Page 108 of Sergeant O'
I decided to go with an explanation rooted in some truth.
“Because neither of us wants to give the town a front-row seat to our business. She got hauled into HR yesterday. I just want this to go away for her.”
Dad gave a short nod. “Can’t blame you there.”
He paused, then added, “Doesn’t usually stop people from talking, though.” He glanced at me as he turned onto his street. “But if she’s worth it, you stop caring what they say.”
“I don’t give a shit what people say about me, but I’ll be damned if they’re going to talk about her.”
Angus chuckled as he pulled into the drive.
“If only love were that easy, Son.”
Love? I’m not in love with—
Oh, shit.
I’m in love with Jade Beaumont.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Brian
I didn’t even try lying to my mother. She would have seen right through me the minute I opened my mouth.
The woman had a gift.
And it felt like she was genuinely disappointed when I told her Jade and I had decided to stop seeing each other, at least for a while.
“Don’t wait too long,” she warned. “Women like Jade are special. You don’t want someone else to come along and snatch her up.”
I tilted my head at her. “I’m surprised you feel that way.”
She pulled her neck back with furrowed brows. “You are? Why?”
“She’s neither Irish nor Catholic.”
My mom reached for my hand, and in a gentle tone, replied, “Teresa and Hugh almost missed out on their grandson because of religion. There’s no way I’m going to make that mistake. If you care for her, that’s enough for me.”
I pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple. “I do care for her, but unfortunately, this is the way it has to be for now.”
****
Jade
I gave myself a pep talk during the drive to work the next day.
“You’re going to be okay. You dated Garrett for almost a year and survived. You can survive a week of playing pretend with Brian O’Shaughnessy at the beach.”
Except it hadn’t felt like pretend.
“Then he decided to play it safe, remember?” I said out loud as I pulled into the staff parking lot. “So, when they ask, you’ll say it was nothing. Just a playful joke that became a clickbait story.”
I parked and turned off the engine.
“Smile, keep it light. If someone pushes, make it sound boring—‘I helped him out while he was recovering, and people made it weird’. That’s it. No big deal.”
I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror, tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear, and forced a small smile.
