind would blow you over, and you were scared stiff of me, but the more I got to know you, the more I realised that you were exactly like the other little scrappers I can’t get rid of. You’re a fighter, girl. You’ve fought for a better life, and with Con, I hope that you find all the love and happiness you deserve. That having been said, if the stupid eejit upsets you or gets out of line, you come and tell me, darlin’. There’s always room in his training for a couple of hundred more planks and burpees.” He paused for the laughter to die down.

“Walking you down the aisle today has been one of the proudest moments of my life. You are the sun that shines in the dark and the most beautiful part of my day. You’ve become for me the daughter I never had, and it’s no secret that I wasn’t the biggest fan of you and Con gettin’ together. I’m a little protective of you.”

“A little?” Kieran scoffed. Danny stared at him for interrupting, but everyone was chuckling, knowing just how right Kieran was.

“But there was no stopping Con once he made up his mind that you were his girl, so I did what any father would do. I let you both find your own way and hoped for the best.” He paused to shift about a bit, clearly uncomfortable.

“Con, when you and Kieran first came into my gym, I knew you’d give me trouble and grief. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t have a single grey hair before I met you. What I didn’t realise then was that you’d both give me far more than you took. You cocky little gobshites are my kin, and I’m proud to have been there to watch you grow into the men you’ve become. Con, you’ve surprised me since meeting Em. I do believe that you will spend every day of your marriage trying to be the man she deserves, and that’s all I can ask. I mean it about the feckin’ burpees mind,” he warned, with a pointed finger.

Mary was wiping her eyes furiously, clearly touched by Danny’s speech. I was barely keeping it together, and my throat hurt from swallowing back the tears.

“Training you, and seeing the dedication and commitment you give makes me so proud, and I believe it in my heart that one day you will be world champion. You’ve given this old man hope for the future, and I wish you both love and happiness, today and forever more.”

He raised his glass of single malt in the air.

“Sláinte.”

“Sláinte!” the room called out, my husband included.

Walking over to Danny, I threw my arms around him and gave him the biggest hug. I kissed him on the cheek and wiped my eyes. I didn’t say anything, and truthfully, I didn’t think I could without sobbing like a baby. Danny knew how much I loved him, and now I knew how much he loved me. Sniffing a bit, I left him sipping his single malt with Father Pat. Although Father Pat had declined any more to drink after his fourth whiskey, claiming that he had to be sober enough to conduct midnight mass, he wasn’t gone two hours before he was back toasting and giggling with Danny like a pair of schoolboys. I had a sneaking suspicion that he had a nine am Christmas morning service, which would be interesting for the congregation.

“Come on, sunshine. Wrap your arms round me and let me show you what you’re missing,” teased Kieran, as he pulled me onto the dance floor for a slow dance.

“If that’s how you ask nice girls to dance, Kier, you need to work on your lines.”

“Baby. Con got the best girl there is.” He smiled, twirling me around.

“Ah, some day, Kieran, you’re going to make some lucky girl very happy.”

“Well, until then, I’ll keep the good lines to myself and give the bad girls a taste of what they’ll be missing.”

I rolled my eyes and secretly looked forward to the day that Kieran had what O’Connell and I had found.

“Speaking of good girls, where’s Marie? I haven’t had a chance to chat with her yet.”

“She’s over by the bar talking to Tommy,” Kieran told me without having to look. Any man, who automatically knew where a woman was in a room without looking, had it bad. I kept my thoughts to myself, deciding not to meddle too much. I had the feeling tonight wasn’t the last night that they’d be seeing each other, though.

“You should probably go and rescue her then,” I said, nodding toward Tommy.

“In a minute.” He answered. “I’m getting a dance with my best girl first.”

I looked across to see O’Connell dancing with an elegant, older lady. Her hair was pinned in a neat chignon, and her beautiful silver grey dress was understated and elegant.

“Who’s O’Connell dancing with?” I asked, curiously.

“Me Ma” he replied. “I think she loves him more than me sometimes,” he huffed indignantly, but I could tell he didn’t mean it.

“No, she doesn’t.” I smiled, and he returned my grin full force.

“He really loves you, you know?” Kieran told me seriously.

“I know, Kier. I wouldn’t have married him otherwise,” I replied, jokingly.

“No, Em,” he said seriously, “like lay down in traffic for you, forsaking all others, the only one for him for the rest of his life, kind of loves you.”

“Before O’Connell, I didn’t think it was possible for two people to love each other like that,” I admitted.

“Me, either,” he replied, and we danced in wistful silence until the song ended. As he relinquished me to O’Connell, he looked as though he’d made up his mind about something and purposefully walked off toward the bar.

“I think Kieran’s got a thing for Marie,” I told him.