Page 26 of Since We're Here
“No, not really, but I’ve got work to do.”
“Down... there?” To the dark corner where he had his tongue down my throat while I was pressed up against the wall?
Patrick stops and turns. “Pub office. Down here.” He nods his head to the cracked open door, across from... Then he glances to the spot on the wall.
He’s totally thinking about last Friday night. I sure as hell am. His tongue wrapping around mine. The way I ached when his hands inched onto the top of my ass. Him pressing his hips against mine...Nooo!
“Right.” I press my lips together and back away. “Okay. See you in a bit.”
Patrick breathes in through his nose noisily and disappears into the office, muttering something to himself.
“Pull it together,” I whisper and slip behind the bar to study the list of opening tasks. I start with checking the inventory levels in the cases behind the bar. There’s a solid selection of beers like Heineken, Budweiser, Harp, and ciders, amongst others. A few are missing, and I make a mental note to go down to the basement to see if there’s any extra stock.
I’m logging onto the payment iPad and feeling victorious for completing most of Patrick’s list when the door to the pub swings wide open. I check my phone for the time.
“We don’t open for another ten minutes,” I say to the woman who walks in with two children holding iPads of their own.
“Where’s Patrick?” the woman asks, stopping in the middle of the room and planting her hands on her hips.
Uh-oh. I blink at her. Wife and children? That shouldn’t be surprising, given my history with men, but for some reason Iwouldbe surprised. Reese hadn’t told me that Patrick was married. And he doesn’t seem like the type of guy to kiss a woman in a dark hallway while he has a family waiting at home.
There I go again. Trusting too soon.
I go through an entire debate in my head, reminding myself of why I should not be thinking about whether or not he’s married or that strip of ab muscles.
Why am I like this?
The woman is still staring at me. Shit.
“Uh, he’s back in the office. Want me to get him?”
The two girls plop down at one of the tables, immediately swiping at the screens.
“Oh no, definitely not. I’d rather talk to you.” She strides toward me and rests her forearms on the bar.
“Me?”
“When he texted me this morning that he’d found an American woman to be a temporary day manager for the pub, I knew we needed to stop by and make sure he wasn’t lying and trying to do everything himself.”
I grunt. “I haven’t known him very long, but that sounds exactly like something he’d do.”
She studies me, now smiling, and it reminds me of Patrick’s assessing face from yesterday when I was convincing him to let me cover the shift. But friendlier.
“Mam?” the older girl, around middle school age, calls. “Where’s Uncle Patrick?”
Uncle.Makes perfect sense now.
“He’ll be around in a few, Erin. Just watch YouTube for a bit.” She hops up on a stool. “They’re always watching absolute rubbish on that app. I’m helpless to stop it.”
“I used to hear that from my sister,” I say with a laugh.
“I’m Saoirse, Patrick’s sister.”
“Hi . . .” I blink at the unfamiliar name.
“Saoirse.” She spells it out for me. “But it’s pronounced Sur-shuh.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed that spelling at all. So nice to meet you.” I grin at the pretty woman with dark hair, just like her brother’s, and hazel eyes to match. “I’m Maddie.”
