Was winning that important to him?
Of course it was. It was important to her too. The difference was that she didn’t cheat to win.
A bowling alley.
What would have possessed Keith to buy a bowling alley?
Interest stirred in her blood. The memories of that long-ago birthday party danced in her head. She wondered if anything was operational next door. She hadn’t played the game since she was a kid, and she had a whole alley all to herself.
Why not? The worst that would happen was that she’d go over there and find out that nothing worked.
She pushed away from her desk before she lost her nerve. She stopped in the front and was surprised to see another crowd. Still not quite as big as the night before, but steady enough to suggest success. She smiled and waved at Mike. He seemed to be handling everything. The bar looked clean and the customers satisfied.
“I’ll be next door if you need me. Call my cell. I’ll be back in a while.”
He looked a little confused about her going next door, but nodded. Inside the bowling alley, she turned on every light switch she could find. The place was a mess. Inches of dust and dirt coated every surface.
She yanked a tarp from a rack. The cloud of dust made her cough, but once she regained her ability to breathe normally, she saw that the rack was still filled with bowling balls. She ran her hand along a shiny, smooth ball. The cool surface made her fingers itch to pick it up. She spun the ball until the three holes were faceup.
Sliding two fingers and her thumb in, she hefted the ball. It was too heavy for her to use, but she liked the feel of it. Setting the ball back in its spot, she shook her head. She was being childish. She didn’t have time for games.
Behind the shoe counter, she found some more switches and flipped them. Fortunately, there were no shoes. She didn’t think she could bear the stench of shoes that had been sitting for a decade. The shelves held a few cans of spray, probably for the shoes. If she wanted to make this work, they would need to order all new shoes. The balls seemed to be in good shape. She picked up a mini-pencil from the shelf and sifted around for a sheet of paper.
Making a list was something she was good at. Just looking around, she was able to see many things they’d have to order. Little pencils, scorecards . . . unless they upgraded to all electronic scoring. That would probably be the way to go.
She’d never imagined that being the first one to take on a business would be so hard. She always came in after Dad or Keith had things in place. She was expected to run the staff and make sure they’d hired the right people, but Dad and Keith were the idea people. Maybe that’s why they thought she couldn’t handle being in charge.
They never trusted her to come up with the ideas. In fact, they’d never even asked for her input. Sure, she was good enough to maintain the books and follow their plans, but they’d never thought to invite her into the development phase.
Well, she would show them. She would take this alley and turn it around, just as she had the bar.
Upgrades of this nature would be more expensive than anything else she’d done. If she wanted access to company funds of this proportion, she’d have to explain to her father. No, for this, she’d use her own money to keep flying under the radar.
First, before ordering anything, she needed to find a repairman to make sure the equipment was operational. She didn’t know if she could afford to replace the pin setters. It was too late in the day to make calls now. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
In the meantime, she’d start the cleaning process all over. She wondered if Moira was free. She could use the company. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Moira’s number. She dialed Colin again, but it went to voice mail.
“Hi, Colin. It’s Elizabeth. I’m in the bowling alley, and I figured I’d get a jump start on cleaning and was wondering if you’d give Moira a call and see if she’d be interested in helping. Just a thought. See you later.”
She disconnected and went back to her office to change into jeans and a T-shirt and get cleaning supplies. She bet her father and Keith never got this hands-on during a takeover. It was definitely a new experience.
The Brannigan’s T-shirt she put on was the one Colin had given her that revealed too much skin. She wore it because she hadn’t gotten an extra one from him and she wouldn’t be with customers. In the mirror, she caught sight of the red marks just above the neckline of the shirt.
Colin’s whiskers had done that. The skin was a little raw, but the memory flooded her with pleasure. She filled a bucket with soap and hot water and trudged out the back door and swung into the alley. She hoped to find the water still connected on that side or this was going to be a real pain in the ass.
She worked in silence, scraping away layers of dirt and scum, beginning the next phase in the project that was truly hers.
The bleep of a voice mail woke Colin from sleep. He jolted awake, more well rested than he’d felt in days, maybe even weeks. He listened to the message from Elizabeth. Where did that woman get her energy? She’d already been at the bar all night last night, found out about the bowling alley, fought with him, had sex, and now she was back at work, attempting to tackle the cleaning of the bowling alley. He rolled out of bed, knowing he needed to go help.
He checked the time. He could call Moira, but part of him preferred to have Elizabeth to himself. If Mike was handling the bar without a problem, there was no reason they couldn’t work together to put a dent in the cleaning of the alley.
And maybe if he was really lucky, he could talk Elizabeth into coming back home with him.
He took a quick shower, checked in with Mary down at O’Leary’s, and headed out. He began to question exactly how Ryan had managed to run both bars for so long by himself. Sure, he had Mary, but he still put time in at both places on a daily basis. He guessed Ryan hadn’t had much of a personal life over the past few years.
Ryan had almost lost Quinn because he was so used to doing everything alone. Colin had convinced Ryan that he wasn’t alone, that they’d work together to take care of their family. Now Colin felt the pressure of that commitment.
