Beers, Hens, and Irishmen (Warbler's Point Series)

by Meghan Quinn

  Chapter 8

  Once all the pleasantries and catching up were over Tipper dove right into to the good stuff, instantly making Fiona uncomfortable. They were able to convince Sophie to take a break and enjoy some coffee and catch up with them but now Fiona wished she had an excuse or prior engagement to go to because she didn’t want to talk about her love life to Tipper and Sophie. If Fiona couldn’t understand her own love life how were they going to understand it?

  “So, give it up Fi, I want to know everything. Who are you seeing?”

  Fiona knew she was going to have to talk because Tipper knew Fiona too well, she knew something was up and she was not going to let it go until Fiona spilled.

  “I’m not seeing anyone right now.” That was not a lie. It was the truth. She wasn’t technically seeing anyone, she just slept with both Murphy and Booker in the same week. Ugh, she was the town harlot.

  “Bullshit, I can see it all over your face.”

  Sophie piped in. “It does seem like something has been going on with you.”

  Fiona exhaled. “Fine.”

  “I knew it.” Tipper exclaimed while fist pumping the air.

  Sophie gave Tipper a high five. “Give us all the details.” This coming from the girl who was completely silent a couple of seconds ago and wanting to get back to work. Fiona raised an eyebrow at her. “What?” she asked while shrugging her shoulders and then brushed it off. “If it’s not about me and my messed up life then I’m ready for some juicy details.”

  “I will get you back for this.” Fiona joked.

  “Just spill it already.” Tipper said annoyed.

  “Well, Murphy seems to think that we are back together.”

  “Ooo, that fine ass Irishman. I would love to test him out. Why does he think you are back together.” Tipper asked.

  “Because I might have slept with him the other night.” Fiona bit down on her lip.

  Sophie gasped. “Might? Oh you most defiantly did, you can tell by the color of red your face changed to.”

  Damn her Irish heritage. “We definitely slept together.” Both of the girls smiled at her.

  Tipper sipped her coffee and leaned in. “How was it?” She wiggled her eyebrows at her.

  Fiona rolled her eyes. “You know how it was.” The girls kept staring at her so she caved ang divulged more details. “It was great, it always is with Murphy. He is so animalistic in the bedroom and for some odd reason that turns me on.”

  “Every girl likes to be dominated on occasion.” Sophie said.

  “Please don’t tell me you are talking about my brother.”

  “Come on Fiona, I haven’t been with your brother in years, I can barely remember what it was like. Plus we were practically children, it was more fumbling then…”

  “La, la, la, la…I’m not listening.” Fiona said while covering her ears. Both the girls laughed and asked her to proceed.

  “The thing is, I don’t want to be with Murphy because all our relationship consists of is sex, hot hot sex.”

  Tipper acted shocked. “And there is something wrong with that because…?”

  “I want more Tip and you know that. I want to connect on an emotional level and that is where Booker comes in.”

  Both girls asked in unison, “Who’s Booker?”

  Here went nothing. “Booker Hall, he’s visiting Warblers Point…”

  “Stop right there.” Tipper interrupted holding her hand up. “He’s visiting? What ever happened to our pact that we don’t date tourists? You know it just leads to heartbreak. No one stays here, it’s just fun for them to visit.”

  “I know, I know. I keep telling myself that but I lost control for a short period of time but it’s over now.” Fiona thought about Booker and his gorgeous blue eyes, blond scruffy hair and tight jeans that formed to every inch of his body. In her head it was over but in her heart she knew her feelings for him just started to begin.

  “I can tell it’s over.” Sophie said mocking her. “By the looks of it sweetheart, you are just starting.”

  “This is not a good idea Fi, you know better than this.”

  “I don’t need a lecture Tip. It’s not going anywhere. I cut it off this morning.”

  “This morning? Meaning…”

  “Meaning, yes I slept with him last night.”

