Page 20 of Irish Fire and Forbidden Love
“It sure is. What can I get you?” Eliza asked.
He grinned wider, which only seemed to heighten my unease. “Something dark and delicious.”
She nodded and poured one of our seasonal beers, The Rooster. It came from a local family not ten minutes down the road. It was one of my favorite dark beers, reminding me of a dark syrupy coffee.
He thanked her and slid into the barstool beside me, studying me, like a man appraising something of worth. I was just about to excuse myself. There was always somethingadministrative I could have bothered my time with, but then he spoke. “You must be Maeve, the owner of this fine establishment?”
Eliza and I exchanged glances, then I said, “Your Frank.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
He held out his hand. I didn’t take it.
“Your brother isn’t here.”
This seemed to surprise him. Then he said, “Ah. A shame.”
“Yes, well, anyway, I’ve got some work I need to catch up on.”
“Wait,” he said, jumping out of his seat. “I’m not here for my brother. It’s you who I really wanted to talk to.”
“The answer is no. It will always be no. I think it was pretty disgusting what your brother did to try to change my mind, but it doesn’t matter. It just showed me who your family truly is.” I stepped away from him.
Frank rushed in front of me. “Look, I’m not my brother’s keeper. I don’t know what’s gotten into him or what he’s done to upset you so much, but?—”
There was a loud shriek from the guitar, and the crowd, including Eliza, Frank, and I visibly tensed. Then a slow slur came from the microphone. An apology, one of Joe’s favorite things.
Frank cleared his throat and said, “I’d like to talk to you, and I think it would be better if we did this in private.”
“Why, so you can make moves on me, too?” I said and moved around him.
Frank grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. It hurt, but I tried not to let it show it.
“Maeve…?” Eliza started, but I knew the best way to stop someone like this was to make as little of a scene as possible. I’d let him get his word in, and once he realized this was truly a lost cause, then he’d leave.
“It’s fine,” I said, heat rising in my cheeks. I yanked my arm free and said in a level tone, “We can talk in my office, but if you touch me again, you’re out of here.”
He held up his hands like he hadn’t just meant to grab my arm a little too tight, but I could see his eyes. They weren’t apologetic. They were hard and surveying. At least Rory had the decency to try to be nice.
Then to Eliza, I said, “Do something about Joe, please.”
Frank and I stepped into my office. He sat in the chair opposite my desk, but I didn’t bother sitting. I wanted to be as close to the door as possible and ready to flee at any moment.
“Well?” I crossed my arms.
“Look, I want to help you, Maeve. We’re buying the shares from your family whether you like it or not. It’s as good as a done deal. Once I get back to my hotel, I’m going to sign the papers and things will be official.”
Anger boiled just beneath the surface of my skin, but somehow, I kept myself composed. I said, “So, what’s stopping you? Why not do it right now?”
Frank shifted in his seat, and realization dawned on me.
I leaned back. “You’re waiting on Rory. That’s why you came to the bar. To see if he was here.”
“Yes, he’s not. A bit unfortunate,” he said dryly. “But he’ll be back. If I know my little brother.”
“You’d have better luck at your hotel. He’s probably just at another bar drinking.”
He shook his head. “No, he doesn’t drink to forget.” Then he cocked his head to the side and laughed. “You must have really put a spell on him for him to do his disappearing act. He hasn’t done that… ever. Well, apart from one girl, and I thought he was going to marry her.”
