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“Wow, did you buy it for her for Christmas, Uncle Jamie,” Ryan asked, his eyes wide.
“No, it’s news to me, it’s her pub,” I admitted, staring Daisy down because I’d thought we were all about trust.
Daisy shrugged. “It’s no big deal. When I finished Business School, my da sold a large parcel of land to a property development company. Da was looking for a business to invest in, so he became my investor. Poppy is supposed to be my partner, which is why I was so pissed about her attitude earlier,” she sighed, clearly not wishing to deal with Poppy’s disclosure at that point in time. “Look can we talk about this later? I’ve got an event to run and people are already arriving,” she asked, her cheeks stained pink.
I wasn’t sure how I felt that she had kept this vital piece of information from me. But it did go some way to explaining why she was so keen to do everything herself.
Chapter 17
The door opened and eight young women burst through it, all visually pleasant to look at dolled to the nines, the smell of perfume and body lotion in the air. Ryan immediately glanced in their direction and a smile grew on his face.
“The night just got way more interesting than Daisy owning the pub,” Nick mused, his eyes widening in delight at the female eye candy that had just walked in.
I glanced from him to Poppy and he snickered. “She’s adorable, but we decided it would feel incestuous, man,” Nick disclosed, winking toward Poppy, who mock shuddered. “I love her already, but in a nonsexual context, Uncle Jamie.”
“What he really means is I like my men older,” Poppy shot back in snarky banter and chuckled, although her cheeks still blushed adorably, nevertheless.
For once, Ryan didn’t remark. His silence couldn’t have had a louder declaration of him being smitten with Belle.
Within minutes of opening time the function room was packed, filled with colorful characters, laughter and excited chatter as families and friends took their places at all the reserved tables. Drinks flowed freely and catcalls rang out between a group of single guys and another table full of some attention seeking females.
“Barney, how are you doing?” A girl I recognized from a previous close call when she hit me up with her number as she left the last ceilidh, I’d attended on St. Patrick’s Day.
“Well, thanks, really enjoying my time with Daisy,” I said, dropping the hint I was taken already. “Just got to get moving with these,” I informed her, lifting my arms to show her my fingers were full of glasses. “Don’t want to get canned on the most important night of the year for the pub,” I stated and quickly weaved my way through some people who had been arriving and scooted behind the bar.
“Ah, I see you’ve met Morah,” Terry said with a wink. “Good ride, but fuck if she’s not looking for a husband.”
I chuckled and shook my head at his blunt disclosure and stacked the dirty glasses in the glass washer. My cell phone rang. Sliding it out of my pocket, I swiped to answer and lifted it up to my ear.
“How do we get into this place?” Paddy asked and I realized the security on the door had been advised not to let anyone in without a ticket.
“I’ll send Daisy down to get you in.”
“You’ll send Daisy? What the fuck are you, the pub manager now?”
I laughed and cut him off, leaving him wondering if I’d heard him cussing a “Fuck you” under his breath.
As I sought out Daisy, I wondered if Paddy may have felt vulnerable at being recognized by someone. He was in Ireland, and although he may have been able to walk the streets of Belfast undisturbed, people weren’t used to seeing him as a famous rock star south of the border.
People may have hesitated when they saw me because of the cover story we’d invented, but there would be no mistaking who Paddy was, and I knew they’d have recognized my bandmate in an instant.
Instead of bringing Paddy straight up to the function room, Daisy took him and Bernie up to her sitting room. When she came back, she told me to finish collecting the glasses, and go keep Paddy company.
“Bring them to the function room once the band begins to play because by then, most would be too drunk and enjoying themselves dancing to notice him,” she advised.
I hated to tell her she was fooling herself. Our days of anonymity were numbered and it was highly likely that as we moved into a new year together, a new chapter was on its way for us.
* * *
My cell buzzed in my pocket as I was carrying glasses back to the bar. I knew instinctively it was Paddy and made my way to Daisy’s apartment to see him.
Surprised by his appearance, I stood gawping at him for a few seconds, trying not to laugh, but the longer I stared at my long-time band mate, the less I could stifle a grin. I was amazed that in the month since I’d seen him, he had grown a mighty impressive beard.
Unlike the rest of us in the band, he hated face hair, and no matter how wrecked he’d been the night before, he’d always started his day by showering and shaving. In fact, I’d never seen him any way other than clean shaven. He’d stated on more than one occasion that wearing a beard must have felt like having a pussy stuck permanently to your chin without the pleasure of the scent or the taste.
A huge grin spread on my face and I knew I couldn’t allow the opportunity to pass without saying something.
“What’s with the pussy?”
