Chapter 17
seventeen
GRAY
Something was wrong. Something had been wrong since coming home from Colorado weeks ago. Gray just couldn’t put her finger on what was setting her off.
Ciar was attentive physically, not so much in the communication department. He worked nonstop, almost maniacally. He slept at her place when he was in Dublin, even though his home was twelve steps away, but he spent even more time at his London flat.
He explained that he had several difficult deals he was juggling at once, and since he was his boss’s top broker, there was no shirking his duty to the company.
Gray did understand work. Her father had always taken MacGregor Security seriously, and the Royal Marines before that.
Her mother was also a role model. Josephine O’Connor was a badass in the hospitality world, and even though she kept her schedule lighter over the past few years to spend more time at home with her husband and Gray’s brother, her days were always full and fulfilling.
Her mom even worked closely with a charity that helped people who have been rescued from trafficking. She was the one who set up the training workshops that taught job skills for the survivors. So yeah, Gray very much understood a devotion to work.
It made sense on paper, but living it, seeing how different he’d become from the man she’d grown up with, or the man she’d fallen in love with, was making her feel crazy.
Despite her misgivings, her life was also quite hectic, which thankfully kept her from dwelling on Ciar to an unhealthy extent.
She was simultaneously working on the pub’s hospitality side, renovating and remodeling the two-story building Ciar had purchased for their new home, while still maintaining top grades at university.
She’d always been a diligent student, and since graduation was getting closer, she was able to spend less time on campus.
The pub renovations were moving along, partly because the interior had been in excellent condition, leaving the contractors to focus on the bar installations, liquor shelving, a sound system, a specialized cigar lounge, and Ciar’s favorite, a high-end poker room in the back for special event nights.
Most of the original blackened beams and worn hardwood floors were intact and gorgeous.
The decorating and décor were left to Raven, River, Rowan, and Bébhinn.
Between the four women who ran Triskelion Territory Design, the pub was ahead of schedule.
Gray’s real work at the pub would be ramping up the following week.
The chef and kitchen staff had already been hired. Gray planned to meet with Chef Teddy Dean to give final approval of the menu and to ensure that the extensive list of kitchen appliances and equipment were checked off and ordered. Some larger appliances had already been delivered and installed.
A local job agency had overseen the hiring of the majority of the waitstaff, but it was Gray’s job to set up training meetings. Her mother helped her finalize those.
For a few more days, Gray’s primary focus could stay on their new home, which was only a short walk through a posh part of town away from the pub.
Gray was obsessed with creating the perfect home for them. Even better, Ciar had given her free rein and a freer budget to see it done quickly. He was excited about their new place. Or he was a great actor. She was beginning to question a lot of things.
Hopefully, the evening would ease some of her anxiousness.
It had been a while since she and her friends had all gotten together, and the group decided to meet at Ciar’s dad and uncle’s pub to enjoy the best crab cake bites in the world and to hear some hot new Irish band debuting their talents.
She hoped Ciar would relax enough to set work and worries aside for one evening. They toured his new pub before meeting everyone. Ciar was pleased with the progress and made many suggestions for next week’s training that she planned to implement.
He refused to tell her the name of the place, which was causing quite a bit of strife between them.
She needed the name to create graphics for the staff, menus, and signage.
He was beyond stubborn, saying it was a “Surprise,” and he was taking care of it.
Not what a person in hospitality wanted to hear.
All was well until they stepped through their home’s front door. She felt him pull away, sending a barrage of red flags through the space.
He thanked her several times for putting in so much effort, complimented her color choices, kitchen appliances, flooring, and paint, but it felt forced. The weirdest part of the walkthrough was that he seemed concerned about the bedrooms. Specifically, how many guest rooms Gray had planned.
When she jokingly asked if he was planning to have overnight company as soon as they moved in, he huffed out a laugh, but it was strained.
When they were about to lock up and meet their Uber, Gray placed a hand on Ciar’s chest to stop him. “Can you tell me what’s bothering you? Please tell me.” The guilty look that flashed across his face had her extremities turning cold.
“You’ve been different for weeks, Ciar. It’s making me nervous about,” she spread her arms wide, encompassing the flat’s renovations, “all of this. The contractors will be starting here soon, and if you’ve changed your mind…”
He gathered her in his arms and held her tight. “Of course, I haven’t changed my mind. Work is stressing me, babe. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel any type of way but cared for.”
