Seducing Bran

by Jules Barnard

It was late, nearly ten, but Club Tahoe, and all the casinos in South Lake Tahoe, didn’t sleep. People buzzed around the lobby as Ireland made her way to the lakeside end of the resort, where Prime and the now-closed shops resided. She pulled on the door to Prime, but it was locked.

  Bran looked up from a table nearby, laptop open. He stood and walked over, opening the door for her. “Thanks for coming.”

  Her heart jumped into her throat at seeing him. Part of her wanted to hug him, and the other part wanted to shove him.

  She gestured to the computer. “You mind if I use your laptop? I’m assuming it’s connected to the server?”

  He took in her face, as though trying to read what was going on inside her head. Good luck, she thought.

  “Sure,” he finally said, and stepped aside.

  Ireland sat at the table and pulled out her headphones. She needed to focus in order to figure out what the issue was. She couldn’t do that while Bran stood there, staring at her. So she turned on music and attempted to tune out Bran and the riot of emotions he brought out in her.

  She sensed when he walked to the back of the restaurant.

  Ireland looked up to see him enter his office, and her shoulders drooped, eyes burning. “Dammit.”

  She’d told him she didn’t want to talk about last night. That she was only here to work on the software. But deep down, she wanted him to hold her. To tell her everything would be okay. Pretty much exactly what he hadn’t done last night or tonight. Over the phone, he’d seemed more concerned about the software issues than their relationship.

  Not again. She was important too, and she wouldn’t take this shit from another guy.

  She’d thought Bran was different, but right now, he was like every other man she’d ever dated—self-centered. He’d thought only of himself last night. And today, he’d called to check in, but he was obviously more distracted by the restaurants.

  If that was the way he wanted it, fine. She’d fix his damn program and move on. She had to.

  Ireland squeezed her eyes shut to push back annoying tears trying to work their way out, and pulled up the code. Right away she noticed lines that looked different than what she’d written. She searched for the backup she’d saved just in case, and couldn’t find it. It wasn’t where she put it, and when she searched the cloud service Club Tahoe used, it wasn’t there either.

  Good thing she’d backed it up on an additional cloud service with hard-core security.

  Ireland pulled up the alternate backup and compared it with the current program. Sure enough, the two didn’t match. Someone had switched out the program she’d written.

  And the reasons why someone would do such a thing were stacking up. None of them good.

  Ireland stood and walked to Bran’s office. The door was open and he was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, the strong edges of his jaw drawing her attention to pillowy lips. Her stupid heart fluttered.

  Why couldn’t her heart be smart for once?

  When something important happened, Bran hadn’t put her first. Twice. As if last night weren’t enough. He was supposed to be her boyfriend. Instead, he’d shut her out. Ireland didn’t want that kind of relationship with anyone, especially not Bran, the man she wanted to share everything with.

  He must have sensed her, because he opened his eyes and looked over.

  “Has anyone had access to the program?” she asked. “To the actual code?”

  He shook his head slowly, as though considering. “No. Just you and the new Tech Banquet employee they sent in.”

  Ireland had the evidence she needed that the original had been modified. But now she had to figure out why. She turned and headed back to the computer.

  “Wait,” Bran said, and stood. “What’s going on?”

  She kept walking. “Someone switched out the program with a different one.”

  “Who would do that?”

  She stopped and spun around. “You think I had something to do with it?” Okay, that had been a tad touchy. She was tired and sad, and as confused as anyone about what was happening.

  His face held genuine shock. “No. Absolutely not.”

  Ireland sat and pulled up a screen on the laptop. “Then let me do my job and see if I can find out who did.”

  “Ireland.”

  Ireland dragged her gaze from the screen to the face she loved even when she didn’t want to. It was too painful to look at a man she believed in who didn’t believe in her. “Yes?”

  “Thank you.” He was sincere, but all Ireland could think about was how much she’d lost today.

  Chapter 29

  Ireland searched the server for a digital thumbprint of who might have switched out the online ordering program. But whoever it was had covered their tracks. She found nothing. Except the most obvious link to the culprit.

  The code had been modified from her original program to take the money on a path through Europe, just like the original program James designed. Ireland was certain that if she checked the accounting, she’d find money skimmed off the top.

  It was past one in the morning and Ireland was exhausted. She walked to Bran’s office and found him asleep at his desk. She touched his shoulder and shook lightly, dropping her hand back at her side.

  Bran rubbed his face. “Everything okay?”

  “That depends. Your system was hacked, and the program I wrote was tampered with and rewritten in some sections.”

  “Great.” He shook his head. “We can replace it with the one you wrote and get back online, though, right?”

  “You could do that…but you’d risk having it hacked again. Someone has access to your server, and it looks like they’re using it to skim money off the top.”

  He dropped his head back and sighed. “That’s what the other guy said.”

  “I think James did this.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Someone with password access rewrote sections of the code and changed the credit card system. It’s sloppy work, and I think that’s what made the program malfunction to some extent.”

  Bran’s jaw tensed. “I should have changed the passwords after James was fired. That was a rookie maneuver.” His eyes narrowed. “There were accounting discrepancies with the last program. Do you think this was planned?”

