Page 94 of Kiss and Tell

“I’ve never had much luck with love. Fell for the wrong girl in high school and basically let her play racquetball with my heart for the better part of my adult life.”

Padraig winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. I’ve been trigger-shy about relationships ever since Rhiannon. We grew up together and were best friends literally since birth. We started dating in high school, thus beginning too many years of me being the yo-yo, dangling from the end of her string.”

“Yo-yo, huh?” Padraig pulled off the towel draped over his shoulder and wiped some condensation off the bar.

Miles sighed. “She has a way of reappearing in my life just when I think I’ve got my shit together. She’s not a bad person. I think if she was a heartless, cruel woman, this would be easier, but we had a lot of great times together. And to make matters worse, our moms are best friends who are absolutely convinced we’re going to get married and give them grandbabies.”

“Ouch again.”

Miles grimaced. “Yeah. So when Rhiannon calls after a couple of years and we start reminiscing, it takes me back to happier times. For a little while, anyway.”

“Then you remember she hurt you too.” Padraig was a clever guy.

Miles tapped the end of his nose, letting the bartender know he got it in one. “Unfortunately, those bad memories never manage to resurface until she and I have embarked on something new, and I’m convinced thatthis timewe’ll go the distance. She was my first love, my first everything, and she has this uncanny skill for turning me into a complete idiot.”

“Women can do that,” Padraig agreed with a grin. “So is that what’s happening? You’re being an idiot again?”

Miles shook his head. “No. I’m over Rhiannon. For good.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I met someone a few weeks ago. Lucy.” Miles couldn’t say her name without smiling, even though the thought of being without her had his insides tied up in knots.

Padraig glanced down to the end of the bar where his wife, Emmy, was typing away on her laptop, and he grinned. The bartender had fallen head over heels for the romance writer, who’d set up camp at Pat’s Pub a few years ago.

He turned his attention back to Miles. “So tell me about Lucy.”

“Joey and I interviewed her for an episode ofManPower. She’s a brewmaster. You’d love her.”

Padraig looked intrigued. “Cool job. I’ve always been interested in brewing my own beer. I’ll have to be sure to catch that episode.”

“She’s an amazing woman,” Miles said. “I haven’t felt like this about someone in a long time. Rhiannon did a number on my head and my heart, so…”

“You’re worried about being hurt again,” Padraig said, not bothering to make his statement a question.

Miles nodded. “Rhiannon started calling again about the same time I met Lucy. I didn’t want to get dragged through all the emotions that come with my ex, so I shut down. Or I tried to, at least. Lucy’s a hard person to push away. I only spent a few weeks with her, which is way too fast to fall in love?—”

“No, it’s not,” Padraig interjected. “I fell for my first wife in a single night.”

Miles had heard all about Mia, who’d died of a brain tumor. “And Emmy?”

Padraig rubbed his jaw, stealing another glance down the bar. “Probably fell just as fast for her, but, like you, I was afraid to admit it. Broken hearts… They take a long time to heal.”

“They do,” Miles agreed. The two of them fell silent for a moment. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Joey. “I shouldn’t have been such a coward about acknowledging how I feel because I’m not just hurting me.”

Padraig followed Miles’s gaze. “Joey?”

“He’s in love with her too. We, uh… I mean, the three of us…”

Padraig chuckled. “I’m well aware of the Morettis’ penchant for sharing. Two of my cousins married Moretti girls with their best friends, remember?”

Miles laughed. Because Layla was currently sitting between Padraig’s cousin Finn, and their partner, Miguel. At a nearby table, his cousin Oliver was sitting with Erin—also a Moretti—andtheirpartner, Gavin.

“Fair enough,” Miles conceded. “Joey and I fell for Lucy Storm. And like a dumbass, I gave my best friend a million reasons why we couldn’t be with her because Rhiannon had gotten into my head, and I was too afraid to open myself up to another heartbreak.”

“What kind of reasons?”

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