Page 15 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
Tierney shrugged. “I spoke to them when I arrived. They said they’re not talking business tonight, and that I should catch the first ferry in the morning and go to Uncle Anthony’s office to meet them. Only they could turn a family visit into a formal meeting.” She picked up her fresh drink and took a hearty swig. “I amnotlooking forward to it.”
“Perhaps you should take it easy tonight then.” Joey voiced what Kasia had been thinking.
“Or perhaps the alcohol will numb the pain of anticipating how mean Desmond and Anto will be to me tomorrow.” She took another gulp.
Joey emptied their own glass and stood. “I’ll get you another on my way out.”
“Nooo. Don’t go, Joey.” Tierney looked genuinely worried.
“I have to, or I’ll drown tomorrow. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”
Tierney stuck out her bottom lip. “No, I guess not.”
How old is she? Thirty-five or seven?Kasia kept her expression blank.
“Kasia will make sure you get home safe, won’t you, Kasia?” Joey raised their eyebrow.
Wonderful, I’m on babysitting duty on top of everything else.“Yes, of course. Goodnight, Joey.”
Joey stopped at the bar and talked with the bartender, then they gave a last wave before they swung the door closed behind them.
“Bye, Joey,” Tierney muttered, her speech now a little slurred. She drained her glass again.
Kasia hoped to escape soon. She couldn’t keep up with this pace of drinking. She enjoyed vodka, but she rarely drank. She just didn’t have time to go out anymore, and drinking alone in the hotel seemed a bad route to go down.
The bar server trotted over with another round. “Joey got these for you.”
“Thank you.”And thanks, Joey.
Tierney took hers like a kid given ice cream. Kasia watched her tongue as she licked the creamy head from her top lip. That was less irritating. Almost sexy, if it wasn’t Tierney doing the licking.
Tierney winked. Kasia looked away quickly.Think of a conversation topic.
“So, did you and Joey manage to have your chat? You seemed eager to get them alone.” That wasn’t really her business, but she’d reached for the first subject that came to mind.
“Yeah, we had a good talk.” Tierney leaned back on some cushions. “Joey’s one of the good ones. I’ve not been the most attentive friend in recent years.” She raised her glass. “Here’s to doing better.”
Kasia didn’t reciprocate the toast, but she took a sip and let the burn travel down to her belly. “Do you think you’ll come back often? Will your father expect you to oversee the hotel?”
“Didn’t take long for you to get back to business, did it?”
The burn of the alcohol was replaced by the heat of anger. “It might be tedious to you, Tierney, but it’s my home, my livelihood, and my whole life on this island that your family don’t appear to be able to make any decisions about.”
She emptied her glass. She’d kept her voice to more of a snarl than a shout, but Tierney looked over her shoulder toward her uncles.
“I’m sorry. It’s not my decision to make. I’ll see tomorrow if they can help with staffing. Let’s have one for the road.” Tierney squeezed past her unsteadily and lurched to the bar.
Kasia took a long breath. Maybe she should ease off a little. Tierney really wasn’t the one she should be shouting at, but her father was far away, and Tierney was the only person she could try to influence. She hadn’t liked the look of desperation Tierney shot at Joey before they left.
Liquid sloshed up the side of the glasses when Tierney dropped the drinks to the table. Her own pint was already missing a good third. She pointed to where the level of beer intersected the branding on the glass. “Look, I split the G. I get it every time!”
“Very impressive. I’m sure it’s a life skill that will get you far.”
Tierney didn’t try to get back to her original seat but instead pushed onto the end of the bench, half sitting on Kasia’s lap until she shuffled up quickly to put some space between them. Her body was reacting in an unexpected way to Tierney’s proximity. Perhaps it had been too long since her last mainland hook-up.
“Why d’you hate me so much, Kasia?”
She swung around, taken by surprise with the muttered question. That was the second time today she’d had to defend her attitude toward Tierney.Am I turning into a bitch?“I don’t hate you. We’re very different people, and our backgrounds are a million miles apart. Perhaps I don’t understand you.”