  “Fiona!” Sophie exclaimed.

  “I couldn’t help myself I just needed one night. And God was he amazing. Murphy is good, but with Booker it was like we were meant to be with each other. I had never felt so good, so free in my life. It was like when we made love, he took me to another part of the world”

  “When we made love? You definitely sound like a girl who ended it with the tourist.” Tipped said sarcastically.

  “I did. I promised myself.”

  “I hope so because I don’t want to go through another Steve the math teacher situation.”

  “Who’s Steve the Math teacher?” Sophie asked.

  Tipper answered before Fiona could even open her mouth. She wished Tipper would just shut her pie hole. Fiona was not going to do another Steve the math teacher. She learned her lesson, regretfully from him when he left.

  “Steve was a math teacher from New York city who was visiting for his winter break with a bunch of friends. He flirted like crazy with our little Fiona over here and won her heart. Fiona fell for him hard only to find out that he was leaving. He lied to her and told her that he was staying, going to move to Warblers Point and Fiona fell for every line. Two weeks later he was all packed up and heading back down to the city while laughing in her face exclaiming how he would never live in a little hick town like Warblers Point, let alone date a…what did he say…ah yes, a bar maid.”

  Even though Fiona knew the story and lived it, Tipper’s recital of the less then pleasurable events brought back every raw emotion she pushed back years ago. She felt so stupid that she actually fell for Steve’s lines, saying how he was moving to town and how much he liked her and how he thought he was falling in love with her. After Steve broke her heart Fiona pinky swore with Tipper that they would never date tourists for the mere fact that they never had any intention in moving to Warblers Point. Warblers Point was merely a fun destination get-a-way for tourists during the winter times.

  “Thank you for that.” Fiona added once Tipper was done airing out her embarrassing past.

  Tipper grabbed a hold of her hand. “Sweetie, you know I love you. I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. Maybe you can work things out with Murphy.”

  Fiona shrugged. “Maybe.”

  But deep down Fiona knew things with Murphy were not going to work, especially since she was able to experience what Booker had to offer. Murphy was a great guy and cared about her but now that she felt such a strong connection with Booker, she knew nothing was ever going to compare to that. She was doomed. She should have stayed away when she had a chance. Maybe she should just give Murphy the benefit of the doubt and throw herself completely into a relationship with him. If she postponed all physical contact with him and tried spending more intellectual time, maybe they could form a bond that her and Booker formed in a matter of seconds.

  ***

  An afternoon with the O’Leary men was definitely one of the most interesting times he had ever experienced. One minute they were beating the crap out of each other and then the next minute they were hugging and drinking beers. He never had a brother so he didn’t quite understand the kind of relationship they all shared. He only had Blaire, his sister, and whenever they fought he just pushed her down and that was it, well when they were young. He never really got a chance to brawl like the O’Learys did. It seemed kind of cathartic to be able to just punch your brother when you felt like it. If only he could have punched Blaire in the face when they were younger whenever she tried to embarrass one of his girlfriends or dump all of his cologne, shampoo and conditioner on his bed, he would have felt so much better. She was a girl though but Lo
rd knew she deserved a good brawl once in a while when she pulled her antics.

  Thankfully now he was close with his sister. He wished she was here right now. He could use some help with Fiona. He never met such a stubborn woman. He knew she wanted to be with him, he could see it in her eyes and the way her body reacted to him but she just wouldn’t give in to his charms. He wasn’t giving up, instead he was actually going to step up his game. He had plans for him and Fiona and they didn’t consist of her ignoring him.

  He made himself a quick burger and took a shower. He was going to catch the tail end of Fiona’s shift tonight and drop off a present. Once he toweled off he threw on some boxer briefs, the tight jeans she liked and a V-neck sweater with white shirt underneath.

