Page 47 of The Barista's Beloved

“Did you say it to her?” Noah asked as Iain studied him from across the table.

Ben flattened his palms against the table top. Saying all of this out loud was hard enough, but doing so in front of this particular audience was even more difficult. While he’d gotten to know Iain, Noah, and Sean in the months he’d been in River Hill, he couldn’t be sure how they’d react. Each had dealt with their own dramas on their way to happily-ever-after with Naomi, Angelica, and Jess, but this thing with Maeve was different. While she was Iain’s family by birth, he’d seen them all treat her like a little sister of sorts—and not always in a good way. “No. Not yet. She, um, didn’t give me a chance.”

“Well, you had just told her you were taking a job with her sworn enemy across the fucking Pacific,” Iain said, his tone harsh.

Something about the way he’d characterized the situation gave Ben the power to continue. He was a lot of things, but an asshole wasn’t one of them. Well, not anymore … and it was important they knew that about him. “Actually, I didn’t. I told her I’d been offered a job with them. I’d gone over to her house wanting to discuss the pros and cons, but within minutes of seeing her, I knew I couldn’t take it. It’s not...it’s not what I want. No matter how many over-the-top benefits the job came with, I couldn’t leave her. I love her.”

Iain stared at him for several silent beats, during which Ben swore it was silent enough to hear a pin drop. The older Brennan’s lips flattened into a hard line and he nodded once. “Okay, then. What are you going to do about it?”

Ben reached into his back pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper he’d put together before coming downstairs. Slowly, he unfolded it, flattened it, and then turned it around so the other men could see it clearly. “If the work I did for Youth Mentors taught me anything, it’s that there isn’t a lawyer in town who knows real estate and contract law as well as I do.” He pushed the paper across the table. “And that got me to thinking. I don’t need to work for some big, fancy firm with a marquee list of clients to find fulfillment. There’s enough work right here in River Hill and the surrounding communities to build my own practice. It won’t be easy, but how’s that saying go again?”

Max grinned at him from across the table with what looked to Ben’s eyes a lot like pride. “Nothing worthwhile ever is,” he finished.

“Exactly,” Ben said. “It took me awhile to see it, but I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I fucked up, I know that, but hopefully when I tell Maeve how I plan to do good for the community, she’ll see I’m not the asshole she accused me of being. I want to build a life with her, here. But I’m going to need your help.” His gaze swept over the table. “I hate calling in a favor like this, but between you, you know practically everyone in River Hill. And those you don’t know, your significant others do.”

Noah leaned back in his chair, his burly arms crossed over his barrel of a chest. He glanced down at the paper and then back up to Ben. Slowly, a smile spread across his bearded face. “Max always said you were one of the smartest fuckers he’d ever met. Glad to see you finally realize it, too.”

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