“I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
I waited, but that was it. Cole fielded a scowl from Parker and an eye roll from Mason by taking a sip of Scotch. The conversation moved on to talk of big city versus small-town living, but I wasn’t in the mood to join in.
I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
Thinking back to the day Mae was accepted into pastry school, I remembered her dancing around the kitchen table. Literally dancing, hugging her parents, and me, as excited as I’d ever seen her in my life. Living in Paris obviously appealed as much in real life as it had in her dreams. Mae had been prepared to stay there.
Paris. And I was trying to compete with the city of lights with a few dozen candles? In a bar she’d been going to since she was born? Suddenly my beer tasted bitter. I plastered a smile on my face when Parker busted my ass about a college prank they were reminiscing about. But it was forced.
I thought giving her space would help prove I was worth staying for. Now I wasn’t so sure.
* * *
“I hear you had an exciting day in here yesterday.”
I hadn’t even seen Mr. O’Malley walk in. It was a busy afternoon, thankfully for the staff, after being shuttered yesterday.
He came behind the bar to shake my hand.
“Welcome back,” I said, waving to Jenn to let her know the drinks were up. “How was Florida?”
“Better than expected, thanks to you.”
“All I did was accept your offer.”
“You did more than that,” he said with a knowing look, although he’d never outright ask how I got that amount of money to him so quickly.
“Anyway.” I re-directed the conversation. “You got out just in time.” I told him about the valve and we talked about the closing while I worked. Or more precisely, whileweworked. He probably didn’t even realize he was serving customers, it was so automatic.
“Mae said she was off today.”
At the mention of her, I stiffened. There was nothing I wanted more than to pick up where we’d left off last night. When we danced, I imagined it was our wedding night, and Mae was my wife. But today, that felt like a pipe dream.
“She’s been living here,” I said. “The festival went well.” I grasped for topics that weren’t solely related to his daughter. “We’ve had a steady stream of customers from it.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you two were able to pull it together so quickly.”
Watching him working, something occurred to me.
“This is your legacy,” I said. “You always have a second home in here.”
“Thank you, son. I’ll admit coming in here today, there’s mixed feelings. I spent more time in this place than anywhere else, I think. Maybe my own home. Just remember to keep your priorities straight. The people here”—he waved a hand to the customers at the bar—“are like family. But they aren’t family. Mrs. O’Malley and I had more than one growing pain until we finally settled in.”
“I’ll remember that, sir.”
“The Mrs. will be in tomorrow to help out with the books until you find someone. Mae said you were looking to hire?”
“Yeah, know someone who might be interested?”
“Let me think about it. And of course, Mae can help out until she figures out what she’s up to next. Although I think she might be onto something already.”
I tossed a bar rag over my shoulder and had been reaching for a clean pint glass. My hand froze.
“Oh yeah?”
“She’s been on the computer since we got home. Was looking at a pastry place in Brooklyn. I asked what she was up to, but she said it’s a surprise.”
I lined up a row of shot glasses like soldiers… anything to keep my hands busy while my mind spun.