  When he arrived at the pub it was actually quite busy, busier than normal. There was a flyer on the bar door promoting the pubs Halloween party Saturday night. Then he remembered the costume Fiona was carrying when he went to Murphy Ryan’s ski shop. Looks like he needed to get himself a costume because there was no way in hell he would miss out on seeing her in the sexy get up Murphy picked out for her.

  He spotted Fiona dusting off her pants and removing her apron near the bar. Right on time, Booker thought. She slipped past the bar and was headed to a door marked employees only. Booker caught up to her right before she entered and grabbed her arm twisting her so she was facing him.

  “What the hell?” She looked up at Booker and then lowered her voice. “Booker, what are you doing here.” She looked over where Finn was watching their interaction. She gave him a quick smile and turned Booker away so he was out of eye sight.

  He just smiled at her. “I came to give you this.” He handed her a little gift bag.

  She looked down at it as if it was poison. “I don’t want your gift. I told you this was over Booker.”

  He should have felt defeated and walked away with his tail between his legs but he felt more invigorated by the way her face flushed and her breathing picked up.

  “Just open it.”

  She rolled her eyes and opened the bag. She started to pull out what was inside until she saw what was inside and quickly shoved the object back in the bag while scowling at him.

  “You left some personal affects at my place and I thought I would return them. Although, I was quite fond of the demi-bra and thong but I thought they would look better on you rather than me.” He chased his comment with a grin.

  She pointed her finger at his chest and said, “How dare you come to my place of work and give me my underwear where anyone could have seen. What is wrong with you?”

  Booker liked it when she got mad, she was very feisty. “I thought I was doing you a favor.” He threw his hands up in defense. She stormed off and went through the employees only door. He followed her.

  ***

  Finn watched the Sheila follow Fiona up the stairs that lead to their apartment. She didn’t look too happy with him but he knew she could handle herself…hopefully because he didn’t have time to go check on her. The pub was busier than ever. Liam and Bradon were in the kitchen tonight taking orders. Fiona was off now but she probably should have stayed on a little longer. Finn was going to ask her to but he noticed she was having a bad night so he decided to lay off.

  Was the Sheila the reason why she was having a bad night? Was something going on between them? There better not be he thought because she was supposed to be seeing Murphy, at least that’s what he last thought as well as his brothers.

  Bradon came out to the bar and helped restock glasses that Finn was running low on.

  “Jesus, my balls still hurt from your kick earlier today. I owe you an un-guarded blow to the nuts one of these days.”

  “You owe me nothing, if I can remember you were punching me just as hard in the ribs. It was purely self-defense.”

  “You broke the man code, bro. Never go for a guy’s junk, especially when they are supposed to score with a hot blonde later tonight.” Finn watched Bradon eye Tipper, Fiona’s best friend.

  “Tipper?” Finn questioned.

  “Jesus, no. Does it look like I have a death sentence attached to me? I wouldn’t touch that girl with a ten foot pole. She drives me fucking insane.”

  Fin laughed. Tipper and Bradon were always at each other’s necks growing up. They never got along, even till this day they hated each other. It was one of the longest running grudges he ever witnessed.

  “She’s hot though, you have to admit.”

  “She’s the devil. Definitely not Tipper. The blonde next to her, uh I think her name is Stephanie. I don’t quite remember.”

  “You might want to figure it out by the end of the night you know.”

  “No need, all I have to do is replace her name with baby and she will be putty in my hands.” Bradon said while nudging Finn.

  Finn just shook his head at his little whore of a brother. “You know you are going to start to run out of girls to fuck in this town.”

  “Brother, are you kidding me? We live in a tourist town. It’s a constant rotation of pussies here and they are all ripe for the picking.”

  “You have problems you know that?”

  Bradon just shrugged and continued to reload the glasses. “Hey, where’s Fiona. This place is busy. We could use her help, did she take off already?”

  “Yea, she seemed like she was having a rough night.”

  “You think something is going on between her and Murph? Last time I knew they were a happy little couple.”

