Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) (24 page)

He wasn’t alone.

She didn’t want to stare—she really didn’t—but for some reason she couldn’t seem to look away.

The girl was her every nightmare—tall, thin, big boobs. The centerfold they used to joke about. And she seemed to need to have her hands all over Quinn. And he didn’t seem to mind.

“We can go someplace else,” Zoe whispered as she reached across the table and squeezed Anna’s hand.

But Anna shook her head. No. She was going to have to get used to this. Hadn’t Bobby warned her of this exact scenario? They lived in a small town and they were bound to run into one another.

She just had hoped it wouldn’t happen quite so soon and that her heart would be a little more intact to handle it.

Slowly, she leaned back in her seat and nearly jumped when Dan’s arm came to rest behind her.

Worst. Night. Ever.

The waitress delivered their drinks and they toasted the sale of the house. Neither Dan nor Aidan were aware of her emotional state, and she hoped it stayed that way. Anna couldn’t help but smile—it was a great thing for Dan and it was a huge commission for her. Between this commission and the one from Hugh’s property, she finally had some breathing room to get part of her life on track. The sensible part.

The emotional part was still a mess.

“Best of luck to you with the house, Dan,” Aidan said.

“Hear, hear!” Zoe chimed in.

And as they all clinked glasses, it seemed as if all the noise in the room faded away. Anna took a sip of her beer, and when she looked up, her eyes met Quinn’s. His gaze narrowed at her, and when he spotted Dan, his gaze turned dark and thunderous. It was all she could do to not slide under the table and hide.

“Actually, this might be of interest to you too, Zoe. Aidan says you’re a decorator. I’ve got a building downtown that I was thinking of…” Dan was saying.

Anna knew they were all talking. All around the room, people were talking and there was music playing in the background, but all she heard was her heart pounding in her ears. The beer tasted vile in her mouth and she knew if she took another sip, she certainly would get sick.

“Excuse me,” Anna interrupted, hoping she sounded normal and that no one detected the tremor in her voice. “I just need to run to the ladies’ room.” Zoe gave her a sympathetic smile and normally Anna would have wanted Zoe to go with her, but right then, she needed a minute to herself to calm her nerves and break away from Quinn’s stare.

Anger built with every step she took. He had no right to look at her that way. This was what he wanted whether he admitted it or not. What did he expect—that she’d just sit at home and mope for the rest of her life? Well, that was kind of exactly what she wanted to do, but no one needed to know that.

Maybe Bobby had been onto something—maybe she did need a fresh start someplace else. She’d hate moving away from her parents and Zoe and all her friends, but there was no way she wanted to keep feeling like this every time she happened to cross paths with Quinn. Maybe it would get easier over time, but somehow Anna doubted it.

Her mind flashed back to a conversation she and Zoe had had way back when, while Zoe and Aidan were broken up and Zoe was all set to move back to Arizona.

“It’s just too hard. I don’t want to have to look over my shoulder and wonder if I’m going to run into Aidan, or any of the Shaughnessys for that matter. This is for the best,” Zoe said.

“For whom?” Anna asked.

Only now did she fully understand just how much Zoe had been going through, and she knew if she went to her friend and told her how she felt, Zoe would support her. Aidan would too. Hell, half the town probably would.

And it just made her feel even more pitiful than she already did.

Inside the ladies’ room, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down and then washed her hands just for the sake of having something to do. Looking up at her reflection, she wanted to cry. She didn’t even look like herself—her eyes were sad; she looked pale—it was as if Quinn had taken all the life out of her.

And he was here on a date.

With a centerfold.

Bastard.

Turning off the water, she reached for a paper towel to dry her hands and forced herself to relax. She breathed through the nausea rolling through her as she kept envisioning that woman with her hands all over Quinn. “You can do this,” she murmured. “It’s not like you haven’t seen him on a date before.” All she had to do was go back out to the booth, finish her drink, and leave. No one could accuse her of hiding out or being rude. She’d come, she’d socialized, and that was that. Zoe would explain to Aidan why she was leaving so soon and she’d deal with Dan another time.

