Page 10 of Trusting You
“Shit, man, that’s awesome. That will be a huge asset for the brewery.” Callum looked relieved. As my financial advisor, he knew just how much help I needed.
“Do we know him?” Declan asked.
“Actually it’s a her. Cecelia Leary.”
“Cece Leary? From Havenport?”
“The daughter of our mom’s best friend?” My brothers exchanged looks, and I didn’t like where this was going.
“Yup. She was a big-time marketing exec in New York for a while and is back in town for a bit.”
“This has our mother’s fingerprints all over it,” Callum mused.
“She totally set you up,” Declan agreed.
“What are you guys talking about?”
“How did you connect?”
“Well she saw mom last night, and mom told her to come here to interview.”
“Uh-huh.” Declan raised his eyebrows expectantly. “And you hired her?”
“Yeah. She’s smart and hardworking and has social media experience. I could do a lot worse.”
“Of course you could. I don’t doubt she’s qualified,” Callum explained. “But you know this is mom setting you up.”
I sincerely hoped that was not the case. My mother tended to be quite vocal about her desire for grandkids. Now that we were all in our thirties she had become aggressive in her attempts to get us to settle down. I had mostly avoided it since I was the youngest, but my brothers had definitely planted a seed of doubt in my mind.
“No, it’s not like that,” I protested.
“Let me ask you a question.” I hated when Callum got into prosecutor mode. “Is Cecelia Leary single?”
“I’m not sure.” That was a lie.
“Really?”
“Okay, fine. She mentioned she didn’t have a boyfriend and was available to work on weekends.”
“Bingo.” They high-fived while I felt my stomach sink.
“And is she pretty?” Callum asked the question like he already knew the answer.
She was more than pretty, she was beautiful, but I wasn’t going to admit that to my brothers and give them more ammo against me.
“Listen. I am one hundred percent focused on building my business, okay? I do not have time for distractions.” And it was true. If I was going to make this brewery a success, I had to spend every waking moment focused and working toward that goal. I had let my personal life derail me in the past, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again.
“Yeah, right,” Declan said, draining his beer. “Who wants pizza? I need to soak up this booze.”
7
Cecelia
The Tipsy Whalewas nothing like I remembered it. Gone were the splintered wooden barstools and sticky floors, and now the bar featured a live edge oak bar and strategically dimmed recessed lighting. The walls were adorned by tasteful photography and charcoal prints by local Havenport artists. The formerly cracked and peeling booths had been reupholstered, and everyone was drinking out of actual matching glassware, not the cans, bottles, and plastic cups I remembered.
Going to the Whale on a Thursday night was kind of an event for locals. Since the town was filled with tourists and out-of-towners on the weekends, Thursday nights were sacred in Havenport. It wouldn’t be just a quick drink with Nora. I would likely see many people I knew, a few people I was distantly related to, and at least three former classmates. The thought of having to tell people I was unemployed, single, and living with my mother made me want to vomit up the quinoa she had made me for dinner.
Per Nora’s explicit instructions, I wearing the new jeans Nora gave me. I hated to admit it, but they were pretty amazing. Painted on and hugging every curve but so soft and comfortable. Some sky high red pumps, a black tank top, and red dangly earrings completed the outfit. I decided to skip the usual truckload of makeup in favor of some mascara and tinted moisturizer, and my hair was down and sort of behaving. But while I may have looked put together, on the inside I was a mess.