  He was asking what she thought now? After he hadn’t trusted her enough to call her about the situation in the first place?

  She shrugged. “James is an arrogant bastard who didn’t like someone touching his program, and then you got him fired. There are a number of reasons that man would have to steal from the club.”

  “Good point.”

  “But to answer your question, yes, after seeing a pattern of small amounts of money being ‘accidentally’ overdrawn, I think there could be criminal activity going on. I’ll need to look into it more. What I found tonight explains who might have done this, with the trail of money matching James’s old program. It doesn’t explain an unusual pattern of hundreds of online orders. I’ll have to look into it more.”

  “Not tonight,” he said. “I can’t believe I kept you here this late.”

  Ireland’s head throbbed and her butt had gone numb hours ago. She’d been so determined to solve the issue with the software that she hadn’t paid attention to the time. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  Bran stood and stepped closer. “Ireland, you don’t have to do this.”

  She moved back. “I do. You didn’t believe in me. And here I am, having to prove myself to a guy I trusted. A man I thought was my boyfriend.”

  “I believed in you, I just…”

  “Just what?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “The truth?”

  “I’d prefer it,” she said.

  “After last night, I knew you were upset. I also assumed you had accidentally caused the software problem, since you wrote the program.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just—I can’t let my brothers down. I need the restaurants to help the club, not take it down.”

/>   Ireland pulled her workbag higher on her shoulder. “So you assumed the problem was with me, and you had me replaced.”

  He shoved a hand in his pocket. “You know I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

  “Technology or relationships?”

  “Either, which should be obvious by now,” he said. “I don’t know what I thought I was doing asking you to be my girlfriend. I’m not a responsible boyfriend.”

  Her throat constricted, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. “You never asked.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You never asked me to be your girlfriend, you simply stated I was.”

  “Exactly. I didn’t consider what you wanted,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “I wanted to be your girlfriend. You didn’t have to ask, because our feelings for each other didn’t need to be spelled out.”

  He glanced down, then shook his head. “I like you, Ireland. Enough to know I can’t give you what you deserve.”

  She swallowed the knot in her throat. “I’m glad you figured that out for me. My brain is so small, I might never have realized you weren’t good for me unless you told me so.” She stormed out of his office and through the restaurant, headed for the exit.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said from behind. “Your intelligence is one of my favorite things about you.”

  Ireland stopped at the door, biting her lip to force back tears from pouring down her face. “I’ll be back tomorrow to finish looking at the orders.”

  Bran didn’t say another word.

  And Ireland walked out.

  Wes entered Prime with Harlow in his arms. “How’d you get the system up so quickly?” he asked Bran, who was sitting at the bar, looking over employee schedules.

  “Ireland. She figured out what happened last night then came by this morning and updated our security system. We’d been hacked.”

  Wes pressed Harlow’s head to his chest and covered her other ear with his hand. “What the fuck? Do we need to hire tech security or something?”

  “Not according to Ireland. She installed security software so hard-core, I spent an hour this morning learning how to use it and memorizing complicated passwords.”

  “Your girl is handy to have around.”

  “Not my girlfriend,” Bran said, his throat dry.

  Wes looked over in surprise—at the same time Harlow grabbed his nose. Which made Bran feel better. It wasn’t only his she favored.

  Wes gently dislodged Harlow’s pincer-like fingers. “Since when? Don’t tell me you let her go. She was a keeper.”

  “She deserves someone who can be there for her, take care of her—all of it.”

  Wes covered Harlow’s ears again. “Is that the bullshit you tell yourself? Come on, Bran, what’s going on? If I’m not off the mark, and I rarely am, you’re in love with Ireland.”

  Bran’s hands clenched. “Did you come by for some reason other than to discuss my love life?”

  Wes handed Harlow to Bran. “The fact you admitted you have a love life is progress. Watch Harlow for a second. I gotta piss.”

  Bran peppered Harlow’s soft cheek with kisses. While Wes stood by staring.

  “Beat it, already,” Bran said. “I need Harlow time after the week I’ve had.”

  “Don’t be so quick to ruin things with Ireland,” Wes said. “You may want one someday.” He glanced at Harlow.

  “A kid?”

  “Yes, a kid, you moron. And trust me, you’ll want it to be with a woman you love. Ireland’s the only woman I’ve ever seen you in love with. Don’t fuck it up.”

  Bran hastily gave Harlow earmuffs. “Watch your mouth.” He walked toward the bar to show off his niece to the staff. And to get the hell away from Wes and his psychoanalysis.

  “Hey,” Wes said, backing slowly toward the restroom. “I want her back when I’m done. No hogging.”

  Bran ignored him and proceeded to show off Harlow to everyone who worked at Prime. They all knew her, but everyone loved Harlow time.

  Wes was a hands-on dad. Which made Bran proud, considering they’d never had a proper role model. Even when their father was around, he’d never been mentally present. But Wes was a good father, showing Bran and his siblings how it was done. That didn’t mean Bran believed kids were in the cards for him, no matter what Wes said.

  And then he remembered Ireland. And the birth control they’d forgotten.