One last look at her reflection and she fussed with her hair—not that it was helping. Just another delaying tactic. Maybe she could escape out the back door and just text Zoe that she’d left. She sighed. No, that was just rude, and it wasn’t who she was. Dammit. One last attempt to finger comb her hair, and then she just gave up. It was getting too long and it occurred to her she no longer liked it. She wanted her old hair back. Hell, right now, she just wanted her old life back.
One thing at a time
. “Note to self, call the salon,” she muttered as she took a steadying breath and opened the door.

And immediately walked into someone. “Sorry,” she mumbled and moved to walk around them. Then she noticed it wasn’t another woman trying to get into the ladies’ room, but Quinn.

He didn’t say a word; he simply moved forward until they were both in the bathroom and he locked the door behind him. The look in his eyes was murderous.

“You can’t do that,” she said lamely, pointing at the door. Quinn continued to advance on her until her back hit the wall. Her brown eyes went wide looking up at him and her throat went dry. Her fingers twitched with the need to touch him, but instead she just inhaled deeply. Then cursed herself because she loved the scent of his cologne. Up close, he looked weary, tired, and she wanted to stroke his jaw, his temple, like she used to, to ease his tension away.

“I guess everyone was right,” he said, an edge to his voice. “You do belong with a guy in a suit.”

“What? No, I’m not… I mean, we’re not…” she said weakly as she shook her head. “That’s Dan Michaels, remember? We just signed the papers on the beach house. He wanted to talk to Aidan about some business and so…” She couldn’t finish the thought; her heart was racing and she could feel herself trembling.

“And you couldn’t just give him Aidan’s number?”

She rolled her eyes. “I mentioned how I was meeting Aidan and Zoe here and Dan asked if he could join us.” Then she paused. “Why the hell am I even explaining myself to you?”

He shrugged and crowded her in even more. “Habit,” he said, his voice sounding gruff. “You used to tell me everything. There was a time when you didn’t turn and run away when things didn’t go your way.”

Anna raised her hands to shove at his chest, and he grabbed her wrists to stop her. “You have a hell of a nerve.”

“I never claimed otherwise,” he said. “If you’re not dating him, he hasn’t gotten the memo yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You looked pretty cozy in the booth.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you, the man who was getting felt up at the bar. How long have you been dating Miss September out there? An hour? Twenty minutes?”

He chuckled but there was no humor. “An hour. Why? Keeping track?”

Beyond angry, Anna pulled her wrists free of his grasp. “No. It’s just humorous to see how quickly you reverted to type.”

His gaze hardened as he leaned in closer, until they were almost nose to nose. “If memory serves, I was more than willing to go against type and I loved it.” He cursed under his breath and looked away for a minute. When he lifted his head, his expression was unusually calm. “And really, the same could be said for you. Dan’s exactly the type of guy you used to always go for—the type of guy everyone thought you’d end up with. I guess they were right. So why is it all right for you to revert and not me?”

She didn’t have an answer—mainly because she knew he had a point. Her mind was screaming for her to just move around him and leave—she knew Quinn wouldn’t hold her there against her will—but being this close to him after so much time apart was almost a sweet form of torture.

“Quinn…” She meant to put a little force behind her words, to make it seem like she was strong, but it came out more like a breathy plea.

“Yeah…I know,” he said as he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. His hands immediately cupped her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. Over and over his lips slanted over hers, his tongue teasing hers.

A helpless moan came out before she could stop it as her arms came up and wrapped around him. In the back of her mind, she knew this was wrong, this wasn’t going to make walking away again any easier, but right now she wanted him, needed him. Her hands came around and rested on his chest and just as they were about to curl into his shirt, he pulled away.

His breathing was just as ragged as hers, and she knew immediately that he was frustrated and angry but didn’t understand why. Instead of speaking, Quinn turned and punched the wall. The sound echoed in the small confines of the room, causing her to jump. He reached for the door and looked at her over his shoulder.

Tears almost blinded her as she looked at him.

“Good-bye, Anna,” he said, his voice low, broken.

Once the door closed behind him, Anna sank to the floor and cried.

