Page 21 of Since We're Here
“It’s hard to find people really committed to the job.” And it went the other way, too. There were always people waiting to take the jobs I quit. I know I’m incredibly replaceable.
He nods, staring at my face in an intense way that makes me want to make him laugh again.
“Well. I’m just in town for an adventure, but I can see how much you care about this place.”
I don’t tell him that the last thing I want is an adventure. I’m tired of quitting things and falling for the wrong people. This is my life interlude, my time to reflect. For example, Patrick and I would be a train wreck if we dated. He’s got his feet firmly on the ground. I’d be a nightmare to him. Not that I’m thinking of dating him. Or that he’d ever date someone like me.
And anything that happened in Ireland wouldn’t be serious anyway.
I finish my pint with one last huge gulp. Patrick’s watching me with narrowed hazel eyes as I gently place the empty glass on the bar.
“I feel so much better, thanks.”
“Another?” He grabs my empty glass.
“Nah, I’m good. I don’t want to get trashed on a Tuesday afternoon.” I shake my head, although that doesn’t sound like a half-bad idea.
Patrick starts wiping the perfectly clean bar. I pull my wet shirt away from my stomach and squeeze it out, dripping water onto the floor. He sighs at me and stares at the small puddle. I bite back a grin.
“What are you trying to change about the brewery?”
Patrick meets my gaze, seeming to consider his response.
6
PATRICK
Ofcourseshe wants adventure. That would have to be the word Maddie uses. What a nightmare.
Cara found her adventure, all right. She found it with her lips wrapped around an American banker’s cock on the couch in our flat in Dublin, which I witnessed firsthand after getting off a bartending shift early. She jumped away from him but didn’t even try to say something likeit’s not what it looks like.
It was exactly what it looked like.
And now Maddie’s perched on a barstool in my pub, all wet and gorgeous, and telling me she’s here for an adventure. But she’s also my best friend’s fiancée’s little sister. These days, I know better than to feck with that kind of connection. I learned my lesson long ago when I dated a mate’s sister.
But Maddie might need some protection. Clearly, she doesn’t make logical decisions. What if she’d fallen off that rental bike and gotten hurt? I’d have to be the one to call Oliver and Reese.
“My parents haven’t changed a thing in the thirty years they’ve run Slea Head Brewery. Same three beers. Same equipment. Same processes. Same head brewer. Everything.”
Her eyes follow my movements as I mindlessly wipe the clean bar.
“New Dingle has dominated. That family has grown their business tenfold over the past decade. And now with Liam in charge, it’s doing even better. He’s aggressive with innovation.”
Even I hear the bitterness in my voice.
I got together with Cara after I started seeing her regularly when I was back during breaks from soccer. Liam would meet me at the pub and bring his sister along. Eventually, I asked her out, and he was supportive of me dating her.
To this day, I’m not entirely sure I understand Liam’s intense dislike for me. Before I found her cheating, Cara told me Liam hated that I left her in Dingle while playing soccer in the UK. But I was already a professional soccer player when we got together. That was my life. Everyone knew it. He thought it was my fault that Cara cheated, I guess. I don’t disagree. She even said it during our last fight: I was too distant and closed off, which basically shoved her into the arms of another man.
Liam and I never discussed it. When I returned to Dingle, his hatred for me was obvious.
“Well, what do you want to add to your lineup?”
“An IPA to start with—I’ll call it In Your Face IPA—and we’re so close to getting it right. My assistant brewer said the batch is ready to try.” I pause in my endless wiping. “I’m also hoping to have an autumn brew ready for this year called Irish Oktoberfest. Then we’ll have a five-beer flight like New Dingle. And farther in the future, a white beer like a hefeweizen, and a high ABV IPA.”
She nods and is quiet for a beat. “When did Liam take over New Dingle?”
I hate hearing his name come out of Maddie’s mouth so casually, as if they’re old acquaintances, and I glance brieflyat her before turning and squatting down to check out the inventory of bottles in the fridges. I lose count immediately.
