Matilda chuckled. “If only someone had gotten that whole…that spectacle on video. Tina and I would have watched it on repeat for months. Too bad you didn’t have Rowan back when you had to deal with recalcitrant business partners.”
“She is a force,” Hugh agreed. He looked at Rowan then with an intensity that she felt from her head to her toes.
Matilda excused herself from the table to use the restroom. “Order some food, Hugh. I’m starving after all that.” As Matilda passed Rowan, she leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Thank you for loving my son.”
Once Rowan swallowed her emotional response, she forced herself to turn and face Hugh. “Are you angry?”
“What?” Hugh truly looked confused.
“I was mean. I’m normally never mean. It’s just…I don’t know, when your mom texted me not to come, that Helen was here and she was saying not nice things—I lost it, I guess.”
“Because I’m yours?”
“You are.”
“The fact that you stood up for me, protected my feelings—Christ, Row, I’ll never forget that moment.” Hugh pulled her chair until it sat flush with his. He grasped her jaw and, uncaring that they were in the middle of his pub, took her mouth in a kiss that left them breathless and wishing they were alone.
Smiling against his mouth, Rowan asked, “Do you know that I’m wearing the same thing under this dress that I wore when we first met?” Hugh’s eyes widened in comprehension.
His hand instantly dropped to her knee, sliding her dress upwards. Rowan placed her hand over his wandering one even though she wanted nothing more than to allow his fingers to finish their journey. “Your mother is on her way back.”
“Tonight,” He grumbled against her mouth.
“Talk first,” Rowan reminded.
“Fine.”
She grinned at his martyred tone.
Hugh walkedMom and Rowan to his mother’s door. After Mom stepped inside, Rowan told Hugh, “I’ll come to your place in just a bit. I need to go over some stuff with your mom and change.
He pulled her close to his chest and fisted his hand in her hair to angle her face toward him. “Don’t change. The first day we met, you left me aching when I found out you were bare under a pretty yellow dress. Not this time,” he whispered in her ear.
Grinning, she agreed. “I won’t change.”
Hugh stuck his head in the door and hollered goodbye to his mother. “Don’t be long,” he said to Rowan as he walked away.
He let himself into his place. His mind felt chaotic. They were so close to a resolution. So close to being…together. It had seemed impossible for so long, but now that it was in front of him, Hugh felt uneasy. He could still screw this all to hell. Say the wrong thing. Push Rowan away with his…personality. He knew he infuriated most people. Even his children.
She might come to think he was too much work. But then, hehadbeen better. Rowan made him smile. Hell, she made him laugh. Bran and Patrick wouldn’t even recognize their father. He went to the bar and poured a drink, contemplating the honey amber color.
He pounded a fist on the bar top. “I will get this right,” he promised himself.
He called Bran, taking a chance that Pat would be close by. Normally, he would have something to discuss with one or both of them, but tonight, he realized he just needed the familiarity of their voices. Once he and Rowan talked some things through tonight, he planned on getting some long-term promises out of her.
“Hey, Dad,” Bran answered. “What’s up? You want on speaker? Pat and the girls are here. We just got back from having dinner with Dom.”
He hesitated. Shit. He had wanted a moment with his sons, but that was selfish. He enjoyed listening to the banter between them and their wives too. “I—” He took too long to reply. Bran noticed and cut him off.
In a quieter voice, Bran asked, “Should I step out of the room?”
Hugh sighed. He was really doing a shit job of this conversation so far. “No, put me on speaker. It’s fine. I had a few minutes and thought I’d check in.” Bran was silent for moment like, he didn’t quite believe the excuse for calling but was not willing to push. Hugh appreciated the restraint.
“You’re on speaker now. Hey Pat, come here. Dad’s on the phone. Hopefully, he isn’t going to discuss his recent sexcapades.”
Bran laughed, knowing it would irritate him. It had. The reason he’d been missing the boys currently escaped him. Hugh went to his bedroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts.
“Hey, Dad. When are you coming home?” Patrick asked. “I’m dying for you to look over the preliminary drawings that the architect and Tim have been working on. Very preliminary, but Bran and I think they have promise.”
