AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was a brothel?” I asked, my eyes flitting again to the opulence of the restaurant as the Maitre d’ led us to a private salon booth with a round table for two and a red velvet covered sofa. It felt like a historical parlour, very quaint and secluded, the perfect place for a couple in love to spend time alone.
Dinner was amazing, made more special for the delicate china each dish was served on and the gold plated cutlery. Being cocooned in such a perfect setting felt like a million miles away from the hectic day I’d had since I’d left my home at the pub in Dublin earlier that day.
“Anything you want to do Sunday? Tomorrow is no go for playing tourist,” he explained. “I once went out in Texas and got punched in the mouth by a jealous boyfriend a few hours before a gig. It taught me to play safe when there is a stadium of fans to disappoint.”
“Oh, my, God, what is wrong with people? Were you hurt badly?”
He shrugged. “Apart from a fat lip, no. I felt embarrassed about how my face looked more than anything else, but I’m a rock star and my fans took great delight that I’d been ‘in a fight’,” he told me.
“Damn, I hope you had him arrested,” I said, concerned for something that had happened before we’d even met.
“Nah, it’s a hazard of the job,” he concluded, flippantly.
“Jamie!” I exclaimed, “that’s like saying I should expect to have my arse pinched and my tits ogled at by drunken punters.”
As soon as my words were out, his eyes grew dark and stormy. “Tell me you won’t do that job forever,” he said, picking up the hand that was resting on the table and lifting it to his lips.
“Do what? Barmaid? No, of course, I won’t. When Poppy’s ready, she’ll take over and I’ll start my training plan.”
“Training plan?”
“Yeah, we’re opening four more bars in the next two years.” Jamie looked stunned by my news. “Don’t worry, I won’t be a landlady. It’ll be an expansion, a chain of Shamrock Bars, but with management in place. I’ve already spoken to Darragh, and he’s interested in taking over the first one. When those four are up and running, I’ll have trained Poppy as operational manager and we’ll have a resident manager for the Lucky Shamrock.”
“Two years?” Jamie asked, looking disappointed.
“Yeah, this was the plan before you came along. I can’t just throw everything away because I’m in love.”
“No? I would.”
“Ah, but that’s because you’re used to getting what you want.”
“What about us?”
I frowned because it would have been all too easy to throw everything I’d planned away because he mattered the most, but this wasn’t just about me… or him. This was about securing my family’s future. It had been me who had set out a business plan and coaxed my father into investing money he’d raised when he’d sold a large parcel of land. Therefore, it was up to me to keep side of the bargain and deliver the first five pubs in the franchise like I’d promised.
“You asked me for a year,” I began, squeezing his hand in mine. “I can give you that, Jamie. I’m yours, and when Poppy qualifies and comes home from university…”
“You’ll be moving on and starting another four pubs from scratch,” he replied sounding disappointed.
“The second will be ready for franchise as soon as Poppy comes home, and I have someone interested in that, so the third location is already being scouted out as I speak. I have a rough idea where I want them to be. I’ll be project managing, but I can organize most of it from a distance. Once the pubs are up and running, all I’ll need to do is train someone to train others and oversee our branding for the chain. My end goal is to have a string of pubs in the Shamrock name, but to own the franchise not the pubs. I want to establish a brand that others will want to invest in. They’ll use our name, the brand look, and we’ll provide the training. This way we minimize the risk and others will pay us to use the brand name.”
“Fuck, you’re smart,” he muttered while his hand landed on my dress under the table and he started creeping the material up with his fingers. I clamped my hand over his and he smirked. “So, a chain of pubs in your brand but owned by other people and they’ll pay you for the privilege of your package.”
“Yes, that way we have income, and the brand grows as more people want to come on board. The turnover of the Lucky Shamrock has gone up by almost three hundred percent since I took it over. There are a couple of tweaks I want to make, but I’ve already had an offer accepted on a property down by the Ha’penny Bridge, that expands over the river Liffy — that’s the one Darragh is going to manage.”
“My commitment will be to show up a few times a year and do spot checks, meet franchise owners, and maybe do a conference once a year to update them on any changes we want to make to the brand and hand out awards. We’ll keep family ownership of the pub I have now, with Poppy in place as licensee. So you see, I can spend most of my time with you and work through the setup from a distance.”
“How soon do you think?”
“Poppy comes home in May, she’s already been working with me since she went to university, so by the end of June she should be up to speed.”
“Perfect, I can’t wait. You can come to California and spend the Fourth of July with me.” When I didn’t protest, he removed his hand from my thigh and placed it behind my head. Pulling me closer, he kissed me slow, our tongues tangling slowly like he wasn’t in a hurry to let me go. Desire settled at my core and I’d instantly had enough of his romantic dinner.
“Please, can we just go home to bed?” I begged when I pulled my mouth from his. Staring with eyes full of lust, Jamie pulled out his cell and made a quick text. “Your wish is my command,” he joked, waggling his brows. “Give me a minute to sort out the bill and for the car to arrive out front.”
Chapter 11
I woke to the sound of Jamie stretching out leisurely, his arms raised above his head, his body contorting to iron out kinks after our long and languid night of lovemaking. Fast and slow, he’d taken me to heights of desire I’d only ever imagined in romance books before I’d met him.
