Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1)

by Claire Boston

  “We’d need to have separate bedrooms,” she said. “I’m not sure whether we’ll use them both, but in case we have visitors, or we need a break from each other, we need our separate spaces.”

  He nodded, the hope flaring into flames.

  “It will be just until the lease runs out here. Then we can reassess and make a decision about where to go from there.”

  “Absolutely.” He’d agree to anything.

  Bridget let out a deep breath. “All right. Do you want to move in?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He hugged her tightly and kissed her again. “I’ll do right by you, Bridget. Don’t worry.”

  She nodded, but he could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced. He’d show her he meant it. Somehow.

  * * *

  Jack moved in the next day. He went to Anthony, gave him his change of address and explained about Tanya and Hal. He didn’t mention he and Bridget were in a relationship and Anthony didn’t ask. The situation between Tanya and Hal was clear enough. No one thought it was strange he didn’t want to live with newlyweds.

  He left work an hour early to retrieve some of his things out of storage: his bed, a chest of drawers, and his bedside tables. He hadn’t had a chance to ask Bridget what else Tanya had taken, but he’d ask her tonight.

  When Dionysus had said they were paying for the relocation, he hadn’t bothered selling anything, he’d just packed up his whole house and shipped it to the US.

  Hal met him at the storage company, helped him load up the trailer he’d hired, and then followed him back to Bridget’s to unload.

  “I appreciate you moving out,” Hal said when they were finished and drinking a beer in the kitchen.

  Jack shrugged. “I appreciate you letting me stay.”

  “Are you and Bridget …” Hal searched for the word, “cool with the situation?”

  “We’ll make it work.” He’d be much happier if Bridget had asked him because she wanted him to live with her, not because she had little other choice.

  “Tanya feels really bad about it,” said Hal.

  Jack raised an eyebrow.

  “Bridget was pretty unhappy with her.”

  “Then she should learn not to manipulate people.”

  Hal frowned and then sat back. “She just wants Bridget to have what she has.”

  Jack let it lie. “When’s the party?” Jack’s mother had been upset to learn her youngest son was married and had insisted they have a celebration.

  “Soon. We’re going over to Mom’s tomorrow to arrange the details.”

  “What about Dad?”

  “He was more concerned about whether we knew each other well enough.” Hal got to his feet. “I’m going to head home. Tanya will be there soon and I want to have dinner ready for her.”

  Jack smiled and stood to walk his brother to the door. He was pleased for him, even if the speed with which it had happened was unbelievable.

  When Hal left, Jack looked around the house. Making dinner was a good idea. With that in mind he got to work.

  * * *

  Bridget’s day had been full-on. The contractors had been on site to implement the crucial part of her project and when she went to check on them an hour after they arrived, she discovered they were waiting for a permit.

  She’d had to do the permit herself, and then was told that production didn’t have anyone spare to supervise them, so she’d had to do that as well. Afterward she’d written out the permits for the remaining days, double checked her work requests had been converted into work orders, and confirmed with the shift supervisor he would have people on the job for the next couple of days. Reluctantly he agreed.

  By the time the contractors had finished what they could that day, Bridget was running so far behind it wasn’t funny.

  She took a few minutes to accompany them to the gatehouse and make sure there were no issues and then started on the work she should have been doing all day.

  It was seven o’clock before she was able to leave. As she did, her phone rang.

  “You’re working late.” Jack’s voice held a hint of a reprimand.

  That was something she hadn’t considered when asking him to move in. He would know exactly how much she was working. “Yeah, I’m leaving now. Can I tell you about it when I get home?”

  “Sure. Dinner will be ready.”

  She hung up, a warm glow in her stomach. It was nice having someone to go home to, someone who was cooking for her. She and Tanya had largely made their own meals because Bridget was never sure when she would finish work.

  The drive was less busy than usual and it wasn’t long before she was walking through her front door, the scent of garlic bread in the air. She dumped her purse on her bed and went through to the kitchen. Jack waved at her, his eyes wide, pointing to the phone he held in his hand.

  “Mrs. Flanagan, I assure you, Bridget is fine. In fact she’s just walked in the door.” There was a pause. “Yes, I’ll hand it over.”

  Bridget frowned. Jack looked panicked. She took the phone. “Hola, Mamá. Qué pasa?”

  Her mother chuckled, low and mischievous. Her response was in rapid, strongly-accented English. “Who was that man? Why is he answering? Should I call the police?”

  Bridget laughed. “Mama, what did you do?” On occasion her mother had fun playing the stereotypical hysterical Hispanic woman, and seeing how people reacted.

  “How anxious is he?”

  Jack was watching her, concern on his face. “Anxious enough. What did you say?”

  “I merely asked if he was holding you hostage.”

  Bridget groaned, but couldn’t prevent the smile from crossing her face.

  “So who is he?”

  “He’s my new boss, Mama. Tanya got married on the weekend and moved out. Jack needed a place to stay, and I needed a roommate.”

  “Is that wise?”

  Bridget sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “You must bring him to the next family lunch,” Carmen insisted. “I want to meet him, make sure he doesn’t take advantage of you.”

