The evening sidled easily into the wee small hours of the morning, and the barn took on a warm glow, owed mostly to the boozy haze of the celebrants at Moira Rose's birthday fete. Johnny looked around the room, surveying the rustic setting as well as its contents and congress. Perhaps it was the punch or maybe he'd finally snapped, but he was overcome by a feeling of belonging. This motley gaggle of townies had become his motley gaggle of townies. He actually liked them, defying all belief, and they liked him.
The kids seemed to have found their respective niches too. David and Stevie were an unexpected left turn, but he hadn't seen David smile like that in far too long, so who was he to question it? And that Ted kid was alright, though Alexis didn't seem genuinely enthusiastic, but when had she ever?
While it wasn't in his thirty year plan, let alone his five year plan, he'd managed to make a place for himself under circumstances that would have killed another billionaire. A hidden wellspring of long lost pride bubbled up within him. More than that, he was happy. From bad to worst, his family had stood by him through it all. Though he'd be damned if he knew what it was, he'd done something right on the home front, and it felt like his single greatest accomplishment in life. Despite having nothing, he somehow had everything.
Just then he felt a warm hand slide across his ass and deep into his front pocket, sending a frisson of electricity through him. The gorgeously complicated Irish girl of his dreams pressed her body against his back, breathing a heady invitation into his ear. It was time to go home.