He pulled up behind the bar and parked in a spot on the bowling alley side. The back door was propped open. He walked in and saw Elizabeth scrubbing a long counter. The noise from the bar next door seeped through the wall. Before announcing his presence, he took a look around with fresh eyes.
The room was a mess, but it wasn’t destroyed. Elizabeth had pulled tarps off the racks to reveal rows of bowling balls. The hardwood flooring of the alleys appeared to be in good shape.
Maybe this wasn’t as bad as he’d originally thought. The place had been closed for a decade. That meant that it hadn’t suffered the wear and tear the bar had been through. This was just neglected space.
“Hey,” he called out to get Elizabeth’s attention.
She jumped a little at the sound of his voice. “Hi. I guess you got my message.”
She turned and tossed a rag into a bucket of water. She wore the T-shirt he had given her, the one that showed a nice bit of cleavage. Her soft skin was still red where his jaw had rubbed against it.
“I’m here to help. Mike will be fine at the bar.” He moved closer. He stroked the sensitive skin below her collarbone. “Sorry about this.”
She swatted his hand away. “It’s fine. Collateral damage. Usually I’m the one inflicting the pain.”
“I should consider myself lucky that I got away unscathed, huh?”
“Definitely.” She reached back into the bucket and wrung out the rag. “This place is disgusting. I’m on my third bucket of water just to clean this counter.”
“Where do you want me to start?”
She shook her head and looked around. “Pick a spot. At this rate, we’ll be here all night.”
He went to the backroom of the bar to grab more cleaning supplies, and while he was there, he snagged a bottle of wine. He rarely drank anymore, but if he had to suffer through more cleaning, he m
ight as well enjoy himself. It also had to help loosen Elizabeth up.
They worked for hours scrubbing and listening to some classic rock station on a battered radio. Colin made a mental note to get the stereo hooked up in here as well. Elizabeth sipped at the first glass he’d poured for her.
“Do you know if both businesses ran together?”
“Huh?” she asked, clearly caught up in her own thoughts.
“Is there a way for the bar and bowling alley to connect up here?”
“I have no idea. I just know that Keith said they closed down the alley because it was too much work.”
“Keith?”
Her face froze like she’d said something she shouldn’t have. “My brother.”
“Oh.” Why would she be worried about talking about her brother? “I’m starving. Aren’t you hungry?”
She shrugged.
“It would be nice if we had a real kitchen here like we do at O’Leary’s. Then we could just yell out an order and eat.” He planted the seed in her mind. Having a fully functioning kitchen would increase the value of the business. “I’m going to order pizza. What do you like on it?”
He prayed she wouldn’t say something weird like fruit. Fruit did not belong on a pizza.
“I’m fine with whatever you get.”
She seemed distant. He wanted to get her to interact. Respond. Something. He whipped out his phone and ordered a pizza with everything and had it delivered to the bar. He propped the front door open so he could keep an eye out for the delivery guy.
By the time the pizza arrived, the counter area was practically sparkling. He’d managed to get the tables at each alley clean. The floors were a different matter altogether. He wasn’t sure if the ratty carpet was worth salvaging.
Colin reentered the bowling alley carrying the pizza. “Do you want to eat here or go next door and eat in your office?”
Elizabeth tossed the dirty rag back in the bucket. “We might as well eat here. My office is a little cramped.”
He set the pizza on the counter and pulled over a couple of stools. He brushed the worst of the dirt off them and offered one to Elizabeth. She looked exhausted. Too bad she hadn’t taken a nap like he had.
She took the smallest piece of pizza from the box and nibbled at it.
“Please don’t tell me you’re one of those women.”
“Those women?”
“The kind that pretends not to eat.”
“No. I love to eat. You’ve seen me eat.”
“Yeah. A salad and fries.”
“I’m just really tired and I still have an upset stomach.”
“Your stomach is upset a lot. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He wasn’t buying it. She was holding back, but he didn’t want to push her. He still had hopes for spending the night with her.
“Are you and your brother close? You never talk about him.”
Elizabeth studied the pizza in her hand. “We get along. I live in the coach house on his property. But I wouldn’t say we’re close.”
“Is he in the family business too?”
She nodded.
“Why isn’t he here helping you then?”
“He’s got other projects.” She tossed her pizza down. “How’s your family? I mean with the new baby and all?”
She obviously wanted to change the topic. Why was her family off limits, but his wasn’t? “They’re great. First grandbaby and all.”
They sat in silence, but lustful images filled his head. “Why don’t you head out? We can get back to this tomorrow when we’re fresh and can think straight.”
She shook her head. “We have to close the bar.”
“I’ll close up with Mike. I’m used to these hours. You aren’t.” He brushed a thumb down her cheek.
“I’m fine. I need the receipts anyway.”
“The receipts can wait until tomorrow. I’ll lock them up in your office.”
He wanted to persuade her. She looked exhausted and she wasn’t feeling well, no matter what she said. “I’ll bring the receipts to you after I close.”
