Chapter Sixteen

Jack

Much like the Murphys, the Walsh family came from old money.

I knew this because as soon as Seamus retired from the jewelry business, he sold his lavish estate with a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, multiple sitting rooms, and a golf course.

After uni, I ended up with a semi-detached brick home, much like the one we were pulling up to that the family had downgraded to. By downgrade, I mean the home cost two million euros instead of the twenty million euros his estate went for.

After the market that morning, Grace barely spoke.

“You know, we don’t have to do this. I could easily make a very important business call, and we’d have to run to the office. More importantly my desk,” I said, squeezing her hand and wiggling my eyebrows.

I didn’t fully understand her nerves. We were both adults, and I’d met her mam and grandparents dozens of times. But this was the first time we’d be with them together like this.

Whatever this was.

“I think we’ve already been spotted and it’s too late for that,” she muttered.

I followed her gaze to the window where her mother’s head poked through the sheer blinds. As if we didn’t spot her, she ducked back from sight.

Grace’s face flushed crimson.

“She may have seen that we’re here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a quick walk. A shag behind a neighbor’s shed, then be on our way,” I said, leaning in and keeping my voice low.

An old man with very large jowls opened the door and Grace gasped, jumping back. “Charles,” she said, scooting away from me and into the house as if she was on fire.

“Oh, and this is my friend, Jack Murphy. I don’t know if you remember him or not,” she said, introducing me to the older gentleman.

Charles expression didn’t change from his mopey facade, but he nodded. “How do you do, Mr. Murphy?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“Madam Evans and Madam Walsh are in the tearoom, this way,” he said, ushering us through the foyer and down the gallery hallway filled with oil paintings on the white walls.

The tearoom was one of four sitting rooms we passed. I don’t know how Grace’s mum got there so fast when we had just seen her, but she was perched in her chair. Next to her was Seamus’s wife and Grace’s grandmam. The old woman reminded me of a cartoon with her brightly colored dresses and feathered hats. She was a stark contrast against the dark wood floors and white walls of the room.

“Gracie, darling, it’s been too long.” Elizabeth, Grace’s mam, stood up and circled the round table filled with treats, ignoring the maid who was pouring her tea.

Grace gingerly took her mother in an embrace. They kissed each other’s cheeks before Elizabeth’s dark eyes trailed to me.

I’d first noticed her at the vet’s office, but was paying more attention to the dog and not the woman in the uncomfortable looking chair. She was an attractive older woman with her hair in some fancy updo and a flawless face that could have been that of an old British movie star. But if I didn’t know any better, I’d say the woman was eyeing me suspiciously like she knew something I didn’t.

Had Grace talked to her Mam about me? Seamus knew about the inheritance clause and so did Grace, so in theory, her mother could know. And if she did, did she know there was something going on with the two of us and want something more? Or want me to stay the hell away?

Each new thought made my chest beat with anxiety and I tried not to mull it over. To just live in the moment, in the here and now, and what I had with Grace.

Whatever it was that made all of me feel this alive, at least.

“And Jack, it’s been too long. You’ve been working my daughter so hard. You both could use a break,” she said, extending her hand to me. I took her palm gingerly and kissed each of her cheeks before she went back to her seat.

“Grandmum, I believe you remember Jack,” Grace said, leaning down and kissing her grandmam’s cheek.

“The sexy Irish hunk with a butt like a sailor? Of course, I could never forget him. But it’s been a while since I saw him leaving your flat like an escaped convict who just got caught. Come here, boy, lemme get a better look at you,” Grace’s grandmam commanded, flapping her glove-covered hands.

“Mother,” Elizabeth scolded, her face flushing a deep red.

“It’s all right,” I said, flashing a smile and approaching the old woman, extending my hand.

Grandmum shook her head. “Oh, please, boy, we hug in this family.”

She held her arms out and I slowly leaned over, putting my arms gently around the tiny woman. She pulled me close, her lips to my ear. “Don’t break her heart, ya hear me? She’s really taken a shine to you.”

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, kissing her cheek before I pulled away.

“What was that about?” Grace asked, taking one of the white dining chairs around the table. I sat down next to her.

“It’s between me and your grandmum,” I said, shooting the old woman a wink.

Two maids circled the table, filling Grace’s and my cups with tea and placed plates full of mini sandwiches and fruit in front of us.

“Thank you,” I said to the woman pouring my tea. She nodded, not saying a word.

“Eleanor, Elizabeth, you don’t expect this lad and me to sit here and discuss matters over tea, do you?” A familiar voice said from behind me.

I didn’t need to look to know it was Seamus, who approached the table, leaning on his cane and adjusting his gray toupee.

“A man doesn’t need to sit and have tea with the women. Join me for cigars and whiskey in my office,” Seamus bellowed, giving me a half-cocked smile. It either said he wanted to enjoy my company or murder me for shagging his granddaughter.

“You don’t have to,” Grace said, staring at me wide-eyed.

What the hell was that about? Did she need the buffer with her mam that bad?

There was no way in hell the patriarch of the family was going to let me get away with anything but sitting down with him. And, truth be told, I was more comfortable with the old man than the stares from the women.

“Don’t worry, mo gra, I won’t be long.”

She gave me a pointed look that quickly disappeared when I stood and nodded to Seamus, briskly shaking his hand. “Been a while. Haven’t had a board meeting yet this month, though a few members have stopped in the office to see the photographs we’re adding to the new franchises’ decor.”

