“What about your family?” Eileen asked.
“My father has the business headquarters in Miami.”
“So you don’t see them?” The thought appeared to really bother Eileen.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I see my father and brother on various job sites. I live in the coach house that my brother owns, so when I’m home I see my sister-in-law and nieces.”
Eileen tsked.
“I didn’t bring Libby here for an inquisition.”
As soon as she heard him use her nickname, Elizabeth felt the wave of attention shift back to her. Her cheeks flamed.
Eileen didn’t falter. “We’re just getting to know your lady friend.”
Moira gave her a nudge under the table. “Libby?”
Elizabeth turned to Moira and knocked her fork off the table. Then when she bent to pick it up, she whacked her head on the underside of the table.
She clenched her teeth to prevent the curse word from slipping out. She was embarrassed enough without Quinn scolding her too. When she resurfaced, everyone had begun to eat and conversation had continued as if she hadn’t just made a total fool of herself.
Except Colin. He smiled, and her muscles eased a little.
Unfortunately, Moira also kept her attention on Elizabeth. She leaned close and whispered, “So what exactly is going on with you and my brother?”
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth didn’t want to lie, but she certainly didn’t want to fuel any gossip or place any unrealistic expectations on her relationship with Colin.
“You’re sleeping with him.”
Elizabeth felt everything from her chest to the tips of her ears burn red. “Even if I wanted to talk about this, it would never be at a dinner table with your entire family.”
“Moira, stop whispering at the table. It’s rude,” Eileen reprimanded.
“Sorry, Mom.”
The apology might as well have come from a snotty teen because, at a glance, Elizabeth saw the corner of Moira’s mouth lift as she tried to hide her smile.
With excellent timing, the baby began to squirm and cry. Quinn stood. “He’s probably hungry. I’ll take him.”
Colin handed over the bundle and focused his attention on loading his plate. In between bites he filled his family in on the progress of the bar and the bowling alley. Colin had been right, the food was pretty bland, not that it mattered. Elizabeth didn’t taste much after Moira’s declaration.
Except for the bread. That was truly delicious. “What kind of bread is this?” she asked Moira.
“Irish soda bread.”
“I thought that had raisins and stuff in it.”
“Shh . . . don’t let my mom hear that. Real Irish soda bread is bread and not dessert.”
“Whatever it is, it’s fabulous.”
“It’s an old family recipe, passed down from generation to generation.” Moira wagged her eyebrows. “Maybe we’ll get a copy for you.”
Elizabeth sighed. This was why she didn’t want to come to a family dinner. There were always expectations when a date is brought to the family home.
She poked at the remaining food on her plate and glanced at her watch. They had no idea how many people to expect at the bowling alley. They’d sent out flyers around the neighborhood and done some basic advertising, but it was a bowling alley. It wasn’t like they were introducing a new nightclub.
She envisioned a senior center sending a bus full of old people who would haggle over prices. Maybe the local high school might start using it as a hangout. She couldn’t imagine which would be worse.
Colin leaned over and touched her arm, sending a warm pulse up. “I’m done. How about you?”
She nodded and stood so quickly her chair almost toppled. After rescuing the chair, she turned to grab her plate, but Colin already had it in his hands.
With a smirk he said, “My mother’s fond of these plates. I’ll take them to the kitchen.”
His mild teasing didn’t help. She was grateful that she’d left her hair down so that her red ears couldn’t be seen. “Eileen, thank you so much for dinner. We need to be going.”
Eileen stood and took her hand. “Thank you for joining us.”
Elizabeth managed to carry her and Colin’s glasses to the kitchen without incident. At the sink he smiled and took them from her.
“See, you survived. No big deal.”
Before she could respond, Moira and Liam entered carrying their plates. Colin pointed to the bakery box. “Enjoy. Don’t forget you guys promised to come to the bowling alley tonight.”
“Colin, you shouldn’t strong-arm your family into coming.”
Moira nudged her. “We’re used to it. Besides, I think we have things to discuss. Things much more interesting than Highlander.”
“Keep the traffic moving,” Ryan yelled from behind his siblings.
Elizabeth shifted to allow them access to the sink and turned to leave.
“Elizabeth,” Ryan said, “I’ll call you tomorrow when I have some information.”
“Thanks.” On her way out, she said good-bye to Eileen and Quinn.
The house was so full of people and . . . love. It was weird and overwhelming. And as much as she wanted to escape, she also wanted to burrow in.
She didn’t need these complications.
CHAPTER 15
Colin was disappointed that the bowling alley hadn’t seen as much success as the bar did its first night. His family had shown up, just as they’d said they would, but the number of strangers didn’t make him smile. If they wanted this to work, they’d have to find another avenue of advertising.
Days had passed and they’d had very few customers. If they didn’t find more, they wouldn’t be able to continue paying Bianca.
What made it worse was watching the stress take its toll on Elizabeth. She kept saying she was fine, but he knew better. She still wasn’t eating much, and she looked like she was losing weight. She assured him she wasn’t, but he knew the feel of her body. The more he watched her, though, the more irritated she became.
