by Toni Aleo
Stunned, I lean into the bar as she looks just at me, a small little grin pulling at her lips. I didn’t even see the man behind her until she looked back, nodding and saying she’d be out soon. Biting her lip, she starts for me, her heels clicking on the hardwood as everyone watches her, their eyes wide and some of their mouths parted.
Lena O’Callaghan wouldn’t be caught in this pub according to some, but here she is, proving everyone wrong.
Moving behind the bar since I’m unsure what she is doing, I wrap the rag around my thumb as I hold her gaze. “Can I get you something?”
Her lips quirk a bit as she sits up on the barstool, her eyes never leaving mine. “Cathmor on the rocks?”
“Right away,” I say, and as I reach for the bottle of Cathmor, I notice everyone is still watching. I look to Fiona for some help, but she’s gawking too.
What in the hell?
After I take a glass and then the bottle to her, I set the highball on a napkin before filling it past the ice. “There you go.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking a small sip, her glossed-up lips tormenting me. I am so mesmerized by her mouth that I don’t even notice Fiona coming toward her. Leaning her hip to the bar, Fiona smiles over at Lena.
“Howya, Lena.”
“Howya,” Lena says simply, putting the glass down. “It’s busy.”
“It is,” Fiona says, her eyes still wide. “And yer here?”
“I am.”
“It’s past six.” Fiona looks at her like this means something, but Lena just shrugs.
“And I wanted a drink.” They share a very long look, and when Lena looks away, taking her glass in her hand for a slow sip of her drink, Fiona looks utterly confused.
Standing erect, Fiona whispers, “This better not come back on me.”
“It won’t.” Lena doesn’t even look at Fiona; she’s looking right at me.
Fiona stares at the side of Lena’s face for a moment longer and then throws her hands up. “Enough, all of ya! Go back to what ya were doing.”
Soon the pub fills back up with chatter, almost like in a movie. I’m unsure what just happened, but I’m completely fascinated by it. I turn to go back to work, but Lena holds up her finger, beckoning to me.
Because I’m an idiot, I go to her.
“Wanna order something?”
She makes a face. “No, I just sat through an awful dinner with my parents and Declan.” She sighs. “It’s nice to just sit here with a glass and some company.”
“Oh. Me?”
“You,” she says with a grin. “How’s yer day going?”
“Busy,” I say as I look around, and of course, everyone is staring. They’re trying to act like they aren’t, but they are. “I’m dead on my feet.”
“Yeah, me too.” She brings all her hair to the side and starts to braid it, but I’m too busy glaring at people to stop staring at me. “If ya ignore them, they’re not really here.” When my gaze snaps back to hers, she’s smiling. “It works.”
I can’t help it, I grin back at her. “Really weird.”
“It’s bullshite for sure,” she agrees, leaning on her elbow.
“What’s all that stuff about it being after six?”
“Ah, a lady O’Callaghan wouldn’t be caught dead in a pub after six o’clock. Only ladies with poor morals would do that.”
I hear the laughter in her voice, and my lips quirk. “Is that right?”
She nods, rolling her eyes. “I think I’ve broken almost every rule. It’s awesome.”
I laugh. “You’re a rebel, eh?”
“Aw, yer getting all Canadian with me.”
That has us both laughing. “It seems to come out around you.”
“I love it, so please don’t stop.”
“All right,” I answer, leaning on the bar too, her eyes capturing me whole. “So, dinner didn’t go well.”
Gone is her grin as her shoulders fall. Her fingers run along the rim of her glass as she looks up at me. “Ya know what’s going on, yeah?”
“Your mom has cancer?” I ask, my voice dropping a bit.
“Well, yeah. Tumor in her brain.”
My heart aches for her. “I’m really sorry.”
“Yeah, well, the surgery is set for next week, Wednesday. They don’t know what to expect.”
“Fuck, that sucks.”
She nods sadly. “It does suck.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I ask, and she smiles.
“No, I don’t even know what to do.”
