Page 96 of Trapped In Love

ChapterTwenty-Seven

GEMMA

Itook a swig of my Drakesville Lager and stared down at the email in my inbox.

Gemma,

Here’s the logo for your shop. I hope you love it. I’m sorry about leaving without telling you. My sister needed me, and I wasn’t thinking. I told you there would be times I’d disappoint you, and I’m sorry. Please, talk to me.

Love,

Felix.

Lies. All of it lies.

I couldn’t believe him again, not when he had broken my heart so many times already. Maybe I made a mistake quitting the brewery, but I couldn’t bear to see the man I loved every day when he shattered my heart.

Avery said I was being unreasonable, and it was just a misunderstanding. What did she know? She and her perfect lumberjack husband were having their happily ever after with their adorable baby. I’d never have that happiness. Felix Jameson cursed me and then broke my heart multiple times. And I let him.

I finished my beer and motioned for another from the bartender. I couldn’t show my face at the brewery, so I was a block down the street at Sullivan’s Bar. Kelly Sullivan, one of the owners, gave me a sympathetic look.

“Hun, how about I get you some water instead?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nah. Another Drakesville Lager’s good for me.”

She gave me water instead. “Drink this, hun.”

I grumbled but took the offered water. The room was spinning, so maybe she had a point.

“You hiring?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Sorry, Gem. We can barely pay our staff as it is.”

I cocked my head at her. “Huh. Well, if you need a marketing revamp, I’m your girl. I was supposed to take a marketing director job, but I threw it all away.”

“Yeah, how about you explain that one to me?” a deep voice asked from behind me.

I turned at the sound of Declan MacGregor’s annoyed voice behind me. “Declan,” I cheered. I was happy to see him, even though he didn’t seem happy to see me. He glared at me from behind his black plastic-rimmed glasses.

“Hey, Declan,” Kelly said to him.

He nodded. “Good to see you, Mrs. Sullivan.”

The older woman gave him a smile. “It’s been a long time, hun.”

He nodded. “You know why.”

She reached over the bar and squeezed his hand. “You’re still family, hun, even if you aren’t with my daughter anymore.”

I tilted my head and stared at Dec for a moment. I had never seen Declan with a girlfriend. I’d heard rumors about him, so I knew he wasn’t celibate or anything. Like Nolan, Declan buried himself in his work, but I never knew why. He gave me a warning look, even though I wanted to ask so many questions. Kelly and her husband Sean had a daughter named Kelsey, but she was married with kids already, so that didn’t make sense.

“Why are you here?” I asked instead.

Declan smoothed down an invisible wrinkle on his polo shirt. “Kelly called me and said you were drunk at her bar asking for a job.”

I pinned a glare at the older woman, but she had moved on to serve a customer at the other end of the bar. I turned back to my brother-in-law. “Why did she call you?”

He sighed. “Believe me, this is the last place in all of Drakesville I ever wanted to step foot in again. She called Avery first, but she didn’t answer.”

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