At night, after the alley was closed, sometimes he could talk her into a game. It was the only time he got to see a genuine smile.
Of course it helped that they usually played for sexual favors, which was definitely a win-win for both of them.
Something had changed today. Elizabeth had left his apartment after taking a phone call that he couldn’t overhear. When he caught up with her at the bar, she didn’t want to talk. Although she was dressed casually, she moved with the brisk, businesslike air that she had when they first met. She barely spoke to anyone.
An hour before they opened, he’d had enough. She was fussing with everything in sight from the bottles to napkins and straws. She wiped down clean tables and tripped—over nothing but her own feet. He finally grabbed her hand and dragged her into her office.
“Let go of me,” she ordered and tugged.
He wouldn’t let go. He couldn’t possibly work with her like this. He closed the door behind them, pressed her against it, and kissed her like his life depended on it. At first her lips were tight and immobile with anger, but as he pushed his body into hers, she let out a moan and that was all the encouragement he needed.
His tongue swept in and he slowed his pace, stroking her mouth patiently while his hands caressed her neck. He didn’t pull back until he felt her stiff muscles give way to softness.
“Now,” he whispered, “do you want to tell me what the hell is wrong?”
She sighed and leaned her forehead on his chest. Why couldn’t she just talk to him?
“We’re not going anywhere until you talk.” He said it as gently as he could, but she needed to understand that he meant it. When she raised her head again, he added, “And at some point, people are going to think we’re in here fucking.”
She smiled, but it wasn’t real. “My dad is coming.”
He waited, but that was all she said.
“And?”
“That’s it. I’m s
ure Keith told him what I’m doing.”
“Wait. You still haven’t told him?”
“Well, he knows now. And he’ll be here to check it out.”
Colin smoothed a hand over her hair, which she’d been leaving down. “That’s a good thing, right? You’ve built a great business.”
“It’s not good enough yet. The bowling alley is dying. If he sees that, I’m still a failure.”
He growled and pulled her away from the door. He yanked it open and shoved her into the hallway. “Look out there. What do you see? It sure as hell is not failure.”
“You don’t understand. You couldn’t possibly understand. Keith would never show this to Dad. I have to be better than Keith.”
Colin flexed his hands and shoved them into his pockets. He wanted to shake her, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. “Why? If you’re both so good, why not run the company together? It’s what my dad always wanted for me and Ryan, but we fought and fucked it up. Now my dad is gone and can’t see us.”
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer. Why not?”
She stomped her foot. “Because there can be only one.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “Did you seriously just quote Highlander to me as the basis for why you and your brother can’t work together?”
She huffed, spun on her heel, and slammed the office door in his face. He swallowed his grin and opened the door. “I’m sorry I laughed. But you have to admit, it’s a little childish. And that says a lot coming from me.”
Elizabeth stood in the middle of the room, wooden and composed. “Yes, it is childish. I told you you wouldn’t understand. Keith and I made that agreement when I was still in college. You can’t possibly get it. You have a problem and an army of people are waiting in the wings to offer help and support. You don’t know what it’s like to have no one to count on except yourself.”
The hell he didn’t. He’d spent three years running from his family, afraid he wouldn’t be able to measure up. But now that he was back, he’d been taking full advantage of that support and loving every minute of it. Mostly.
Her shoulders slumped. “That’s not my life.”
“It could be.” He said the words and his heart lurched.
“What?”
He wasn’t sure what he was saying, but he continued, “If your life is so miserable and your family doesn’t stand behind you, why go back? Stay here. We make a great team, and I have family to spare.”
The more he talked, the more he wanted her to say yes. He didn’t want his life to change. He didn’t want her to go back to Florida.
She gave him a look of total disbelief. “I can’t stay here. My life is in Florida. I’ve worked my ass off for years to build a career in my father’s company. I can’t just walk away.”
A spear of disappointment shot through him. Although his mind understood, his heart wanted a yes. He’d known all along that she was driven by her goals and wouldn’t be waylaid by the likes of him. Throwing an offer out without thought was what had always gotten him into trouble.
He covered his unease and asked, “When’s your dad coming?”
“Next week.”
He sighed. “What can I do to help?”
“I wish I knew. He usually only shows when it’s time to sell.”
Sell? But they weren’t ready. He wasn’t ready. Not to sell. Not to say good-bye to her.
Colin left her in the office and returned to the bar. She might not know how he could help, but he’d figure it out. He wouldn’t let her think she’d failed, not when she’d taught him and given him so much. He’d do whatever was necessary, even if it meant calling the one person she didn’t want involved.
After a long night of Elizabeth bristling against everyone, Colin had finally gotten her to leave. He claimed he was worried about her health, but the truth was that no one could stand her when she got like that. They closed the alley early, and he offered Bianca the chance to waitress at the bar so she wouldn’t lose out on hours. She declined, saying she was going to look into other avenues to bring in customers.