“Do you wanna go into the field and just scream?”
“Does that work?”
“Not really, but I bet the acoustics would be badass.”
She grins. “We’ll have to try it, then.”
We’ll. Okay. Ignore that and go on.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
That wasn’t ignoring and going on, Jackson.
I want to say more, I want to make her feel better, but before I can, Trip hollers to me, “Heya, Jackson. Mickey is here.”
I look to my buddies to find that Mickey has, in fact, shown up. With a grin, I glance back to Lena, and she smiles. “Go on, then.”
Biting my lip, I go on over to them, refilling their glasses as I tease Mickey. “Your lady is asleep?”
Mickey’s grin is so large, I laugh. “Yeah, dead to the world, I tell ya.”
I hand him the usual, but before I can run off, Ribby grabs my wrist, stopping me.
“The princess, yeah?” He waggles his brows, and I look over at Lena. She’s drinking her drink, ignoring everything around her.
God, she’s beautiful.
“Wait, she’s a princess?”
All three men holler out, and I just laugh as I walk away. I must have been louder than I thought, because Lena’s eyes cut to mine, her expression all kinds of playful. Leaning on the bar, my back to them, I gaze into her eyes. Her lashes are so long, and I can’t help but gawk at her. She is the girl in the painting that is not ten feet from her.
“You look really gorgeous. Regal.”
I know I shouldn’t have said that, but then, when do I control what I’m thinking when I’m around her?
I think I’m zero for a billon.
She shrugs. “That’s the plan, I guess.”
“You don’t like it?”
She smiles over at me. “I used to love it. So much. But waking up and not having to put this stuff on, throwing my hair up, and not giving two shites, is way better.”
We share a laugh. “I happen to like all your looks. The many faces of Lena.” A blush creeps up her neck as she giggles. “As long as you have those eyes, everything else is just a bonus.”
Looking down at her drink, she purses her lips. “I wasn’t sure where we stood.”
She glances back up at me, and I hold my breath. “Oh?”
“Yeah, it seems like sometimes yer into me, and sometimes yer not.”
Don’t say anything, just agree with her.
“Oh, I’m always into you.” Her lips curve, and yup, there goes any sane thought. “I want to be in you too,” I say in a whisper, and she blushes deep red.
You. Are. An. Idiot.
“Yer impossible.”
“Among other things,” I decide, shaking my head. “Plus, you like it.”
“I do,” she answers, her lashes kissing her cheeks. “Do you work tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we ride again?”
Say no.
“Absolutely.”
She beams at me, a little wiggle to her shoulders, and I’m gone for her. Reaching into her pocketbook that I hadn’t even noticed she was carrying, she pulls out a little piece of paper. As she slides it across the bar to me, I take it. “It’s my number.”
I read the numbers over and over again, as if I’m trying to memorize them. Tucking it into my jeans, I look over at her, the gloss of her lips spellbinding. “Can I take you out?”
What in the hell are you doi
ng?
“Take me out?” she gushes, her face lighting up. “Where? A fancy dinner and dancing?”
I shake my head. “Nah, you’ve done that plenty of times.”
She doesn’t stop smiling. “I have.”
“So I want to do something different.”
“Okay,” she says slowly. “What should I expect?”
“A great time,” I answer. “Wear whatever you want, but make sure it’s warm.”
That seems to please her. “You don’t want this Lena?”
I shake my head. “I want you. Give me you.”
I can almost see her heart skipping a beat, the way her hand presses to her chest as she gasps. As she looks, I see her grin grow as she shakes her head. “When?”
“I’m off tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow.”
Licking her lips, she bites the bottom one as she reaches into her purse, but I cover her hand. “It’s on me.”
Running her fingers along the back of my hand, she slowly gets off the stool, her eyes burning into mine. “Yer lucky the room’s full.”
“Am I?”
“Yeah.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because a lady never kisses a man in front of a crowd.”
I scoff at that. “Well then, I think that makes me unlucky.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, because I want that sexy mouth on mine.”
