The Summer Garden (22 page)

“As sure as I am that I spoke to you yesterday as well as just now,” she confirmed. “She called not fifteen minutes ago. I keep a notation of all calls in the account record.”

“I see,” he said softly. “Thanks.”

What on earth did it mean that Moira was conducting pub business as if nothing were awry?

He didn’t have long to ponder that, because a key turned in the lock and she breezed in, barely sparing him a glance as she headed for the kitchen. Luke trailed along behind her.

“Moira, what are you doing here?” he asked, even as she walked into the freezer obviously intent on checking something.

When she emerged, she shrugged. “What does it look like? I’m doing my job.”

He faltered at that, trying to decide if he should make an issue of this unexpected turn of events or let it pass. In the end, though, he had to understand.

“I thought you’d quit.”

She leveled a defiant look straight into his eyes then. “It was you I quit, Luke. Walking out on this job would be irresponsible.” Her expression dared him to challenge her.

Ah, he thought, fighting a smile. This was the salve to her pride, a way to come back into his life without letting him off the hook at all.

“Okay, then,” he said, grateful for the tiny opening, however it had come about. “I’ll be in the office, if you need me.”

She picked up a pot then and dropped it on the floor, causing a clatter that stopped him in his tracks. “That’s all you have to say?” she demanded.

“I’m at a loss,” he admitted. “You’re here to do a job, nothing else, isn’t that what you said?”

She clearly wasn’t pleased to have been taken at her word, but he wasn’t quite ready to bend yet, either.

“That’s what I said,” she agreed tightly.

“Would it help at all if I said I was sorry about how things ended yesterday?” he asked carefully. “I had a miserable night because of it.”

Her lips twitched at that. “Really? How miserable?”

“Lousy enough,” he said. “You’d have been quite content, I’m sure, if you’d seen me tossing and turning and wondering how I mucked things up so badly.”

“Do you need me to explain it to you?” she inquired, the faintest hint of a twinkle in her eyes at last.

“If it would make you feel better, go right ahead and tell me all the things I did wrong.”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “No, I think you should probably ponder the situation a bit longer and figure out your own answers.” She finally grinned. “I’ll be in here helping Bryan with lunch once you’ve come up with any.”

He risked a grin of his own. “Good to know.”

Though things between them were far from settled and nowhere close to back on an even keel, he felt a faint stirring of hope that he hadn’t blown any chance for them entirely out of the water.

To Luke’s utter horror, given how precarious things already were with Moira, Kristen wandered in around one-thirty as the brisk lunch business was winding down.

“Since the official, invitation-only festivities are over and this place is open to the public, I thought I’d give it a try,” she said, her expression daring him to dismiss her.

“Sure,” he said reluctantly. “Have a seat and I’ll send your waiter over.”

“I thought maybe you’d have time to at least have a cup of coffee with me,” she said.

“Why would you think that?” he asked in frustration. “You know I’m with Moira. I’ve explained that.”

“The way I hear it, there was a fight of some kind yesterday at Sally’s and she walked out on you,” Kristen said, clearly gloating about the news.

Luke muttered a curse under his breath at the efficiency of the Chesapeake Shores grapevine. Who the devil had been in Sally’s to spread the word? And why would they tell Kristen, of all people? Was there someone in town who wanted to screw with his life that badly?

Kristen laughed when he didn’t respond. “I can just about hear those wheels in your head going round and round as you try to figure out who spilled the news to me.”

“It did cross my mind to wonder,” he admitted.

“No one in your family betrayed you,” she said, “at least not intentionally. Sally was apparently worried about whatever she witnessed. She mentioned something to Susie, who dropped in to talk to Mack, wondering if she should try to intercede. She didn’t realize I was around.”

“And you couldn’t resist eavesdropping,” he concluded.

“Not once I’d heard your name, of course not,” she said unrepentantly. “Newspaper reporters often get the hottest news by overhearing things meant to be kept secret.” She held his gaze. “Is it true, Luke? Have you finally had the good sense to call it quits? She was all wrong for you, you know. Anyone could see what a terrible mismatch it was. She’d have made you miserable.”

“Is that so?” Moira said, appearing suddenly beside them.

Luke couldn’t be sure how she’d turned up so quietly, or how she’d even known Kristen was near the place. Was it some sort of female sixth sense or something?

“You’re here,” Kristen said, looking stunned.

“Right here,” Moira confirmed. “And wondering why you are. Come to pick over the bones, Kristen? That’s what predatory animals do, I’m told. Sadly for you, the news of the death of my relationship with Luke has been premature.”