Two weeks later, Anna was back at the pub.

The only reason she was able to convince herself to do it was because it was a private party. Her brother was leaving, moving, and they were having his going away party. Steve, the owner of the pub, was standing with his arm around Anna as they watched everyone mingling.

Steve was a sixty-five-year-old Navy vet, and this place had been in his family since forever. He’d always treated Anna like the daughter he never had. Steve had no kids, no family left, and it always made Anna feel good to help him out and take care of him.

“You know, this place hasn’t been the same since you quit,” he said. She’d had more than her fair share of guilt since leaving, but Steve had understood her reasoning.

“You seem to be doing okay,” she said, smiling up at him.

He shrugged. “I’m getting too old for this. I’m thinking of moving someplace tropical.”

“And then what would you do?”

“Open a bar,” Steve said with a big grin.

Anna elbowed him in the ribs. “Then why move? You already have a bar!”

“Anna, I’m getting old. Other than my time in the navy, I’ve lived here my whole life. I think I’d enjoy someplace tropical. Plus, a couple of buddies of mine are thinking of going in on it with me.”

“Not you too! What is it with everyone suddenly needing to move away from here? This is a great place to live!”

He nodded. “No one’s saying it isn’t, but I’m ready for a change.”

She sighed. “What about the pub?”

“Well, I heard there was this sassy new Realtor on the block who seems to be responsible for selling half the houses around here.” He looked at her with pride. “You did good, kid. I know it’s not your dream job, but as usual, you totally rocked it.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Yeah, well…sink or swim, you know?” She shrugged. “I chose to swim.”

“You always do.” Steve looked around the room and took a step away from Anna. “I need to go and check on the food and make sure Johnny’s okay in the kitchen. I hate leaving that kid alone back there.”

“He’s not so bad, Steve.”

“Yeah, but he ain’t you, Anna,” he said with a wink. “Do me a favor? Hang around after the party. I really want to talk to you.”

“You got it.” Watching Steve get swallowed up by the crowd, Anna couldn’t believe just how many people were there. Besides her own family, Ian and Martha were there along with Aidan and Zoe and Hugh and Aubrey. Hugh and Aubrey had surprised her, but it seemed Hugh was finally starting to relax with his wife and come to grips with the fact that she was more than capable of leaving the house without being encased in bubble wrap.

It was incredibly sweet.

There was a large percentage of the local police force in the room, and while Anna knew most of them, there were a few unfamiliar faces. Zoe stepped up beside her. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Anna said. “I still can’t believe he’s leaving. I thought he was just going to go for a week and check it out and decide it wasn’t all he thought it would be. I never thought he’d really move.”

Aidan walked over and kissed Anna on the cheek before putting his arm around his wife. “What are we talking about?”

“I was just saying I can’t believe Bobby’s really moving,” Anna said with a bit of a pout.

“He’s not going to be that far away. It’s going to be good for him and he seems happy about it,” Aidan said.

“I suppose.” Anna looked around the room and spotted a woman she had never seen before. “I wonder who she is?”

“She’s Bobby’s partner. On the police force,” Aidan said as if it were obvious.

“Wait…
what?
But she’s a…a… She’s, um…”

“A she?” Zoe said.

“Exactly!” Anna cried. “No wonder he was freaking out.”

Aidan looked around uncomfortably. “Anyone need their drinks refreshed?”

“What?” Zoe asked. “What do you know?”

“Nothing. It’s…it’s nothing.”

“Uh, yeah. Okay,” Anna said with a chuckle. “You know something, so spill it.”

“You mean you know something and you didn’t share it with me?” Zoe asked with mock offense. “I thought we told each other everything!”

“Okay, fine.” Aidan sighed dramatically. “Bobby was a little put out that they paired him up with a woman and at the same time they almost demoted him while they restructured the department.”

“That’s just crazy. I can’t believe my brother is so sexist.”

“It’s not that,” Aidan said and began to look around for an escape.

“Then what is it?” Anna asked impatiently.

“He kind of… He’s… Well…”

“Oh, just spit it out, Aidan!” Zoe demanded.