I swear every emotion flashes in her sweet eyes. She steps up to me, and I take a quick breath as she goes up on her toes and kisses my jaw ever so tenderly. When we pull back, our eyes meet, and she whispers, “Might as well keep breaking the rules, yeah?”
“Why not?”
“Exactly.”
Squeezing my wrist, she says, “Text me?”
“As soon as I’m off.”
“Grand.”
Turning on her heel, she doesn’t even look around at all the gawking faces. Instead, she lifts that defiant little chin of hers and walks out of the room like she owns it. Meanwhile, I’m gasping for breath, a grin on my face.
As I try to recover, which is pointless since that girl blows me out of the water, Fiona is in my face all of a sudden, her eyes wild with anger. “I won’t be blamed for that either!”
Confused, I hold my hand up. “Blamed for what?”
She moves her hands quickly between me and the door. “You and her! She’s an heiress, yer a bartender—”
“And a horse groom,” I add, and she glares. “I also sleep in a tent. Man, what will her parents say?”
I waggle my brows at her, and she lets out an annoyed yell. “That can’t happen.”
I shrug. “I don’t care.”
“Jackson!” she complains, but I just shake my head.
Reaching for Lena’s glass, wiping up the area in front of where she was sitting, I ask, “What, Fiona?”
“You don’t understand. It can’t happen—”
“I have to disagree, and until she tells me otherwise, I’m thinking it is happening.” What in the world am I saying? I’ve lost my fucking head! “Plus, who are you or anyone else to try to stop it?”
I hold her gaze for a long second before I turn to go to the sink. My heart is jackhammering in my chest, and I can’t catch my breath for shit.
But one thing is for sure. There is no way in hell I can stay away from Lena O’Callaghan.
Since Ma’s surgery is the following week, Declan and Amberlyn want to make sure to spend as much time as they can with her. Which I guess is why they decided to join us for breakfast. I bet they were looking forward to a nice family breakfast, talking to Ma about whatever and having her hold Ronan while she gushed over him. Like it had been before I came home.
Bet they never thought they’d be in the middle of a screaming match.
“I don’t understand why yer so upset. It’s no big deal!”
Ma’s eyes widened as much as they could. “Lena, you were in the pub after six! Are ya mad?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. I wasn’t doing anything but having a drink with a friend.”
“A friend? Ya kissed him! A lady doesn’t find herself in a pub after six and then kiss a man in front of a full room.”
I let my head fall back, a piece of bacon hanging from my lips. I don’t know what I expected. I knew damn well it would get back to her somehow.
“Declan never did such a thing,” she exclaims.
“Ah, he did, but since he has a cock between his legs, it didn’t matter,” I say, sitting up, ignoring Declan’s death glare. “He was making out with Amberlyn all the time in the pub. No one batted a wee eye though, ’cause he’s the Whiskey Prince. Boys will be boys!”
Amberlyn’s cheeks redden as she glares over at me. “Thanks, Lena.”
“Anytime,” I answer with a wink as I reach for my OJ. “It really isn’t a big deal.”
“But it is.” It’s my da this time, his eyes trained on me as his lips press into a line. “You know what is expected of you. It’s against the rules.”
“For goodness’ sake, it’s not the sixties. Fuck the rules, they’re mad as hell!”
“Lena!”
“Ma, for real. I don’t care. I’ll do everything ya want. Teas, ceremonies, and whatever else ya come at me with. But if I want to kiss a guy in a pub after six, I’m going to.”
“It isn’t right!”
I happen to think it was very right. A small little grin pulls at my lips as I think of Jackson. The way his hand came to rest against my forearm, the feel of his jaw in my hand, the tickle of his beard under my lips. The best part was the stunned look on his handsome face. It was all so perfect.
“What is it about that damn pub?” Ma looks around at all of us. “It’s just a pub, yet both my children seem drawn to the place.”
Declan shrugs, looking over at Amberlyn, a grin on his lips as he covers her hand. “I fell in love there.”
