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“I have a few former coworkers and an ex-boyfriend who’d disagree with you there.” Smiling, I tilted my head and lifted my shoulders to show I didn’t care. I’d learned to embrace my badass boss bitch reputation—I even had a coffee mug that touted the title. As long as I claimed it openly, it couldn’t be used as an insult against me.
“Your boyfriend didn’t actually call you that, did he?” Donal looked appalled.
I waved his concern away. “No, he was too polite for that. I think the words he used were cold, unfeeling, and passionless, but it amounts to basically the same thing.”
“Anyone who thinks you’re passionless doesn’t know you at all.”
I stared at him in surprise, unsure how to respond. It had sounded like a compliment, and the way he was staring at me made my stomach do an uncomfortable flip.
His eyes lingered on mine for what felt like a long moment before he shrugged and turned to pull open the fridge. “Sounds like you’re better off without him. You want a beer?”
Swallowing, I forced myself to answer. “I’d love one.”
“All I’ve got is an imperial stout. Hope that’s okay.” He got out two bottles and rummaged in a drawer for a bottle opener.
“What, no Milwaukee’s Beast?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at the expensive craft beer.
He snorted as he handed me one. “Jesus, the Beast. I can’t believe I used to drink that swill. Sláinte.”
I clinked my bottle against his and took a long pull of my beer. It was dark and rich—like Guinness but stronger and sweeter—and I squinted at the label, looking for the ABV. “So your taste in beer has matured with age, but you still hate mushrooms with a burning passion?”
“Mushrooms have the same consistency as diced slugs.” He shuddered dramatically as he opened a cabinet and got down two plates. “Why would anyone want to put that in their mouth? Why?”
I accepted one of the plates and helped myself to a slice of pizza and a paper towel. Donal piled three slices on his plate before gesturing toward the living room.
“You seem like you’re in a good mood,” I observed, taking another sip of beer as I followed him. It was so strong I could already feel the alcohol chipping away at the tension I’d been carrying all day. “I hope that means your first meeting with Erin went well.”
“It went great.” He smiled as he dropped down on one of the two couches and set his beer on the round glass coffee table. “Thanks for the pizza.”
I took a seat on the other couch and balanced my plate on my knees. “I’m dying to hear all about it.”
Donal had just crammed a big bite of pizza in his mouth, and I had to wait for him to finish chewing. After he’d swallowed, he reached for his beer and took a long sip. “You were right. She’s amazing.” He shook his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips, and I was struck anew by how handsome he was. “It was a good lunch. We talked a lot. About…a lot of things.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but instead he fell silent as he gazed thoughtfully out the window. “Like?” I prompted.
He shook himself out of whatever trance he’d been in and aimed a sideways look at me. “A lot of things. Me, her. My family, her family.” His shoulders twitched in a shrug and he took another huge bite of pizza.
“That’s all I get?” I downed another mouthful of beer while I waited for him to finish chewing.
“You can’t expect me to repeat everything we talked about.”
“I told you everything we talked about when I met her.”
“I appreciate that, but it was the first time either of us had met her and I hadn’t even had a chance to make contact with her myself. The circumstances are different now.”
“Of course they are,” I muttered. “So much for being a team.”Typical fucking Donal. He got what he wanted from me, but as soon as it was his turn to reciprocate, he didn’t want to play ball anymore. I set my plate on the table with a loudthunkand got to my feet. “Enjoy the pizza.”
“Tess, dammit. Come on.” Donal jumped up and scrambled to follow me. His hand closed around my wrist as I reached the door. “Can you just wait, please?”
“What?” I snapped, pulling my hand out of his grasp as I rounded on him. “What else do you want from me?”
“I want you to hear me out for once without making me into the bad guy.”
“I’m not making you into anything. You’re doing that all on your own.”
“Fuck.”He sagged back against the wall, tilting his head to the ceiling as he scrubbed his hands over his face. “Why does it always have to be like this with us?”
“Like what?”