  Finn thought of what he saw a few minutes ago. Booker and Fiona going up to her apartment, with a gift bag. It didn’t seem like Murphy and Fiona existed at the moment. He was going to keep what he saw to himself because if he informed Liam and Bradon Lord knows they would shut the pub down instantly and march right up the stairs dragging Booker out of her apartment by his California blonde hair.

  “How about we try to stay out of Fiona’s personal life. She’s old enough now to handle herself.”

  Bradon scoffed at him. “Who are you kidding? When have we ever stayed out of her life? The reason why she is still as pure as she is, is because we interfered with her personal life. Could you imagine how fucked up she would be if we didn’t?”

  Finn couldn’t argue with that, but maybe Fiona hadn’t found love yet because of their interfering. Or maybe she still was waiting tables at the pub because they were too protective and trapping her in this small town instead of letting her live her life. A horrible thought hit him. Were they holding Fiona back? If they were, Finn would never forgive himself. He was going to have to have a talk with Fiona at some point.

  ***

  Fiona made it up her stairs and then realized Booker was right on her tail following her. At first, she didn’t realize he was behind her because she was stomping up the stairs like some kind of petulant child. She was so mad at Booker all she wanted to do was slap him across the face and then pull his head down and match her lips to his until her legs were wobbly with need. What was wrong with her?

  She twisted around so fast she smacked right into his chest, his hard muscular chest.

  “Get out of here. You are not allowed up here.”

  Booker just smiled down at her which annoyed her even more.

  “What the hell are you smiling for?”

  “You’re so cute when you get all mad. I kind of like it.”

  “You are disturbing.” She turned to let herself in her apartment and felt him right behind her. Before she opened her door and he let herself in she turned to face him again.

  “Booker, please go. I don’t want you here.”

  “You might be saying that but your eyes are telling me a different story. Why do you keep denying what’s going on between us Fiona. We have something good here, why not ride it out and see where it takes us.”

  She pressed her finger against his chest and said, “You want to know why? Because once you have had your jollies with me and find yourself bored in this small town you are going to just up and leave, lea
ving me behind to pick up the pieces of my heart that you broke. I refuse to let that happen.”

  “How do you know I’m going to leave?”

  Fiona laughed. “Who are you kidding Booker? You have some cushy job in California where you get to travel the world. Why the hell would you leave that for some small town pub girl like me? No, you wouldn’t so please don’t drag me down in your holiday fantasies of hooking up with some girl while you get your rest away from your hectic life. Spare me, please.”

  Fiona watched Booker, it looked like he had rage in his eyes but also what seemed like understanding. She knew she was right about him. He would never want to stay in such a small town with her when he had the world at his feet. It made no sense.

  “You know Fiona, you are so quick to judge people. Maybe instead of grouping all of us ‘tourists’ together in a pile, maybe you should actually get to know us individually. You might be surprised to find that my life in fact isn’t as cushy as you would think and actually I’ve been absolutely miserable for the last couple of years. This past week has been one of the best weeks of my life, I have never felt so free and I have never met such kind and caring people. At least who I thought were kind and caring. So before you get up on your high horse, maybe you should get to know a person before you are so quick to judge them and turn them away.”

  With that Booker left her in her hallway to think about what a jerk she was. She let herself in her apartment and went straight to her bedroom, she didn’t care to take off her clothes. She just flung herself on her bed and cried herself to sleep in her pillow. What the hell was she supposed to do now? How was she supposed to protect her heart when she knew that starting up something with Booker was only going to lead to heartbreak for her.

  Chapter 9

  Booker had not seen or heard from Fiona since he went to the bar, threw a temper tantrum in her hallway and stormed off. He raked his hand over his face. What was going on with him? He acted like such a child but damn that girl for burying herself under his skin. She was like a tic in his heart, there was no way of getting her out. He didn’t understand what was wrong with her, why she just couldn’t take a chance with him.