  Bridget winced. There was no getting around it. If she didn’t bring Jack to the lunch, her mother was likely to appear on her doorstep demanding an introduction. But when Carmen realized Jack wasn’t just Bridget’s boss, she’d be worried.

  “Sure, Mama. I’ll see you then. Love you.” She hung up.

  Jack handed her a glass of wine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think before I answered the phone.”

  Bridget shook her head. “She was just playing with you. She didn’t mean it.”

  Jack frowned. “So she wasn’t about to call the police on me for holding you hostage?”

  Bridget laughed. “No. She was having fun.”

  “That’s a relief.” He chuckled. “She sure had me fooled. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  She took a sip of the wine. “She’s invited you to the next family lunch.” She waited for his reaction.

  “That’s great. Maybe you can tell me what I need to do to win her over.”

  Bridget smiled. She had thought the idea of meeting her mother would have freaked him out. “I’ve got a couple of tips.”

  Jack went over to the stove. “Hungry?”

  “Starved,” she said as she took a seat at the table. “Did you get your things in all right?”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t hard. I do have some more stuff I can take out of storage if we need it. I wasn’t sure what Tanya had taken.”

  “Most of the kitchen things are hers and we went halves on the sofas and table. I might sell both, give her her share and then buy something cheap.”

  “Well I’ve got sofas and a kitchen table in storage. Why don’t we check them out on the weekend and you can see if they suit?”

  “Sounds good.” She didn’t have the extra cash to spend right now.

  Jack dished up the fettuccine carbonara with garlic bread on the side, and topped up her wine glass.

  “This looks fantastic.” And smelled ev
en better.

  “It’s my go-to dish,” Jack admitted. “It’s not hard to make.” He took the seat next to her. “Are we allowed to talk about why you were so late?”

  They had their no-work talk deal for the weekends, but this was mid-week. Their agreement was going to have to change, plus Bridget wanted to talk to someone about it.

  “A few issues with the contractors,” she said and explained what had happened.

  Jack frowned. “Is it sorted for the rest of the week?”

  She nodded. “I’ve spoken to the production superintendent. He’s going to make sure it all goes smoothly.”

  “You didn’t need to stay late though.”

  “We’ve got the team-building sessions next week,” she told him. “That eats into my time to complete this project.”

  He sighed. “You’re right. I would have liked to postpone it until afterward but we need more cohesion as a team.”

  She agreed. “So what are we going to do?”

  He grinned at her. “It’s a secret, but it will be fun.”

  She finished off her pasta and sat back with a sigh. “You can cook in future.”

  “No way. I’m into equal opportunity. We’ll share.” He paused. “But there’s one thing I want to ask.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Are these plates Tanya’s?” He grimaced at the pink floral decoration and purple border.

  Bridget laughed. “They’re hideous, aren’t they?” she said. “Tanya’s aunt gave them to her and we never got around to replacing them.”

  “Hallelujah. Do you want me to get my kitchen things out of storage on the weekend?”

  “As long as they’re not as bad as this.”

  “Definitely not.”

  She got to her feet and cleared the table, stacking the dishwasher. “I need a shower,” she said. She hesitated for only a moment. “Do you want to join me?”

  He grinned. “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  Bridget was a little edgy for the next few days. Every time someone called her she flinched, and then relaxed when the question was about work.

  She and Jack continued driving to work separately. Neither of them knew when they might have to work late, and while they had decided not to keep the fact they were living together a secret if someone asked, they didn’t want to provoke the question by arriving in the same car.

  Bridget was surprised at how easily they fell into a rhythm. Whoever arrived home first would cook dinner, and often they were both happy to sit on the couch and watch television in the evening. They had a couple of favorite shows in common, but if Jack was watching something she wasn’t interested in, she’d curl up next to him and read a book. More often than not, they shared a bed and fell asleep, content and sated.

  On the weekend, they loaded Tanya’s remaining things into Bridget’s truck and delivered them to Hal’s place. Tanya was working so she wasn’t there. They hadn’t spoken since Bridget had hung up on her, but she’d have to call her soon. There was no point staying mad at her. Her heart had been in the right place.

  Afterward, they drove to Jack’s storage shed. It was packed full of boxes and furniture, but everything was clearly labeled.

  “The kitchen things are over there.” Jack pointed to a stack of boxes on the left side of the unit.

  Over several trips they transported the sofas and kitchen table, as well as several boxes of kitchen items. Jack had good taste in furniture. The couches were gray and soft enough to really get comfortable, without being too soft to sit straight. The dining table was rectangular, made from pine with six matching chairs. His dishes were plain white. It would be wonderful to eat off something that didn’t make her feel ill.

  Bridget lifted the last box onto the kitchen cabinet and opened it. Face up in front of her was a framed photo. Jack grinned at the camera while a gorgeous brunette kissed his cheek.

  Chapter 14

  Bridget’s chest constricted and she took a sharp intake of breath. The flash of jealousy was fast and unwanted. She stared at the woman. Who was she?

  It was only natural that Jack had had other girlfriends before her. Just because he knew about Lionel, didn’t mean he had to tell her about his ex-girlfriends.

