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"Do you think he would mind aging your picture of Constance?"
"He actually owes me a few, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'll send you both photos in a few days. Does that work?"
"I owe you now, too."
Tessa's laughed a reply, "This is actually fun, I feel like Nancy Drew. But I'll collect don't you worry."
Quinn stopped at the Brazen Head Pub for dinner and was surprised by the age of the place most particularly the sign declaring it opened in the late 1100s. The age of Europe was what brought Quinn here from the United States in the first place. As much as she loved home, it didn't have the history that the European and Asian countries had. She settled at the bar and ordered a glass of wine and a plate of Bangers and Mash. There was a lively band playing and Quinn thought about her evening with Gabriel at Jack O'Shea's pub.
There were photos all over the walls and Quinn scanned them quickly to find Gabriel. He was younger, maybe ten years younger so late twenties. He still had that hardness about him but knowing how he grew up she understood. He really did wear his hard won battles on his face. When the bartender, a bull of a man named Broderick, came over to place her dinner before her, Quinn asked him about the photo.
"Do you know that man?"
Broderick turned to the photo for a moment. "Oh yeah, Gabe, he's a good buddy of the owner. Bit of a legend around these parts, scrawny kid from the streets and now he's almost as rich as the Queen."
"Do you know if he's married?"
"Married? Gabe? I don't think so. There was a blonde that used to come around for him back in the day but I haven't seen her in a while. Never really got the impression that Gabriel was ever into her."
After a delicious meal and indulging in a second glass of wine, Quinn paid her tab and was preparing to leave when the door in the back opened. A man walked out and she knew her face paled because she literally felt all of the blood drain from it. The hair was different, not as long and more blond, but the face, the eyes and the body were exactly the same: Thaddeus. Broderick came over at that moment to take Quinn's glass away.
"Is that the owner?"
Quinn knew her voice sounded odd but shock often did that to her.
"Yeah, Shane O'Conner."
Shane/Thaddeus walked over to the bar and asked for a Guinness but his attention was completely on Quinn.
"Evening. Did you enjoy your dinner?"
Quinn couldn't believe she was looking at a modern day version of Thaddeus. God she missed him. She realized she was staring so she mentally shook herself.
"Yes, it was delicious."
"American. How are you finding our fine city?"
"Beautiful, but a bit scary."
His eyebrow rose at that before he replied, "Most only see the beauty but there is ugly just under the surface."
"I imagine most big cities have that, it's the balance of the two that makes them compelling. Alluring even."
He extended his hand as a smile spread over his handsome face. "Shane."
Quinn slipped her hand into his. "Quinn."
He lifted her hand to his lips. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Quinn."
He was so much like Thaddeus that she couldn't help but smile when she replied, "Likewise, Shane."
It was so easy between them. As if she was back with her friend Thaddeus. They spent the rest of the evening chatting about anything and everything and in the early hours of the morning, he walked her back to her hotel.
"Are you free tomorrow? I could show you some of the sights."
"I'd like that, thank you."
He started to turn but stopped and looked back at her. "I have to be honest, Quinn, he knows you're here. He called me earlier and asked me to check on you. I was pleasantly surprised to see you in my bar but being that I had just gotten off the phone with Gabriel, I shouldn't have been surprised at all."
