Page 129 of On The Rocks

My throat worked, but not because of Ma’s threat.

If my wife walked out on me, Mam wouldn’t have to worry about taking me down. Life without her would destroy me anyway. It was like I told her on opening night...

She’d saved me from myself.

Maeve Monroe was my salvation.

CHAPTER 26

MAEVE

The ride home was the most awkward six and a half minutes of my life, and yes, I did time it. Being stuck in close proximity to the man who’d fucked me over and broke my heart wasn’t only awkward but also humiliating.

My brain was scrambling for answers, and the more I thought about what Callum O’Shea had done, the more it wound me up. By the time we pulled into the courtyard behind the bar, I felt like a powder keg about to blow.

My husband cut the engine, sat back in his seat, and heaved out a sigh. “Look, Maeve, love?—”

“Not here,” I interrupted. “We’ll go upstairs.”

He agreed with a nod and threw his door open. Jumping down, he ran around the hood.

Callum always helped me down from the truck, but my boots were already hitting the ground by the time he got to me. I saw his jaw clench, but he didn’t say a word. He probably took one look at the pinched expression on my face and didn’t dare.

Turning my back on him, I walked toward the back door to the bar, my steps faltering when I saw the door was ajar.

Callum walked ahead of me and shrugged. “I was in a hurry to leave.”

“Are you mad?” I asked snippily. “Last night’s takings are in there.”

“I don’t care about the takings.”

“You should,” I retorted. “You need to stay on top of business. This isn’t a game, Callum O’Shea. Your love for the place is what got us here. There’s no point letting things slide now.”

“No,” he denied. “My love foryouis what got us here.”

I didn’t want to cry—giving him that satisfaction made me madder than a banshee—but every time he mentioned his love for me, I lost it because how could he say he loved me and then turn around and lie to my face?

We trudged up the stairs to the apartment in silence. Without thinking, I wandered into the living room and sat down. It occurred to me that the last time I sat here, pulling my boots on, I was the happiest girl in the world. How could my emotions flip so quickly and so painfully in such a short space of time?

Callum sat in the armchair opposite me. His elbows hit his knees, and my gaze fell on the strong, capable hands I loved so much. Callum’s fingers were long and elegant. Maybe it was weird for me to think about a man’s hands that way, but I’d always thought of him differently than other men. Perhaps that was why it had been so easy for him to embarrass me; the pedestal I’d put him on was too high for me to be able to see his true self.

“Can you say something, Maeve?” he whispered, his tone almost begging. “Scream at me, shout. Tell me I’m an asshole. Tell me I’m an eejit, baby, just don’t shut down. I love you so much, I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

Those damned tears welled in my eyes again. I couldn’t control myself. My emotions were raw, like an open wound, andevery time Callum talked about his so-called love for me, the words slashed me deeper.

“Tell me everything,” I scraped out, my throat hoarse from the permanent lump that had formed in the back of it. “Start from the beginning, and no more lies.”

“The first I knew about any of this was the day of Da’s funeral,” Callum began. “Da asked for Patrick to be present when Kennedy read the will. That was when I discovered there was a debt on the bar.”

“The day of your daddy’s funeral,” I reiterated.

He jerked a nod. “Kennedy left the room, and Patrick told me he couldn’t write the debt off, though he could give me time to pay it, but only if I married you.”

“What did you say?” I asked. Even though I knew I didn’t want to hear the answer, I needed to know.

“I told him no,” he admitted. “But it wasn’t about you. I didn’t want to marry anybody. I’d convinced myself I didn’t need a wife, that I was better on my own. Patrick could’ve offered me Angelina Jolie, and I would’ve balked at the idea.”

Something Shannon said to me on my wedding day echoed through my mind.

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