“He’s kind of really attracted to her!” he hissed.

“
No!
” Anna and Zoe said in unison.

Aidan nodded. “But you did
not
hear it from me,” he warned them both and then rolled his eyes. “Honestly, when did I become the town gossip?” he mumbled as he walked away.

“That was fun,” Zoe said as she watched her husband’s retreating back. “So you really had no idea about this female partner thing?”

Anna shook her head. “Not a clue. Bobby hasn’t said a word. At least not to me.” She sighed. “I guess I’ve been so busy having my own pity party he didn’t think he could talk to me. I hate that. I’ll have to make sure we get some time to hang out, just the two of us, before he leaves.”

Zoe nodded and took a sip of her beer. “I saw you talking to Steve earlier. Was he begging you to go and help out in the kitchen?”

“No.” Anna chuckled. “But he did mention wanting to move to someplace tropical and open up a bar with his navy buddies.”

“But what about the pub?”

Anna shrugged. “I think he’s going to sell it. He asked me to stick around after the party to talk to him about it and he was praising my real estate skills, so I’m guessing that’s what he wants.”

“Wow…just…wow. Too many damn changes lately.”

“You got that right.” And as true as it was, Anna knew not all of them were bad. She was surrounded by so many amazing people, and even though she contemplated jumping on the moving truck with Bobby, she knew she would miss all of this far too much if she did. The people. The places.

Quinn.

Dammit. She had sworn to herself she wouldn’t think about him tonight. That lasted all of thirty minutes. Good grief, when was that going to end? If she was going to stay in town—and she was—she was going to have to learn to coexist with Quinn. They’d known each other too long and knew too many of the same people to avoid each other forever.

“So what about you, my friend? What’s next for you?” Zoe asked as she maneuvered the two of them to a quieter corner.

“I’m not really sure. Things are finally going well with real estate. It’s not my dream job, you know, but I’m finally out from under the mountain of debt I had.”

“I know that’s got to feel good.” Zoe smiled.

“It does. But other than that, I don’t have any plans. Work, work, and more work. I think I may want to do some renovations and updates on the house.”

“Why don’t you sell it? You can afford something a little bit newer and bigger now.”

“What do I need a bigger house for? It’s just me,” Anna said sadly. “Maybe I’ll get a cat. Or two.”

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not going to become that person. I won’t allow it. There’s no need to do anything drastic!”

“For crying out loud, Zoe,” Anna laughed, “it’s just a cat!”

“That’s how it starts! Then it’s two cats, then four, and the next thing you know, you’re sleeping on the couch because the cats have taken over your bed!” She grabbed Anna by the shoulders and shook her. “Don’t do it!” They broke out in fits of laughter and Zoe pulled her in for a hug. “It’s gonna get better, sweetie. I promise.”

* * *

It was two in the morning and Anna was exhausted. She was helping Steve clean up—all of the guests were gone and only a couple of pub employees were still there. She yawned widely and Steve chuckled. “Subtle, Anna. Come on, come sit down and talk with me.”

She followed him over to a booth and sat. “So I’m guessing you want me to get the ball in motion for you to put the place on the market.”

He shook his head. “No. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and this place has been in my family since I was a kid. My grandparents started it—hell, my grandfather built it. It’s not a great place, but it’s been good to me and my family.” He shrugged. “I worked hard to keep up with everything and I’m proud of all I accomplished.”

Anna reached over and squeezed his hand. “And you should be! This place is a local legend. An institution! Everyone who grew up here has a memory of coming to the pub. You and your family created something great, Steve.”

“That’s why I can’t sell it, Anna,” he said, smiling sadly at her. “I’d rather see it close down than have strangers in here changing everything. Or worse yet, having some big corporation buy it and turn it into one of those chain restaurants or something.”

She didn’t think he had to worry about that but decided to keep it to herself. “I hate the thought of this place closing, but I understand.”

Again he shook his head. “But I’m not going to close it. I’m going to give it to a family member.”

She looked at him oddly. “But you don’t have any family left. You’ve always said that.” Then she gasped. “Did you find some long-lost cousins or a secret child you didn’t know you had?”