Kristen looked shocked by her words, but Luke had never been more proud. This was the Moira with whom he’d fallen in love, the one who spoke her mind without heed to the consequences. And if she was publicly claiming him, he could only hope that meant she’d forgiven him and not just that she wanted to stick a sword through Kristen’s heart.

Kristen whirled on him. “Luke, are you going to allow her to say such things to me?”

He merely smiled. “You’re on her turf. It’s your battle, Kristen. You’ve always prided yourself on your ability to handle any situation. I have to admit that I’m fascinated to see how you’ll handle this one. Susie let you off too easily, if only because she was so sick, but it seems to me you’ve met a worthy opponent this time.”

“You’re actually enjoying this,” she said incredulously.

“I am,” he admitted. “I’ve never had two women fight over me before.”

She turned to Moira then. “And you’re willing to feed into his display of ego?”

“Truthfully, Luke’s less of a concern to me right now than you are. When will you get the message, Kristen? Luke’s no longer interested in you. From all I’ve heard about you, you’re not the sort of woman to keep humiliating herself by coming by to beg for a scrap of his attention. You did the same thing with Mack. Have you learned nothing from the shame of that terrible situation?”

Luke saw that Kristen’s hand was shaking as she reached for her purse, and he knew it was time to intervene. Even for a woman with Kristen’s arrogance and insensitivity, some words could strike a little too close and leave wounds.

For all his increasing impatience with her deplorable behavior, he’d once seen another side of her. And he’d drawn her into his orbit, albeit to save Susie’s marriage, but he’d kept her in his life for longer than he should have. He had to accept some responsibility for this mess.

It was that sense of honor that had him saying quietly, “Kristen, why don’t I walk you out?”

Though Moira looked as if she had quite a lot more she wanted to say, she nodded and walked away, clearly satisfied at having accomplished what she’d set out to do.

Outside, he touched Kristen’s shoulder, realizing that this strong woman he’d assumed was indomitable was near tears. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “But you intentionally pushed her. All she did was push back.”

“But you did nothing to stop her,” she accused.

“How could I? Nothing I’ve said to you seemed to sink in. I thought perhaps Moira would have better luck making things clear.”

She drew in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Well, they’re clear enough now. I still think you’re going to regret this, Luke, but I’m done.”

“And I think when enough time has passed, you’ll realize it was all for the best. I’m not the right one for you, Kristen. I never was.”

“And you’re the right one for her?” she asked disparagingly, fighting till the bitter end.

“We’re still working that out,” Luke told her candidly. “But I want the time to try.”

She shook her head. “I honestly don’t see it.”

He laughed. “But you’re not the one who has to, are you?”

“No, I suppose I’m not,” she said, then turned and walked away.

Luke stared after her for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and headed back inside to try to figure out just exactly what that whole little scene had really meant. Much as he wished it might be otherwise, he had a sinking feeling that it had been played totally for Kristen’s benefit and not because he’d been entirely forgiven for yesterday’s debacle at Sally’s.

20

T
he audacity of the woman, Moira thought as she paced the kitchen waiting for Luke to return. They’d been broken up for what, not even twenty-four hours, and Kristen Lewis had swooped in to stake her own claim. Did the woman have no shame? Apparently not.

“Do I need to lock up the knives?” Bryan inquired as she stalked around, muttering to herself.

“It might be wise,” she said, then sighed. “Sorry, I am acting like a bit of a lunatic, aren’t I?”

“Was that the other woman, then?” he asked.

She regarded him with surprise. “How did you know?”

He chuckled. “No one gets as worked up as you are over an innocent visit from a casual acquaintance. I got a glimpse of her as well. I recognized the type.”

“Predatory, right?” Moira said, seeking confirmation for her own possibly jaded view.

“Oh, yeah,” he said.

“Why doesn’t Luke see that? After all, she was chasing his brother-in-law when they first met. Shouldn’t that have given him a clue?”

Bryan looked stunned. “His brother-in-law?”

“Mack, who’s married to his sister,” Moira confirmed. “Luke swooped in to protect his sister’s interests and got caught in Kristen’s web, apparently.”

A grin spread across Bryan’s ruddy face. “God, I’m going to love working here. I’ve been in the city too long. Small towns are clearly far more fascinating.”

Moira laughed. “It’s been a revelation to me, too, though my town back in Ireland wasn’t much bigger than this. Truly, the only excitement we ever heard about was when Mr. O’Meara came wobbling home after having a bit too much to drink and Mrs. O’Meara made him, quite literally, sleep in the doghouse. It was such a regular occurrence that, after a time, we didn’t give it a second thought.”

Just then Luke walked into the kitchen. “Do you have a minute?” he asked her in what sounded like much more of a command than a question. As she headed dutifully out the door, he turned to Bryan. “The lunch hour went great today. Everybody was raving about the fish and chips. My uncle Mick said they were the best he’s had outside of Ireland.”

