Page 31 of Trusting You
Our faces were hovering inches away from one another. My entire body tingled with anticipation. I wanted to kiss her more than I have ever wanted to kiss a woman in my life. Her plump pink lips were there, just waiting for me. Her body was warm and soft, and I wanted to throw her over my shoulder like a caveman and have my way with her.
Just as I was working up the courage to kiss her, the door opened and in walked my brothers.
Declan whistled. The spell was broken, and we both scrambled to opposite sides of the bar. What was I thinking? I needed to get my hormones in check if I was going to make this work. I was a professional, not a hormonal teenager.
“What are you idiots doing here?” I shouted, trying to hide my irritation.
“It’s Tuesday,” Declan grunted.
“We always come by on Tuesdays to check on you,” said Callum.
Callum and Declan stared at us for a minute before walking over and making themselves at home in the taproom.
“By all means, help yourselves, assholes,” I replied with a sweeping gesture.
“Shut up, little brother. Your beer is the only thing about you that we like,” said Declan, giving me a hard shove.
I rubbed my arm. “Awww, thanks Declan. I love it when you get mushy.”
Cece was standing there looking shell-shocked. Perhaps I was not the only one pissed about the interruption. I looked down to see Ginger standing behind Declan. The dog, who was not on a leash, sauntered over to Cecelia and looked down her nose at her as if to say “who is this bitch?” and then slowly walked to the corner of the bar, where Callum was pulling out a plush dog bed from the storage closet. She settled down on her bed, watching and judging everyone.
“Cecelia,” Callum asked, breaking the silence, “can I get you a drink? My brothers were obviously raised by wolves and have no manners.”
She shook her head and smiled.
“You guys on a date or something?” growled Declan.
“No, dumbass. She works here, remember? Mom forced Liam to hire her, I think.” Callum shoved Declan hard and Declan punched him in the arm in retaliation.
“Not quite,” she replied, finally finding her voice. “And I was just packing up for the night.” She grabbed her laptop and shoved it into her bag.
“Aww, Dec,” Callum mused, “you scared her off. It’s probably because you smell like a goat.”
Declan shot Callum a side-eye and growled at him. “Billy called in sick and I had to make deliveries today.”
“Sure, sure, most of the time you just look like a goat. Today, you smell like one too.” Callum took a large gulp of beer, apparently pretty proud of himself.
“Fuck off, pretty boy, some of us have real jobs.”
I chimed in, “Seriously, you smell pretty rank. You could at least shower before you go out in public smelling like fish guts.”
“Sorry, your majesty, I didn’t want to keep you waiting in case you needed to talk about your feelings again.”
Cece shot me a look, and I tried to act cool. She didn’t need to know that I occasionally spilled my guts to these idiots.
“Speaking of shit, Liam, you are not exactly looking your best these days.”
I gave Declan a dirty look. “I’m stressed.”
“Well, you could at least make an effort. You have ladies working here now,” Callum piped in.
Cece stopped packing up her bag and turned around. She looked angry, and I was a bit worried about what she would do next. Usually she was pretty laid back, but right now she looked furious.
She slowly turned around and pinned Declan with an icy stare. “You know, you should be a lot nicer to your little brother, since he gives you all this free beer.”
Declan paled. He was not used to being called out.
“And,” she continued, walking closer to where they were sitting, “while I’m sure you work very hard, Liam works seven days a week to make this place a success.” She played with her hair for a minute and then innocently asked, “Didn’t you inherit your business from your daddy?” She threw him a smile and batted her eyelashes.
