Page 65 of Tee’d Up For Trouble

“No, I don’t,” I asserted emphatically. But I did because that made more sense than Jax wanting me.

He chuckled. “Come on, Dee. Think about it. Why else would a man like Jax Caldwell stay in a place like this? He’s not exactly the mud-on-his-boots type, is he?”

I didn’t answer and looked at him with an arched eyebrow like I was bored.

Cillian raised his voice. “I hate to say it, but he used you, Dee. He played you. And now, thanks to him, the resort is practically a done deal. You should’ve taken my offer when you had the chance.”

“Sounds like you’re done here.” I kept my face emotionless. Oh, no, Cillian O’Farrell wouldn’t be getting anything from me, not after he’d taken so much and screwed me over. “So, why don’t you get the feck out of here?”

He stood and shrugged. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Dee.”

As he turned to leave, he glanced over his shoulder, his smirk cutting me to the bone. “Oh, and Dee? I wouldn’t wait too long to sell. Once this thing gets rolling, that little pub of yours will be nothing but a parking lot.”

The door slammed shut behind him, but I barely noticed. My hands shook, and my breath came in shallow bursts as I stared down at the bar.

“Dee?”

I looked up to see Ronan standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a concerned frown on his face. “What did that gobshite want?”

“He was here tellin’ that Jax is with the people who want to buy up Ballybeg,” Seamus informed him.

“We saw photos,” Liam added.

Ronan narrowed his eyes. “Jax would never do that.”

“I agree,” Liam said.

“Me too,” Seamus agreed.

I wasn’t sure how I felt. If Jax had been making a fool of me, that made sense. If he was in love with me as he tried to almost claim…that did not make any sense at all. What was that thing called—Occam’s Razor? The simplest explanation is usually the right one. And in this case, the simplest explanation was that Jax was not part of my world.

“You don’t believe that gobshite, do you, Dee?” Ronan came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

I forced a shaky laugh, trying to brush it off. “I’m fine. It’s fine.”

“It doesn’t look like you’re fine,” he said, stepping closer. “What exactly did he say?”

I shook my head, turning away. “Just drop it, Ronan.”

“Dee,” he said firmly, his voice gentler this time. “Talk to me.”

I bit my lip, my hands gripping the edge of the bar as I tried to keep my emotions in check. “Like Liam and Seamus said, he showed me some photos,” I whispered. “Of Jax. With the developers.”

Ronan frowned. “And you believed him? Cillian? Come on, Dee. That man couldn’t tell the truth if it bit him on the arse.”

“But the photos….” I trailed off, my voice breaking. “They were real, Ronan. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? Why else would Jax be here? Why else would someone like him care about a place like this? It’s not his world.”

“You’re letting Cillian get into your head,” Ronan said gently. “Jax isn’t like him.”

I wanted to believe him. God, I did! But the doubt had already taken root, wrapping itself around every insecurity I’d ever had.

“Why would someone like Jax want me, Ronan?” I asked, my voice trembling. “I’m not some glamorous supermodel or jet-setting celebrity. I’m just…me. A woman with a crumbling pub and a pile of debt. What could I possibly offer him?”

Ronan’s jaw clenched. “Dee, don’t do this. Don’t let Cillian win.”

But it was too late. The cracks in my heart had already started to widen, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the flood of doubt and pain that poured through them.

“I need some air,” I muttered, grabbing my coat and heading for the door before Ronan could stop me.

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