“I’ll accept the compliment in Nell’s absence, but we owe it to her,” Bryan told him. “She had the secret recipe for the batter that’s made all the difference.”

Luke nodded, then joined Moira as they walked to the privacy of his office. His silence was beginning to unnerve her a little. Was he mad at her for causing a scene? Well, if he was, that was just too bad. Even if the pub had been crawling with customers, which it hadn’t been at that hour, she was never going to be polite to Kristen when she was only here to prey on the man in Moira’s life.

Luke followed her into the office, then closed the door and turned to back her against it. With one arm braced on either side of her, he pinned her in place.

“I know this is probably exactly the wrong thing to say in these circumstances, but do you have any idea how hot you made me out there when you were putting Kristen in her place and staking your claim on me?” he asked.

She blinked at that. It was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “You thought that fight was hot?”

He nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

“Why?” she asked, bemused. “Because it was all about you?”

“No, because it told me that you are not through with me, after all.”

“Well, that was hardly in doubt, was it?” she asked, a hint of self-loathing in her voice. “I don’t know about you, but my feelings don’t turn on and off like a faucet, Luke. Just because I was ready to call it quits doesn’t mean that I’d suddenly fallen out of love.”

He smiled in a way that set her nerves on edge. It was the smug smile of a man who thought he’d won the battle, if not the war.

“You’re still in love with me, then?” he asked, clearly intent on confirming the information, or just because he liked hearing her admit it.

“Yes, though right at this second, I’m wondering why. You’d test the patience of a saint, Luke O’Brien. You truly would.”

“But I haven’t run you off for good, is that right?”

She sighed heavily at the question. The answer was probably too obvious to be denied, whether she liked it or not.

“No, you haven’t run me off for good.”

He gave a nod, his expression filled with satisfaction as his gaze held hers. “Okay, then, fair warning.”

“Warning?”

“I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want me to, if I’m violating some principle you’re hung up on at the moment, all you have to do is say the word and I’ll back away.”

Moira thought of all the reasons why she should stop him, why she shouldn’t let herself be swayed by desire, not when there were so many bloody principles at stake.

Then she thought of the one reason that outweighed them all: she wanted to be kissed. By him. Right now.

She lifted her hands to rest on his shoulders, stood on tiptoe to angle her head just so and then waited as his breath feathered over her face, as his eyes glittered with passion. And when his mouth eventually covered hers, she sank into the kiss, letting it smooth away yesterday’s heartache, letting the wonder of it dissolve all her doubts.

For now, for this one quiet moment, she was exactly where she wanted to be—in Luke’s arms. How had she ever thought she could walk away from him so easily? The truth was, she knew with every fiber of her being that this was where she belonged. She supposed she was just going to have to be reasonable—a tricky business for a woman of her passionate nature—and give him a little more time to catch up.

Luke could have kicked himself for starting something there was no time to finish. There was no way he could drag Moira off to his apartment, as he desperately wanted to. There were too many things that needed to be done right here before the evening crowds descended.

And despite the promise of the way she’d melted in his arms, he knew well enough that they still had plenty to resolve. All those things that had sent her bolting from Sally’s yesterday were still hanging in the air between them.

Ironically, he realized that he had Kristen to thank for the truce. Seeing her here had obviously sparked Moira’s possessive streak in some way and sent her right back into his arms. He doubted, though, that sending Kristen a note of gratitude would be appropriate.

For now, he sighed against Moira’s lips and reluctantly released her.

“That was nice,” he said.

She smiled. “Better than nice.” Her smile faded. “But we still have things to work out, Luke.”

“I know that, and we will. If I’m sure of nothing else, I’m sure of that.” He touched a finger to her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “We will,” he added firmly.

“Okay, then. Bryan’s probably wondering if you’ve banished me for causing a scene. I should get back to check on things in the kitchen.”

Luke nodded. “Before you go, though, is he working out okay?”

“He’s wonderful,” Moira said at once. “He’s grasped everything Nell or I have told him and taken it a step beyond. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn his experience was in a Dublin pub and not a deli in Baltimore.”

“That’s my impression as well. And the waitstaff? Is everyone working out as we’d hoped? Everyone’s pulling their weight?”

“Terry’s a little slower than I’d like to see, but she’s catching on, and the customers seem to love her just the same. Josh has an awful lot of Irish blarney for a kid who came from the Bronx. He’ll do.”

Luke was relieved by her assessment. The last thing he wanted was to have to shake up the staff this early on. He wanted a reliable team who’d be here for the long haul, though it was clear he was likely to have Josh only until he completed his computer courses at the community college and went off to launch some dot-com business that eventually sold for millions.

