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“We’re doing it here in the pub. Next Thursday night. You and me are going to get drunk and sing our blues away.”
She raised her hand, shaking her head. “Nope. No alcohol. I’ve given it up. Forever.”
Colm glanced at his beer, and she recalled the big swig she’d just taken.
“Starting now,” she said with a smirk.
“Excellent.” Colm lifted his phone and immediately started texting.
“What are you doing? And what’s excellent?”
“Group text with my cousins. I’m starting up the annual ‘Kelli’s on the wagon again’ pool. Gonna start the wagering on how long it’ll last this time.”
She shot him an eat-shit-and-die scowl. “You’re a dick.”
“Hey, Colm,” Padraig yelled across the bar, holding up his cell phone. “Put me down for ten bucks. I say she caves on Friendsgiving.”
“Et tu, Paddy?” Kelli yelled, her heart fluttering when he laughed at her joke, but she wasn’t sure if her response was driven by relief or disappointment.
She caught Colm looking at her, and she was touched by the concern she saw there.
“I’m fine,” she murmured.
He gave her a friendly wink. “Yeah. Me too. Face it. The two of us should be used to this crap by now.”
Kelli laughed. “Right? You keep talking about the Collins curse, but damn if I wouldn’t love to be struck down by that thing. I feel like I’m standing right under it with my arms out, screaming ‘come on, hit me with your best shot.’ Aaaand nothing.”
“So the other night didn’t change your mind about going the single-mom route?”
“Nope. It convinced me even more I’ve made the right decision. I can’t even manage to get drunken one-night stands right. I’m better off taking a break from men for a while. Focus on what will make me happy. And for me, that’s a baby. Are you really reconsidering your bachelor status?”
Colm didn’t reply right away, and when he did, she couldn’t help but think that he was lying. “Not a bit.”
“So, we forge on.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of them sounded particularly happy about that, but what else could they do? “Well,” she glanced at her phone, “happy hour is clearly over. This place is starting to get crowded with the Friday night regulars, and since I’m not really in a party mood…”
Colm nodded. “Me either. What are you doing tonight?”
She shrugged. “I’ll probably just go home, find an old movie on Netflix, and chill out.”
“Yeah. That’s my plan too. Wanna do that together?”
She grinned. “Seriously? Is this going to start becoming a thing? You and me hanging out together?”
He narrowed his eyes. “It’s just a damn movie, Kell. And I’m tired of watching them by myself.”
“Ditto.”
Then he gave her a wicked grin. “Even so, don’t go setting your heart on winning mine. You might be taking yourself off the market for a little while, but this rolling stone still has a lot of miles to go. You coming?”
She rolled her eyes and pretended to gag at the thought of them together.
Then she followed him upstairs.
Chapter Seven