Mike had the bar under control, so Colin went back to Elizabeth’s office. She’d offered to bring a desk for him into the cramped space, but he knew she didn’t really want him there. Over the past weeks, she had taught him how to organize all the paperwork and do the spreadsheets on the computer. But they’d done it all from his kitchen counter.
He sat behind her desk and scrolled through his phone to the number he’d saved from more than a week ago. It would’ve been so much easier if Elizabeth had a sister instead of a brother. He knew how to charm women.
It was late, but he didn’t care. He dialed the number and waited.
“Hello?”
He didn’t sound asleep.
“Hi, may I speak to Keith?” Colin’s mother would be so proud that he remembered his phone manners.
“Speaking. Who’s calling and why so late?”
“This is Colin O’Leary. We spoke briefly when you called here to talk to your sister.”
Shuffling occurred on the other end, and Colin began to wonder if the man was going to hang up on him.
“I remember. What’s this about?”
Unfortunately, Colin hadn’t really thought about how to phrase the rest of what needed to be said. “Have you talked to Elizabeth?”
“About what?”
Colin sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. Reticence ran in the Brannigan family. Maybe he should’ve had Moira call. “Look, I’m calling because I’m worried about her.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“She’s fine now, more or less. She was diagnosed with ulcers, and although she was doing better, whatever crap you have going on with her is stressing her out.”
“Who the hell are you to call and blame me for Elizabeth getting sick?”
Colin hung his head. “I’m not blaming you. She’s been working her ass off trying to turn this place around, and she feels like you’re working against her. I’m just asking you to lighten up a little.”
“I don’t know you, and I don’t know what your relationship with my sister is, but you know nothing about us. I keep trying to help her and she won’t let me.”
The man went from sounding irritated to worried. Good to know he wasn’t the only one with a screwed-up family.
“If you want to help, get your dad to cancel his trip here. She doesn’t feel ready, and she doesn’t want to fail.”
“So what else is new? The bar isn’t the reason for my father’s visit, so I won’t be able to stop him. I’ll come to Chicago in a couple of days, as soon as I clear my schedule. I’ll see what I can do. Don’t tell her I’m coming.”
“Don’t tell her I called you.”
The man laughed, and the tension Colin held lightened. Maybe Keith wasn’t as bad as Elizabeth made him out to be.
“You’re Colin O’Leary.”
“Yeah. We’ve talked before. I think I just mentioned that.” Colin began to wonder about the man’s sanity.
“It just came to me now. We talked a few months back about you wanting to buy The Irish Pub, didn’t we?”
“That was you?”
“Yeah. Now you know why I couldn’t sell. The place was always supposed to be for Elizabeth.”
The information interested Colin. It explained why she took everything so personally. It was much more than a competition with her brother.
“So why is your dad coming?”
“It’s her birthday.”
That tidbit changed Colin’s attitude altogether. Elizabeth hadn’t mentioned anything about her birthday. Maybe she didn’t celebrate it. But her dad was coming. Colin no longer had to worry about making sure her father knew she was successful; he just needed to make sure she enjoyed her birthday.
Four days later, Elizabeth struggled with everything. Her dad had made dinner reservations at a swank downtown restaurant, but she really didn’t want to go. How would
she be able to eat when the fate of her career was here, ready for Dad’s discerning eyes? Things were not going her way. Although the bar continued to turn a profit, the bowling alley sat empty every day. The place had been abandoned for so long that people had forgotten it existed. She needed a way to wake up the neighborhood and get them to invest time and money in her business.
Bianca was out pounding the pavement, trying to get local businesses to join a summer league. If the league brought people in, they would continue it in the fall. Elizabeth had planned on being long gone before the fall.
Now, she wasn’t so sure.
She’d told Colin that she wasn’t ready for her dad’s arrival because she wasn’t successful enough, but the truth was she was afraid Dad would want to sell immediately. If he gave the green light, she’d be back in Florida within a week.
She wasn’t ready to go. Colin’s offer for her to stay kept her up at night. She knew getting involved with her business partner would be a mistake. They’d grown close in so many ways, but they were business partners first. What would happen if she stayed and then they grew tired of each other? At some point, surely, he wouldn’t find her snoring cute. He wanted someone who would give him a family.
Running the bar might not be enough for her either. She knew she wanted more balance in her life, so she could actually have a life, but she didn’t want to remove all challenges. Once she figured out how to make the alley profitable, would running a single business be enough?
She’d thought the only thing she wanted was to be CEO. Again, she was no longer sure.
No matter what thoughts entered her mind, she needed to do something. She grabbed the box of glasses Colin had left in her office. Once in the hallway, she noticed that the back door was open and she heard voices. Colin’s laugh echoed in the alley, bouncing off garbage cans and probably carrying into the neighbors’ yards.
She took a step forward and opened her mouth to call him, but then she heard another voice. Keith’s. A bubble of panic welled in her chest. She propelled her body toward the door, wanting to stop them from talking, because she had no way to predict how Colin would react to Keith. Colin extended his hand and she froze. She was too late, so she just eavesdropped.
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