Gray wasn’t convinced. “I don’t want to scare you, but I’m all in with you. I love you, you know that. If something is going on, something big, promise to tell me.”
His arms tightened around her, scaring her further. In that moment, she was less concerned about him not confessing his feelings for her. The biggest worry was what had him so unsettled that he couldn’t or wouldn’t share it.
“You are the most important person in the world to me, Gray. Never doubt that. Trust me to sort some things out. Okay?”
As they walked hand in hand into Murphy’s, she realized he never promised to tell her anything.
It felt good to sit comfortably between her friends again and laugh and forget the shit with Ciar for a time. When he laughed at something Daniel said and glanced her way, his eyes sparkled like they used to, she felt her shoulders relax—infinitesimally but enough to take a deeper breath.
Since walking into Murphy’s, she’d made up her mind to force the truth out of him when they got home. He might not want to share what was bothering him, but he would or suffer the consequences—withholding sex and ear-twisting came to mind. Breaking up…
“Have you spoken with Ulf about the internship in Wales for next spring, Blair?” Gray asked.
Blair’s face lit up like an American Fourth of July ad.
She quickly signed, but then glanced in Dagr’s direction, who’d joined them not long ago, and slowed her response as he was new to BSL.
Bébhinn watched the intensity with which he watched every move of Blair’s hands and grinned, winking at Blair.
“Ulf said they had to wait to make their decision until the cutoff date for applications. As if there will be someone more qualified than me,” she signed, rolling her eyes at the rule.
“I’ve already asked my instructors for distance learning next semester.
They’ll want me longer than the internship intends. ”
No one laughed or teased Blair for her confidence. She wasn’t wrong.
“Of course,” Gray said. “It’s smart to be proactive, for sure.”
“I told Dagr months ago that the INCS nature reserve was wasting their time with the selection process,” Bébhinn added, “but rules, I guess.”
“Speaking of upcoming events, Bébhinn, just because you work for our moms and are engaged to some wealthy snob, no offense, cousin,” Jonathan smirked at Dagr, “you still need to take your place at the O’Faolain board of directors’ table.
Dan and I aren’t going to be the only young guns our dads get to yell at. ”
Bébhinn threw her hands up in surrender. “I know. I know. Dad wanted me to get more involved in the Three Wolves Distillery. I have ideas for some of the unused property that I plan to discuss at the next board meeting. It will require all my roommates’ input and help.”
“Consider us intrigued, though I’m awfully tied up at the moment with the Prime Minister’s wife’s birthday present.”
“How is the piece coming, Mags? You haven’t shown me your progress for weeks.” She was trying to pay attention to Mags, but Ciar’s phone kept vibrating the hand that she had resting on his thigh, where his phone sat.
Gray waited for him to pick it up and at least look at who was trying to get hold of him, but he stoically ignored it until she leaned over and said, “Are you not going to check your phone?”
“No.” He was curt to the point of rudeness.
Gray forced her attention from Ciar and back to Mags. “I know she’ll love it, and I’ll become modestly famous from that alone, but I’m Scottish and want to get back to my roots. I’ve been toying with setting up a shop in Inverness once I graduate.”
“I know from Mom and my aunts and Gray’s mom that your work would smash the décor world, Mags,” Bébhinn assured.
Gray tried not to stare as Ciar flipped his phone over on his lap, which was still under the table, and she certainly didn’t miss how his muscled body touching her from shoulder to thigh stiffened.
When he didn’t move or say anything, Gray couldn’t take it. She leaned over and whispered, “What is going on?”
He looked at her then and swallowed thickly, causing Gray’s stomach to turn over, the crab cake bites she’d eaten threatening to make a second appearance.
He shifted in his seat, sliding closer to the edge of the booth as if he meant to stand. “I’m sorry, Gray. There’s an emergency at work.”
He stood suddenly, and Gray stood right after. “Let’s go to my house. Maybe it’s something you can deal with over the phone.”
“I’m sorry, Gray. I’ll make it up to you, but I'd better just go home and pack a bag. Get to the airport,” his voice tapered off when he noticed how badly he was crushing her.
“You can pack a bag and leave, but I’m coming. Before you walk out my door, you will tell me what’s going on, or—” Gray stopped mid-threat, not wanting to say something that she couldn’t take back.
He looked like he was in pain when he nodded in agreement. He took her hand and said to the table, “Sorry, guys, work emergency. Gray and I have to head out.”