The bark of laughter nearly shook the walls. “Oh, Anna! You have quite the imagination!”

“I don’t think it’s so out of the realm of possibility,” she said primly. “You hear about things like that happening all the time. You watch daytime TV. You know I’m right.”

“Sweetheart, believe me, there are no Steve Jr.’s running around in this world. I can guarantee it.”

“And the long-lost cousin?” she prompted.

“Afraid not.”

Anna leaned back against her seat. “Well, then I’m stumped.”

Steve seemed to blush a little as he fidgeted in his seat. “Anna,” he began, “I took a risk hiring you when you were fresh out of college. But you were a fast learner and you always knew how to make everyone around you smile. Hell, I was a grumpy old man even back then, and you came in here like a breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine rolled into one.”

“Steve,” she said with a soft sigh.

He reached out and took one of her hands in his. “I watched you grow up here. You came here at a time when I was ready to call it quits. I was tired and unmotivated and pretty much resented everything and everybody.”

“You weren’t so bad.”

He tugged on her hand and laughed. “You don’t need to sugarcoat it. I was a pain in the ass, and you used to call me on it daily.” He paused. “You turned this place around and breathed new life into it. Now, I know you’ve been working in real estate for a while, and I know why you went into it, and if you’re happy, then we’ll just forget we ever had this conversation. But if you…you know…if you want to take on something else, something of your own, I want to sign the business over to you.”

“What?” she gasped.

He nodded. “You’re the only family I have, Anna. You are like the daughter I never had, and I would be honored if you’d let me do this for you.”

“But…but…Steve, I don’t have the kind of money it would take to buy this place! I couldn’t possibly—”

“You’re not listening to me, Anna. I’m not asking you to buy me out. I want to sign it all over to you. We can just put your name on the corporation and all the accounts, and it would be a done deal. I’m debt free,” he went on. “The business has been doing really well, and I have an account set up for business expenses that would be yours. There’s enough to cover all the monthly stuff for at least a year, plus money to do any improvements you’d like.”

She stared at him wide-eyed, certain she must be dreaming. “I…I don’t know. I mean, it’s not a big secret that I’m not in love with selling houses, but…wow. This is huge, Steve. This is really, really huge.”

“I know,” he said solemnly. “And I don’t want you to answer me right now. I want you to take some time to think about it. I’m not in a rush, and we can take our time transitioning, and then when you’re ready, you can throw me out.”

“I would never do that,” she said, unable to help the smile on her face. “I don’t even know what to say.”

He squeezed her hand one more time. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”

As if she’d be able to think about anything else.

* * *

For three in the morning, Anna was pretty wide-awake. She’d left the pub after hugging Steve until her arms went numb and then sat in her car for several minutes still trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. At one time, she had considered the possibility of buying the pub from Steve, but she knew, financially, she couldn’t do it.

I want to sign it all over to you.

Right then, she really wished someone would pinch her so she’d know she hadn’t had too much to drink and was only dreaming. “I need to get home,” she murmured, starting the car. Sitting still, Anna let the car warm up a bit. She was grateful to her brother, but this car wasn’t in as great condition as Anna would have hoped. There was a bit of a chill in the air, and it took a few minutes for the heat to kick in.

Dammit, she missed her Honda.

And not her old Honda, but the new, shiny one she had stupidly given back to Quinn. “Should have kept it,” she said in disgust. “I’d be on my way by now, and warm.”

Pulling out of the parking lot, Anna drove the deserted streets with a smile. This was her town. Her home. What Steve was offering her was an amazing opportunity and, if she was honest, a dream come true. She wasn’t happy selling houses, but it had helped her achieve financial stability. Anna knew if she did take over the pub, she’d not only have the financial backing from Steve and his business accounts, but she’d also have breathing room because of her own smart decisions from her commissions.

Maybe she’d hold on to her real estate license and do it as an on-the-side thing if need be but put her primary focus on the pub. “Okay, pros and cons,” she said out loud. “Pros, no more dresses and high heels. Cons, go back to everyone looking at me as Anna the tomboy.”