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“Yeah. I’ll see you there,” he answered. His tone was light, but back to business.
“Cool. See you in a bit,” I replied.
“Later, sis,” he said, and I hung up. I finished my cup of coffee and meandered into my closet. My eyes perused the racks of clothes, organized by designer label and then by color. I had devised it to rival some of the biggest celebrities out there, and I was one hundred percent certain that I had succeeded. Paris Hilton would probably be jealous, and that thought made me exceptionally proud.
For today, I choose a black pinstriped pant suit. The angles were strong, and it would present a powerful image to those I needed to deal with, including, but not limited to, Shane whoever-the-fuck-he-was.
I lifted my chin, snarling under my breath at the memory of his words. Shrugging off my aggravation, I got dressed and put on some makeup, playing up my eyes with a smoky, natural look and painting on my signature red lip. When I was done, I was the picture of money, glamor, and power.
I pulled my shoulders back and went about my business for the day. As much as I tried not to, Shane’s dark gaze flashed before my eyes unbidden, time and time again. Needing to keep things professional, I was able to hide my distracted thoughts for the most part. Having Aidan’s company was comforting for much of it, but he had to leave early in the evening for a trip to New York for a meeting with one of the leading Italian mafia families centered there, which left my evening open.
Without really even intending to, I found myself standing in front of the pub that night. I hadn’t planned on coming here, but I was vaguely curious at the prospect of verbally sparring with Shane again tonight. I didn’t know why I was so captivated by him. Maybe I just wanted to reign victorious over him like I’d done with every other man in my life.
With a deep, empowering breath, I straightened my shoulders and walked through the door with my head held high. Angus was at the bar again tonight, and he grinned when he saw me. I strode forward and took my usual seat, looking over the crowd. It was much livelier than last night.
There was a man singing to a woman on the dance floor, his Irish accent ringing off the walls quite beautifully. The acoustics of this place had been one of the main draws. I smiled, remembering the first time Kieran had stood in the center of the room and belted out a raunchy jig that left the rest of us rolling in laughter.
That had been a really good day, truly the start of the Murphy legacy here in Boston.
Angus lifted a brow, glancing towards me and then back over my shoulder, silently communicating that my opponent had arrived.
I didn’t look, choosing instead to nod towards my favorite whiskey. He smirked as he poured me a double. The chair next to me creaked and I sighed, hardening my expression into my token resting bitch face.
I had been told that I had one of the best on more than one occasion.
“Good evening, Ada. It’s nice to see you again,” Shane rumbled, his voice like a glass of water on a piping hot day. I swallowed, shaking off that feeling before I slid my eyes over to his. To my surprise, his eyes were soft, showcasing none of the animosity from last night.
I sat back, appraising him with a calculated look. I wanted him to know that I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said, and I wasn’t going to allow him to either.
Angus slid my whiskey in front of me, and I wrapped my fingers around the glass, taking a sip as I coldly assessed Shane. If he was intimidated at all by my icy demeanor, he didn’t show it. It was beyond frustrating, but I’d cracked harder men than him before.
He smiled. “I’d like to buy you a drink, Ada.”
“I already have one,” I sassed.
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“Not yet,” I said thoughtfully. I hadn’t had the time. The arraignment at the docks had taken longer than I’d anticipated. There had been an issue with one of my European shipments that I’d had to contend with. Thankfully, the crate of weapons had come in as expected. After we finally got out of there, Aidan and I had brought the contents to our local storage warehouse. Kieran and Cormac had taken over the sorting and itemizing after that.
“Two orders of the fish and chips and a basket of your Irish soda bread,” Shane said confidently. I wanted to speak up and tell him I could order for myself, that I didn’t need a man to do it for me, but there was something that gave me pause. He’d remembered what I’d said last night. That was sweet in a way I didn’t really want to recognize. Not many men were capable of that. In fact, there were startlingly few.
“I’ll also take a double of the Tullamore Dew 18 Year,” he added.
Angus gave him a curt nod. He elected to pour the whiskey first, before entering our orders into the register.
Why was I even here tonight? Sure, this was my family’s pub, but I could have stayed home. I didn’t need to oversee the daily happenings here. Our family had hired good people to do their jobs without needing much direction, and they did them well.
Had I actually wanted to see him tonight? Was that what he would think?
I shook my head, staring into the amber liquid of my drink like it held all the answers. Not surprisingly, I found none. Feeling slightly irritated, I cleared my throat.
Why not choose violence? I liked violence… Maybe he did too.
“So how many drinks am I allowed to have tonight?” I asked as sarcastically as I could. I leveled him with a steady glare that said that I would have as many as I wanted no matter what he said.
He chuckled softly, swirling his whiskey as he stared into my eyes with his charismatic, forest green ones. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down visibly, giving him an ominous aura that made me feel alive.
“Two, if you want your fucking tonight.”