  Ireland was right. The chances of getting her pregnant after skipping protection once weren’t likely, but it was possible. No matter what, he needed to talk to her. He’d fumbled things the other night, but he had to do better. She deserved better.

  Bran hugged Harlow tighter. He’d be the best dad he could, if it came down to it. But he didn’t want an unplanned child. He wanted to be able to give his kid and wife everything.

  A few minutes later, Bran spied Wes talking to the manager, who was a good friend of Wes’s, and Bran spun Harlow in the opposite direction before Wes could take her away.

  And came face to face with the girl whose life he’d ruined.

  Woman—she was a woman now. Standing beside a man while she held the hand of a small child—three, maybe four years old?

  “Bran.” Delaney turned to the man at her side. “Kevin, this is Bran. We went to high school together. It’s good to see you,” she said to Bran with a smile.

  Bran shifted Harlow to his other side and shook Kevin’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He looked at Delaney, studying her face, sensing the disbelief on his own. She didn’t look miserable or damaged. She looked happy. “How are you?”

  “Really well,” she said, and picked up the little boy. “This is my son, Miles.” Miles rested his head on his mother’s shoulder. “Miles, can you say hello to Bran?”

  The little boy mumbled something approximating “hello,” and Bran introduced Miles to Harlow.

  “Is she yours?” Delaney said.

  Bran looked at Harlow, realizing how it must appear. “My niece. Wes’s daughter.”

  Delaney asked how Wes was doing, and the man in question came up and stole Harlow, damn him.

  “So this is where you took Harlow,” Wes said after meeting Kevin and greeting Delaney, whom he seemed to recognize from school.

  Wes knew Bran had gotten a girl pregnant in high school, but Bran had never told him who.

  “I better get going,” Wes said. “Kaylee is waiting at the golf shop to take this one to Music and Me class.” He hopped his daughter in his arms, and Harlow squealed. “Nice to see you again, Delaney. Kevin.” Wes shook Kevin’s hand, and then he and Harlow were off.

  Bran glanced around. “Were you waiting for a table?”

  Delaney nodded. “It’s my birthday and we wanted to go someplace special.”

  Locals often came to Club Tahoe restaurants for special occasions. It was nice to know the hiccup this week hadn’t totally ruined their reputation.

  Bran flagged a waiter, who made his way over.

  “Put them at one of the reserved tables,” Bran said quietly to the waiter, and the waiter escorted Delaney and her family away.

  Bran attempted to put in more work, but he couldn’t get his mind off Delaney. After high school, he’d never seen her again. He’d assumed she left town, and maybe she had. Running into her today felt like coming full circle, only worse. He’d been a teen when he got Delaney pregnant. Ten years later, and he wasn’t sure if he’d caused another unplanned pregnancy.

  He had rules. Rules that ensured he never made that mistake again. And he’d ignored the rules to be with Ireland. Because he loved her.

  Fuck.

  On their way out, Delaney gestured for her husband and son to go ahead, and stayed behind.

  “Thank you for lunch,” she said. “That was very generous.”

  Bran had paid for their lunch, because it was the least he could do. “Happy birthday. I’ve always wondered how you were doing.”

  She reached out and squeezed his arm. “Really
well. Are you okay?”

  It was a simple question with a simple answer. But for some reason, words wouldn’t come out. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. For any pain I put you through when we were in high school. I’m not sure I ever told you that.”

  A sad smile crossed her face. “You did, actually. Several times. I was sorry too. But life has been good to me. I was given a second chance, and I hope you’ve been given one too.”

  He had been given a second chance. With Ireland. And he’d botched it.

  Bran had freaked the fuck out the other night. He hadn’t been there for Ireland, just like he’d panicked and not been there for Delaney a lifetime ago.

  Bran smiled to hide his thoughts. “Everything is fine. It was good to see you.”

  Delaney hesitated a moment, as if sensing his thoughts. “Take care, Bran,” she finally said with a sad smile, and rejoined her family.

  Delaney had moved on. Bran had too. With Ireland, instinctively locking it down once he’d given up trying to fight his attraction to her. And then he’d bailed the moment things went sideways.

  Ireland needed to know he’d be there for her no matter what. And that he loved her.

  Chapter 30

  Ireland sat at the kitchen island working on her computer, while Cali and Jaeg brought out boxes of items to take over to his parents’ house for the wedding this weekend. They’d done a run-through of the ceremony at Jaeg’s parents’ place earlier and everything was set.

  Somehow the wedding had snuck up on all of them. Cali had pushed the date forward, but Ireland suspected it felt overwhelming because of Bran and the emotional toll this week. She hadn’t only lost her boyfriend, she’d lost a friend. Bran had snuck into her life and became the person she wanted to tell about her day, to share her nights with, and the need for him hadn’t gone away. Now a chasm took up the space where her heart was supposed to be.

  Whatever Ireland and Bran had been building shattered the night they’d slept together without protection. Which seemed like a relatively minor thing for a couple to break up over. But for Bran, it had hit a nerve. He’d built his life around never making mistakes like that again, and then he did. With her. So she was a part of his worst nightmare.