Page 14 of Temporarily in Love

I rolled my eyes at his baby talk to her, but it was cute. I was secretly jealous that I was still single and childless. I wanted to be a father, and there wasn’t a time limit for guys, but I didn’t want to be ancient when my kid graduated college. I wasn’t sure that was ever in the cards for me. Especially since I was still hung up on the girl I dated in high school.

Who knows? My brother didn’t become a father until he was forty. I still had a good six years to catch up to him. Maybe I’d meet my soulmate soon and get everything I ever wanted. The cynical part of me laughed bitterly at the thought.

Chapter Five

LILA

It took some convincing, but Dad agreed to all the changes Gemma suggested. He laughed his head off at the beer name, which was good. There was still a lot to do, so I started researching web designers and marketing firms.

My brother-in-law found me in the back office, scowling at my laptop. Brian was a big man. He was about six-foot-three and came from a family of loud-mouth Irish boys. He and Kelsey had been high school sweethearts, and he doted on my sister.

“Hey, Lila,” he said.

“Hey! You coming on shift?” I asked.

Brian had been working at the bar since he was eighteen, waiting tables until Dad slowly grew to trust him. Now he was the manager and did a lot of the stuff my dad was ‘too old to want to deal with anymore.’ Dad’s words, not mine.

“Did you talk to Gemma?” he asked.

I nodded. “We need to redo the website and get someone to do our social media. We have zero presence.”

He nodded. “Right. I’ve asked one of the more tech-savvy servers to help with social. But I think we need the webmaster to relinquish control.”

I groaned. “He still has control?”

Brian laughed. “Yeah, girl! But he makes updates anytime Pops asks. What did Pops say about all of Gemma’s suggestions?”

“He’s good with them. Level with me. How bad is it?”

Brian grimaced. “It’s bad, kiddo.”

I frowned. “I don’t want us to lose the bar. I love the bar.”

“Me too. Talk to Declan about the website.”

I sighed. “Can you do it?”

He raised an eyebrow. “No, be a fucking adult and talk to him.”

“He hates me!”

Brian rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t hate you. Besides, that boy gets around.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and shut the lid of my laptop. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” he said too quickly.

“Bri!”

He sighed. “Not my business, but yeah, I’ve heard shit about him. He never wants any strings.”

Hmm.

“He was kind of rude to me today.”

“Well, you did stomp on his heart and then pretend he didn’t exist for over a decade.”

I sighed. “I know. I guess I have to go over there and ask him to hand back the password for the website.”