  Swallowing down her jealousy she held up the frame. “Where do you want to put this?”

  He glanced over and his eyes widened. He took the frame from her. “I didn’t realize I’d packed it,” he said, putting it face down on the counter. “I dated Melanie for a couple of years in Australia. When I told her I was going back to Texas we broke up. She didn’t want to move and I didn’t want to stay. Neither of us loved the other enough to change where we were living.”

  The green-eyed monster quietened in Bridget’s head. “Do you keep in touch?”

  “We’re friends on social media,” he said. “We’ve both moved on.” He turned her toward him. “Do you want me to get rid of the photo?”

  She shook her head. She wasn’t quite that insecure. Melanie was part of his past and their relationship had ended amicably. Not like her relationship with Lionel. She and Tanya had made a bonfire in the backyard to burn all her photos of Lionel and everything he’d given her over their relationship. It had been incredibly cathartic.

  “Keep it,” she said. “Though if you want to display it, it can go in your room.”

  He smiled. “I’ll put it in my drawer. Melanie was a good friend, we had fun together. But I didn’t feel for her what I feel for you.”

  His words sent a stream of delight through her, followed closely by concern. Why was this moving so fast?

  He kissed her, drawing her closer, sending a lovely shimmering warmth through her body, and she pushed aside her concerns.

  “Well, that’s all right then,” Bridget said when she got her breath back.

  “Want to go to the movies tomorrow?” Jack asked, changing the subject and throwing her off balance.

  “Sure. What do you want to see?”

  “I don’t care. We could go to dinner afterward.”

  It sounded like fun. The last time she’d gone to the movies, she’d chosen what had been advertised as a romance, but the hero had died. She and Tanya had gone through a pack of tissues and come out with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

  “The latest Avengers movie is out,” she told Jack. “We could see that.”

  He grinned. “I knew you were my perfect woman.” He hugged her and turned back to unpacking his box.

  Bridget stood there. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be anyone’s perfect woman. It sounded like too many expectations to her.

  With a small sigh, she continued to unpack.

  * * *

  Jack made sure he kept their Sunday date as casual and fun as he could. Things were moving fast and he didn’t want to overwhelm Bridget.

  But it was difficult. There were so many things about her that made him smile, and he didn’t want to hide his feelings. He enjoyed living with her, liked how they were both so easygoing, and was pleased she was beginning to relax at work again.

  As they lined up to get their movie tickets he asked, “Do you want anything to eat?”

  “Whoppers,” she said instantly. “It’s not a movie without Whoppers.”

  He ordered the candy and the tickets and then put a hand over hers when she tried to pay. “It’s my treat today.”

  “All right. I’ll pay next time.”

  Bridget picked up her box of Whoppers and they moved away from the concession stand.

  “Hey, Jack. Fancy seeing you here.”

  They both turned at Ken’s voice. Bridget dropped Jack’s hand like it burned.

  Ken noticed Bridget and his eyes widened. “Hi Bridget.”

  He glanced between the two of them and Jack wanted to swear. Just when the day was going so well.

  “We’re going to the new Avengers movie. What are you seeing?”

  Ken indicated his two children next to him. “We’re watching a cartoon.”

  There w
ere questions and speculation in Ken’s eyes, but Jack wasn’t going to give him a chance to voice it. “We’d better get in there before it starts. See you tomorrow.”

  With a gentle nudge to Bridget, they walked away.

  She let out a deep breath. “Damn it.”

  He couldn’t agree more.

  “Should we have explained?” she asked.

  “Explained what? That we’re dating? It’s none of his damn business.” Jack couldn’t help the annoyance in his voice.

  “No, about the Tanya and Hal thing. Ken’s a gossip.”

  “So we’ll straighten out anything he says on Monday.” They walked into the dim theater. “Try not to let it worry you.”

  She opened her mouth and then shook her head.

  Finding seats, he took hold of her hand. It stiffened for a moment and then relaxed. “Forget about it and enjoy the movie.”

  She gave him a small smile and turned her attention to the screen.

  She would worry about it. Perhaps he should duck out and find Ken to explain the situation. But then it might seem worse somehow. He didn’t know how to solve this problem.

  * * *

  It took until the firefighting training on Monday afternoon for someone to ask Bridget about the rumor. She was surprised it had taken that long. The slightly guilty expression on Ken’s face when she’d run into him in the hall earlier told her he’d already gossiped about what he seen at the cinema the day before. She’d been tense all day, waiting for the insinuations, and it was almost a relief when the first one came.

  “Bridge, I hear you went to the movies with your boss,” one of the operation technicians said.

  She couldn’t prevent the instinctive tensing of her muscles. But she’d debated so many options of how she was going to answer any questions and had decided to be mostly honest. “And did you hear we’re living together too?”

  The guy’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

  She laughed. “Relax. My best friend and roommate ran off and got married to Jack’s brother. Jack had been living at his brother’s house, I needed a new roommate, so we figured it made sense in the short term.” She shrugged, trying for casual and unconcerned, but her shoulders were stiff. “We both wanted to watch the same movie, so we went together.”