Her eyes widened at his offer. “Why would you want to drive all the way to my hotel when your apartment is so much closer?”
“Good point. Why don’t you go back to my apartment to sleep, and I’ll bring the receipts home with me?”
He smiled, knowing he’d caught her off guard.
CHAPTER 10
Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open. “Are you asking me to spend the night with you?”
“Sure.”
She immediately wanted to say no, but she stopped herself. Why would it be bad? He’d made a hell of an argument earlier. They were both too busy to meet other people. She’d done this before. The only difference here was that he was her business partner.
As if reading her mind, he said, “We’re partners and we make a good team. I get that sleeping together could complicate things, but we’re both adults. We can handle it.”
She laughed. “I’m an adult. I’m not quite sure about you.”
“Did you just make another joke? Better be careful. It might become a habit.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “So what do you say?”
“We don’t know each other that well. And although I was fine with the idea of anonymous sex when we first met, things have changed. We are partners, and in my experience, men tend to think that once they’ve slept with a woman, they have the upper hand.”
“What? You don’t understand men at all, sweetheart. We talk a good game, but once we have sex, the woman holds all the cards.”
She didn’t believe him for a second, but he was so damn cute, she wanted to be convinced. “Then we need rules.”
“Rules?”
He looked like the word alone would give him a coronary.
“Yes, ground rules. First, no hanky-panky at work. I’m the boss, the owner, and I need all of the employees to see me that way.”
He scooted his stool closer to hers. “You might find it hard to keep your hands off me. What else?”
“We tell no one about this. It’s just between us.”
He shifted away from her. “I can’t tell my family?”
“No one. It’s friendly sex, not a lifelong commitment.”
“I can agree to that, but you can’t blame me if they figure it out. Moira’s a reporter and the nosiest thing on two legs.”
“Third, I expect monogamy for as long as I’m in town. When I head home, we go our separate ways, no harm, no foul.” She waited for his reaction.
“Long-term booty calls. I like the way you think.”
He grabbed the back of her neck and drew her close for a kiss, but she resisted.
“We’re at work. You’re already breaking Rule One.”
“No one’s here, so no one can find out.”
She slid from her stool and out of his reach. “Looking for loopholes won’t help you. Do we have a deal?”
He stepped beside her and took her hand. “Are you going to my apartment for the night?”
“Maybe. If we can agree on terms.”
“I agree.” He fished his keys from his pocket. “Make sure you take a nap before I get home. We’ll be up for a while. I don’t like to be rushed.”
She accepted the keys, but her knees felt weak. She was afraid to move, knowing chances were good that she’d stumble. His body invaded her space again, causing her skin to warm.
“I don’t have any clothes to wear.”
“You can borrow something of mine and go back to your hotel tomorrow.”
She backed away again to gather her thoughts. It all sounded too intimate. “How will you get in?”
“I have a spare set of keys at the bar. Go get some rest.”
He turned away from her and busied himself with cleaning up their dinner. The thought of sleep sounded so good—the image of being awoken by him for sex, even better.
She wasn’t sure about this, but it couldn’t possibly make her life any wo
rse than it had been. She’d been in over her head for weeks. What was a little deeper?
Elizabeth drove to O’Leary’s and parked on the street so she wouldn’t draw any attention to her car being there overnight. She’d never known a man to be so open with his house. She and Colin had only known each other for a few weeks, and he had not only invited her to spend the night, but he’d allowed her to go to his apartment without him.
She let herself into the apartment and tossed his keys on the counter where they’d had sex that afternoon. He’d left a light on in the small kitchen, and it was enough to illuminate a path for her to find other light switches.
The apartment was nothing special. A leather couch and big-screen TV filled the living room. A small bookcase held paperbacks, mostly books on mixing drinks, but he had quite a few trivia books. She imagined trivia was a tool of the trade for a bartender.
A stack of magazines filled a corner. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to know where his reading interests lay, so she didn’t thumb through the pile.
In the kitchen, she opened a few cabinets to check out the contents and find a glass for some water. The cabinets were empty, but the refrigerator had food. She didn’t know why this shocked her, but it did. She’d expected a twelve-pack of beer and maybe a bag of chips on the counter. He had fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator along with a few bottles of beer.
She took her glass of water down a dark hall and found Colin’s bedroom. He’d squeezed a king-sized bed into the room, leaving little space. A tall dresser was wedged in the corner. She scooted around the bed and placed her glass on the lone nightstand. She pulled open the drawer and saw a box of condoms. That made her feel better.
On top of the dresser were a bunch of picture frames. His family. They all looked inordinately happy in the candid shots. Her family photos tended to be portraits and no one looked relaxed or happy. She liked the O’Leary version better. She opened the middle drawer of the dresser to find a shirt to sleep in.
She chose an old softball jersey. It was bright blue and the team name BLUE BALLS blazed across the front in white letters. The cotton was soft and smelled like Colin. She took the shirt with her to the bathroom to take a shower. She was sure Colin wouldn’t mind, since he’d wanted her here.
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