Amberlyn’s face warms a bit more as she laces her fingers with his. “We both did.”
“I go ’cause Fiona is hot,” I announce, and I mean it as a joke to calm Ma down, but it only makes her louder.
“So now yer tell me yer eating carpet. I wouldn’t be surprised!”
Declan balks at that while Amberlyn’s jaw drops. Looking to me, Declan asks, “Did she just ask if yer into girls?”
“I think she did,” I say, shaking my head. “But don’t worry, Ma, I haven’t played for that team yet.”
“Yet!” she roars, and I don’t miss the way Declan is holding back his laughter. Even he sees this is just pathetic. I mean, I get it. It’s the way I was raised, but things change. People change. I’ve changed. Completely. And it irritates me that she doesn’t realize that.
“Love, wasn’t she kissing a man in the pub?”
Ma throws her hands up at Da. “Yeah, which is another thing! Are ya mad? A bartender—”
“I won’t speak of him,” I say simply, my gaze cutting to hers. “Leave him out of this.”
I refuse to allow her to talk bad about Jackson. She’d call him everything but what he truly is, which is amazing. She doesn’t know how caring and sweet he is. How, when he looks at me, I get all gooey inside. She can’t take that from me. I won’t allow it.
“How can I? Yer making a fool out of yerself! Ya think yer going to be with him?”
I don’t answer her, shaking my head. I don’t know what I think, or what he thinks, but I refuse to let anyone tell me I can’t be with him. “Yer to be with someone of worth!”
“And who says he isn’t?” I answer, and she glares.
“Ya know what I mean. I won’t let you marry down like Declan did!”
I grimace as Declan slams his hand to the table. “Ma!”
She holds her hands up. “I don’t mean that with disrespect.”
“Yet yer words held it all!” he yells back, and when I look at Amberlyn, she is just rolling her eyes. “Amberlyn is perfect for
me.”
“She is, my love. I’m sorry, Amberlyn, but surely ya know what I mean. Lena has to marry her worth.”
Amberlyn shrugs. “And who is to say that this man isn’t that? Y’all doubted me, and I think we’re doing great, right, babe?”
Declan grins at her. “And then some, mo stór.”
“That’s an isolated incident, and honestly, we can’t do it once more. What in the hell will people think?”
“Who the fuck cares?” I exclaim. “I don’t.”
“Who the hell are ya?” Ma yells after a bit. “I don’t understand. Doesn’t anyone understand what the hell is going on here?”
She looks around the table as I eat some of my black pudding, making a face at her dramatics. “Maybe I’m tired of having to be someone I’m not.”
I can see the roar coming before she even opens her mouth, but Declan stops her. “Ma, come on.” Her gaze cuts to Declan as Da’s does the same. “Let her be. Don’t ya see? Short from yelling it at ya, she’s trying to figure out who she is.”
“Which is fine as long as she stays within the rules.”
“But I won’t,” I say matter-of-factly, which results in everyone gawking at me. “I want to find my own way. I want to be me—”
“You don’t get that luxury, Lena. Yer an O’Callaghan.”
“And I’m damn proud of that, Ma, but I want to be me as an O’Callaghan.”
“You can’t! We have stand—”
“Oh Jaysus!” I yell, standing up and slamming my chair in. “I don’t care. I don’t care at all. This is who I am. Love me or not. Fuck.”
Ma calls my name as I walk away. Hell, so does my da, but I’m done. I refuse to be subjected to so much scrutiny. I did it for twenty-two years. I’m done. I’m ready to be me. I’m almost to the front door when someone grabs my wrist. I think it’s my ma, until I whip around to see Declan.
Before I can speak, he says, “I love you, Lena.”
I didn’t expect him to say that. “I love you too.”
“And I get it. They have been pounding you with the rules and the standards yer whole life. Ya almost married someone you never loved. I get it. I do, and I love you no matter what. As do they, they’re just having a hard time seeing that.”