“I’ve heard about the old photographs from the market. And the men can’t stop raving about the cheese and bread. But I’ve also heard of some other news you might be sharing. Maybe a new endeavor or buying product from a British winery?” He raised his bushy eyebrows.

Ultimately the board would vote on bringing the wine and even the local cheese and bread into the company internationally, but Connor, Sean, and I would veto Lacey’s wine. Everything Grace said about the company and her concerns were right. Sean and Connor did another check after our little meeting and made sure of it. That and there was no way in hell I wanted to do a business deal with my ex.

I shot a wink over my shoulder at Grace before the old man and I started down the hallway.

“Mara,” Seamus said, stopping a young maid.

“Yes, sir?” she asked.

“Can you get Mr. Murphy and me a bottle of whiskey from the cellar and bring it to my office?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, right away.” She scurried off, and I followed Seamus into his office.

While the tearoom was light and airy, all decorated in white, his office was dark and covered in rich mahogany bookshelves and leather furniture around a large oval desk.

He shut the door and walked over to a humidor. He opened it and pulled out two rolled cigars, handing one to me. “Last time we were in my office together, I believe we were at the old estate. You had just graduated from uni. Thought you were ready to buy my estate and take over the pubs right then and there. Then your da told you the price tag.” He laughed, coughing before taking a seat in his chair.

All the men on Murphy’s board had the same cough as Da. I didn’t think anything of it until the day Da called me into his room and told me he had cancer. I wondered how far off the other men were. Pain twisted my chest, thinking of how much more heartache this family would have to go through if anything happened to the old man.

“Yes, sir, that was my plan. I was just a wet-behind-the-ears kid. But that was years ago, and I think I know a bit more about the company. I’ve been running it pretty well with Connor and Sean,” I said, taking the lighter and slowly igniting Seamus’s cigar.

I never smoked the blasted things, but in these sort of settings, I did what the old men did. Even if I just bit down on the end and never actually inhaled. By the sound of Seamus’s cough, he shouldn’t have been either.

He let out a slow circle of smoke and held the lighter out for me. “You have. But we both know that you can’t fully run the place until you and your brothers all have a ring on your finger. Connor already has one; we’re all just waiting on you and Sean.”

I sucked too hard on the cigar, getting a mouthful of soot and pounded my chest, so I didn’t spit everything out on the desk.

“You okay, Jack? Something I said?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Just caught a bit off guard,” I said, slowly taking the seat across from him.

He nodded, twirling the brown stick in his hand. “Now that your watch is down, shall we get to the business of why you’re here?”

“Pardon, sir?” I feigned innocence but the hair at the nape of my neck stood on end.

“Am I to tell you, a grown man, to not break my granddaughter’s heart? No. That’s for you and her to decide. But I am telling you, one man to another, that these Evans women may appear tough. They like to hold their heads high, even in the most dire of situations. When they’re scared or hurt, they’ll put on that tough exterior and do what they have to do. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“That if I hurt your granddaughter, she’ll manage but still be wounded?” I asked, trying to understand his analogy. I wanted to tell him that nothing like that was going on with Grace and me, but I couldn’t lie to him either. The problem was, I didn’t know what exactly was going on between us. The only thing I knew was that I hadn’t felt this way about anyone else. Not even Lacey.

“Precisely, my boy. We both know that you have to be married by April. The board has watched you and your brothers flitting about for years. I didn’t know you’d end up with my Gracie taking a shine to you. Now tell me, is this going to be the girl you see announcing to the board as Mrs. Murphy?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to think of the right words to respond. Had I thought about approaching Grace even to see if she wanted to try marriage and get a divorce settlement? Of course. Ever since Sean brought that up in our first meeting with the solicitor, I thought about approaching any girl like that.

But that was before I found out how much her parents’ divorce royally fecked her up. How she never wanted to get married.

“With all due respect, sir, Grace and I are just getting to know each other again. I don’t want to hurt your granddaughter in any of this. It’s not my intention.”

He pointed a finger. “Exactly.”

“I beg your pardon?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Grace may have started at Murphy with you because I pushed and she needed a job. But you and I both know this isn’t her dream job and that she’s only doing this temporarily until she finds something else. Hopefully that’s in Dublin with us, but that’s not the point.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that last statement, he continued speaking, shaking his head.

“And you. You’re the man who pushes her boundaries. Who makes her go for more. If it weren’t for you, she and that dog would still be moping around this house with her mother. I just didn’t know there was an actual romance blossoming until now.”

The door opened, interrupting us as the maid came in, quiet as a church mouse. She brought a decanter of whiskey to the desk, opening it before pouring two glasses.

Seamus nodded. “If you’re going to keep Grace in the business and your heart, just make sure it’s for keeps, okay?”

How was I supposed to respond to the man? Did I tell him the confusing thoughts in my mind?

No. That was ridiculous.

The best thing to do was smile and hold my glass. “Sláinte.”

Luckily Seamus changed the subject off his granddaughter. We talked business for a few beats and finished our cigars. Then we headed back to the tearoom.

The sound of haughty laughter filled the hallway.

I smiled, ready to see Grace and a look of glee on her face. But I stopped short when a fourth chair was filled at the table.

Lacey’s blond head tilted back in my direction.

But it wasn’t just the girl sitting there, it was the one standing across from her with her eyes wide.

What was Grace going to do now?