Chapter 3
“Hey Soph, we need to get going soon.”
“I know. I’ll be done with this in a minute. Call Aunt Nan or Sylvia and ask if they want us to bring anything,” said Sophie as she loosened the last screw under the bar top. At least this was one thing they wouldn’t need to buy new. Refinishing furniture was a favorite hobby of hers.
Keefe took his phone out from his back pocket and tried to make a call, then placed the phone back inside his pocket. “My phone battery is dead.”
Under the bar, Sophie rolled her eyes. His battery was always dead. “Use mine,” Sophie called out. “It’s in my purse, side pocket.”
Keefe didn’t like using his sister’s phone. It differed from his and was more complicated than his own. He found her phone exactly where she said he would, asked how to unlock the thing, then made the call. Or so he thought. Instead of a ringing, he heard a voice.
Hi, Sophie, it’s Liam. I just saw Simon at his bachelor party—there’s a day I never thought would come. He invited me to his wedding but I’m leaving tonight for France with my parents. Anyway, he told me you were back and about the pub and about … well, I just wanted to say… Happy Christmas, Sophie.
“Liam called you?” A hard bang sounded from under the bar. Keefe winced in sympathy. That had to hurt. “Everything okay under there?”
Sophie had bashed the top of her head. “Are you seriously listening to my messages?”
He’d obviously touched a nerve and, being the dutiful twin brother that he was, Keefe was going to keep touching it until she talked to him. “I didn’t do it on purpose! I was trying to make the call, and then I heard Liam’s message. You know I don’t know how to use your phone. Besides, that’s not the point.”
Keefe waited for her to continue tearing into him for listening to the message, but she didn’t. She clammed up, which of course meant that she didn’t want to talk about it, which of course meant that Keefe was going to press the issue. What else were brothers for, anyway? “Did you call him back?”
Sophie, now finished, set her screwdriver down inside the toolbox, then crawled out from underneath the bar and glanced at him, shooting darts his direction. He’d struck a nerve all right!
“You really didn’t call him? Why not?”
“I’m not discussing this with you. We need to get a move on. The family is expecting us.”
“They can wait two minutes.”
Sophie ignored him and continued skirting around the question. She headed into the kitchen, where she washed her hands.
Keefe followed her and stood in front of the doorway. The back door was a dead end so long as the large shelf stood in front of it, so this was the only way out and he was blocking it. She wasn’t leaving until she’d answered his question. “Why won’t you call Liam?”
She continued to ignore his question as she dried her hands with a paper towel and turned around.
Okay, fine, he would go at this from another approach. “Why are we meeting at Connor’s anyway? We could have hosted dinner.”
“Darcie’s on bed rest, remember? She can’t go anywhere, so we are all coming to her.”
“I forgot. Will she be okay?”
“Yeah, she should be fine. This is just a precaution. Let’s get going.”
With the back door blocked, Keefe could easily hold her hostage for as long as he pleased. He planted his feet, blocking the door to the dining room. “That’s good. Now, we aren’t going anywhere until you explain why you won’t talk to Liam. You two were best friends.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“So what? Liam’s a nice guy. And I hate to break this to you, sis, but we do live here now. You’re bound to run into him sooner or later, then what are you going to do?”
The stubborn, tall pain in her ass was blocking both doors, and there was nothing she could do about it. Sophie shook her head in frustration. “I haven’t talked to him because… I don’t know.” Keefe waited. He was good at that. Her brother had both patience and stubbornness in abundance and would gladly die on this hill. If she didn’t want to dry up and die here in this kitchen alongside of him, she was going to have to talk. She threw her hands in the air, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. I haven’t called him back because I’m not ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“You know, dating and all that nonsense.”
“He didn’t ask you out. What if he just wanted to lend you a friendly shoulder to cry on or something and you blew him off? Come on. You and Liam were inseparable.”
“That was?—”
“A long time ago, yeah, I know I was there. All I’m saying is, it couldn’t hurt to have one of your best friends back in your life. You’re going to see him sometime. Wouldn’t it be better to rip the bandaid off now instead of leaving it to chance?”
Sophie had answered his question and now she wanted to leave, but Keefe still wasn’t budging. She growled in frustration. Keefe was like a dog with a bone! “What? You want me to call him right now? Is that what it will take to get you to move? Fine. I’ll call him. Hand me my phone.” She stuck her hand out.
Keefe picked up her phone and held it in the air, out of her reach. “No, no. I’ll dial for you. That way, I’ll know you aren’t fake calling.”
“Fake calling? What are you, seven? ‘Hello, is your refrigerator running? Then you’d better go catch it.’”
“That’s crank calling,” Keefe said as he looked at the screen and dialed Liam’s phone number. “It’s ringing,” he said with a troublemaking grin.
“Give me the phone!”
Keefe held the phone to his ear, refusing to hand it over.
“Goddammit, Keefe! Give me the phone!” Sophie jumped up, trying to reach it, but he held it too high in one hand and held her off with the other pressed against her forehead. Then a voice sounded and Sophie froze. Keefe brought the phone to his ear. “Liam? Is that you? How’s it going? This is Keefe.”
Sophie growled, and once again swung her arms at her brother. If she got her hands on him, he was a dead man! Where was her tool box when she needed it, anyway? She snarled and kept on swinging, trying desperately to catch a hold of him.
Meanwhile, Keefe went on talking to Liam, holding his sister’s forehead. “Sophie? Yeah, she’s right here. Just a sec and I’ll put her on.” Sophie was practically foaming at the mouth. “Uh, you know what? On second thought, she’s still held up but listen, you should stop by the pub sometime. We’re here almost every day and we would love to see you.” Sophie continued to snarl and wave her arms furiously, trying to rip her brother into strips. Keefe stayed on the phone for another minute, then hung up.
Keefe kept his arm outstretched and his hand pressing against her slowly, but handed over the phone. She snatched it from him with a scowl.
“I’ll let you go if you promise not to hit me.”
She pursed her lips tight and grumbled but stopped struggling.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He took his hand off her forehead. “Ready to go?”
Sophie angled her jaw a moment, then shoved past him, pushing the swinging doors open. Then swung the door closed as Keefe passed through.
Ow!
He really should have seen that one coming.
And he really should have seen the front door slamming in his face coming.
“How many doors are you going to slam in my face?” Keefe asked.
Sophie turned to him before getting into the car and counted on her fingers approximately how many doors they would pass through, then calmly replied, “four.”
Keefe opened the driver’s side door and got into the car while Sophie took the passenger side. He turned the ignition, then started the drive to Connor’s. Once he had given her a couple more minutes to cool off, he asked, “So, what’s the real reason for not going out with Liam?”
Sophie stared out the passenger window at the mighty snow-capped mountains in the distance for a moment before answering. “Listen, between working on the pub?—”
“And bitching,” he added.
She conceded. “Fair enough, and bitching. I don’t have time for a date, much less a relationship.”
“Ah, I see, you’re scared. That’s understandable. It’s too bad though. I always liked him.”
“Since when do you take such an interest in my love life, anyway?”
“Since you married a twat after I told you he was no good.”
Struck dumb, Sophie’s mouth fell open. That was a low blow. Keefe rarely interfered, but that had been one of the few times he had—and she hadn’t listened. And damn him for bringing it up!
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
His apology came too late. Sophie rolled up her lip, took a deep breath, and let it rip.