That, he reassured himself, could be a while, since Josh was working his way through school, taking only a class or two at a time as he could manage the expense. He’d come to Maryland chasing after a girl, then stayed on when the romance ended. That had been several years ago. He’d taken an instant liking to Moira, but then so had all the staff. If she so much as whispered a desire for something to be done, they all swarmed to do it.

“Luke, you can stop worrying. It’s all running quite smoothly for a new place,” Moira said, as if she were in his head. “I’ve seen my share of disasters, and this has none of the signs.”

“Thanks for saying that,” he told her.

“It’s only the truth.” She dropped an easy kiss on his forehead. “To wipe away that frown line,” she said as she left.

Luke watched her go, a smile on his lips. What had ever made him think, even for a minute, that he could let her walk out of his life? He was pretty sure he could make a case for temporary insanity.

It was just after five. Uncle Mick and his father had claimed spots at the bar and were arguing over something. Luke smiled at the sight of them. Thank heaven he and Matthew didn’t share the gene for sibling rivalry that those two had. He imagined Thomas would be in, too, as soon as he’d made the drive home from Annapolis and checked on Connie. Mick had suggested that Luke add a dart game to the pub, but Luke feared that the way those three could go at it, a dart would eventually wind up someplace it shouldn’t.

In general, though, there was a nice buzz in the air as people came in to unwind at the end of the day. He stood behind the bar looking around, feeling an amazing sense of accomplishment steal over him. It was too soon to declare O’Brien’s an unqualified success, but tonight, more than the weekend, reassured him that it was well on its way.

When the door opened, Susie and Mack came in. Susie looked happy enough, but Mack looked as if he was spoiling for a fight.

“Everything okay?” Luke asked as he seated them at a table by the window.

“I think everything is great,” Susie said. “Mack’s not so thrilled.”

“About?” Luke asked tentatively, not particularly eager to be drawn into some spat the two of them were having.

“Kristen Lewis quit today,” Mack said, turning an accusing gaze on him. “It’s not that I haven’t been anticipating it. I’ve even come close to firing her myself because of the circumstances, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen today.” He studied Luke with a narrowed gaze. “What does it have to do with you?”

Even Susie blinked at that. “You think Luke’s responsible for this?” she asked. “Maybe she just finally came to her senses and realized no one wanted her here.”

Mack scowled at the comment. “Something tells me Luke’s opinion was the one that counted. What happened? I know she was here earlier.”

Luke sighed. “She and Moira got into an argument,” he admitted.

Susie’s eyes brightened, which was probably less than diplomatic but entirely understandable. “A turf war over you?” she guessed, looking delighted. “What happened?”

“Moira won. I backed her up. Game over.”

“And Kristen wasn’t happy about the outcome,” Susie concluded. “I’m sure she couldn’t believe she’d come out second best with two men in this town.”

“No, she couldn’t,” Luke said, then looked at Mack earnestly. “Look, I know she was a huge help to you at the newspaper, but there are other people out there you can hire who won’t bring all this baggage to town with them. This is for the best.”

Mack sighed. “I know that. I know it’s best for everyone’s peace of mind, but I wanted to get through the paper’s first year at least with the best possible person in that position. Newspapers all over the country were taking note of what we were doing on the digital side of things. I don’t want to lose the momentum.”

“You won’t,” Susie said. “Everything’s in place, and if I understand anything about Kristen, the organization of it all is written down somewhere in black and white, so someone else can readily step in.”

“Sure, for the day-to-day stuff,” Mack agreed. “I can probably take over that myself. It’s the innovation that concerns me. She was way ahead of the curve on that. I want us to keep breaking new ground.”

Luke drew in a deep breath. Something told him he was going to hate himself for this, but he glanced across the room and caught Josh’s eye, then waved him over.

“Mack, you should talk to Josh Jackson. He’s a computer geek from what I understand. Working here is just a sideline until he gets his degree. He might have some ideas for you or some contacts.”

Mack’s expression immediately brightened. “Do you know anything about newspapers? Are they even teaching anything related to the news business in college these days?”

“I haven’t been a journalism student, so I don’t know much about what classes they’re teaching, but I do know something about newspapers—they’re dying,” Josh said. “My dad worked for one till he got a buyout. The internet’s taking over.”

“Not here in Chesapeake Shores,” Mack told him.

Luke listened as Mack launched into a description of what he was trying to accomplish with the digital component of his local weekly. Josh nodded attentively, chiming in eagerly with comments and suggestions. To Luke’s everlasting regret, it looked like a match made in heaven.

He slipped away from the table, only to have Susie follow him.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a fierce hug.

“What for? Sacrificing my waiter to soothe your husband’s nerves?”