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He didn’t know if she was ready. Maybe she never would be. But he would not let her slip away again, not without a fight. At the very least, he was going to be her friend again and if that was all she could give, he would take it.
The wooden deck creaked beneath his boots as he stepped inside. The fire crackled in the hearth, filling the house with warmth, but he barely noticed. His thoughts were too tangled, too consumed with memories of Sophie—her laughter, her sharp wit, the way she used to challenge him, make him believe in things he never dared to before. It was only with her encouragement that he applied to the art school in Paris. The fact was that if he hadn’t taken her advice, he wouldn’t be where he was today.
He was removing his shoes when the phone rang.
The sound cut through the quiet, sharp and insistent.
Liam hesitated.
Something about the timing sent a prickle down his spine.
Pushing the thought aside, he strode across the room and reached for the phone.
Chapter3
“Hey Soph,we need to get going soon.”
“I know. I’ll be done with this in a minute. Call Aunt Nan or Sylvia and ask if they want us to bring anything,” said Sophie as she loosened the last screw under the bar top. At least this was one thing they wouldn’t need to buy new. Refinishing furniture was a favorite hobby of hers.
Keefe took his phone out from his back pocket and tried to make a call, then placed the phone back inside his pocket. “My phone battery is dead.”
Under the bar, Sophie rolled her eyes. His battery was always dead. “Use mine,” Sophie called out. “It’s in my purse, side pocket.”
Keefe didn’t like using his sister’s phone. It differed from his and was more complicated than his own. He found her phone exactly where she said he would, asked how to unlock the thing, then made the call. Or so he thought. Instead of a ringing, he heard a voice.
Hi, Sophie, it’s Liam. I just saw Simon at his bachelor party—there’s a day I never thought would come. He invited me to his wedding but I’m leaving tonight for France with my parents. Anyway, he told me you were back and about the pub and about … well, I just wanted to say… Happy Christmas, Sophie.
“Liam called you?” A hard bang sounded from under the bar. Keefe winced in sympathy. That had to hurt. “Everything okay under there?”
Sophie had bashed the top of her head. “Are you seriously listening to my messages?”
He’d obviously touched a nerve and, being the dutiful twin brother that he was, Keefe was going to keep touching it until she talked to him. “I didn’t do it on purpose! I was trying to make the call, and then I heard Liam’s message. You know I don’t know how to use your phone. Besides, that’s not the point.”
Keefe waited for her to continue tearing into him for listening to the message, but she didn’t. She clammed up, which of course meant that she didn’t want to talk about it, which of course meant that Keefe was going to press the issue. What else were brothers for, anyway? “Did you call him back?”
Sophie, now finished, set her screwdriver down inside the toolbox, then crawled out from underneath the bar and glanced at him, shooting darts his direction. He’d struck a nerve all right!
“You really didn’t call him? Why not?”
“I’m not discussing this with you. We need to get a move on. The family is expecting us.”
“They can wait two minutes.”
Sophie ignored him and continued skirting around the question. She headed into the kitchen, where she washed her hands.
Keefe followed her and stood in front of the doorway. The back door was a dead end so long as the large shelf stood in front of it, so this was the only way out and he was blocking it. She wasn’t leaving until she’d answered his question. “Why won’t you call Liam?”
She continued to ignore his question as she dried her hands with a paper towel and turned around.
Okay, fine, he would go at this from another approach. “Why are we meeting at Connor’s anyway? We could have hosted dinner.”
“Darcie’s on bed rest, remember? She can’t go anywhere, so we are all coming to her.”
“I forgot. Will she be okay?”
“Yeah, she should be fine. This is just a precaution. Let’s get going.”
With the back door blocked, Keefe could easily hold her hostage for as long as he pleased. He planted his feet, blocking the door to the dining room. “That’s good. Now, we aren’t going anywhere until you explain why you won’t talk to Liam. You two were best friends.”
