Something to Prove

Her mind knew it was a mistake. The rest of her body, however, was humming with pleasure and the anticipation of it getting better. She couldn’t stop smiling. The muscles that had been bunched in tight knots since she’d left Keith were now loose and limber. She drove back to the bar and prayed that Mike wouldn’t question her absence.

As she entered the bar, she took note of the small crowd. Not as big as the night before, but not bad for before-dinner customers. She waved at Mike as she headed to her office. Heat crept up her neck and embarrassment swamped her. She felt like everyone knew what she’d been doing less than a half hour ago.

Back at her desk, she thought about the bowling alley next door. She knew nothing about bowling alleys. She hadn’t stepped foot in one in at least twenty-five years. Not since Dad had made it big in construction and Mom decided that ballet and opera were more appropriate than bowling and having fun.

Her eyes fluttered closed and her mind wandered back to the birthday party she’d gone to when she was eight. It was the first time she’d gone to a bowling alley and she’d been completely overwhelmed. The cracking of ball against pin, people cheering, and the powdery smell of chalk dust shocked her, but within minutes, she was in love.

Some bowlers were superstitious in their routines and in how they approached the lanes. Others just ran straight ahead with little or no forethought. Everyone jumped and yelled and danced when they got a strike. So many people were wild and uninhibited.

Then, during the party, they switched to cosmic bowling and turned on black lights. She and her friends had so much fun playing. It was magical.

“I hope I’m the reason for that smile.”

Startled at the sound of Colin’s voice, Elizabeth jolted in her chair. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision and her brain. How long had he been standing in the doorway? “Hi.”

“I checked with Mike and he has everything under control, so I thought I’d come back here and see why you think we have a huge mess. We have customers. How bad can it be?” He closed the door and leaned against it.

She studied his casual stance and tried not to drool. He was so damn sexy she wanted to get naked with him again. Now. She cleared her throat. “I should’ve listened to you when you tried to tell me about the basement.”

He pushed away from the door and took the rickety seat in front of her desk. “Why?”

“My brother stopped by today. As it turns out, the other half of this building is also part of the business. With our success last night, we’ve only scratched the surface.”

“Expanding into the other half of the building shouldn’t be too difficult. Add a dance floor, a pool table, more TVs.”

Her brain suddenly weighed too much. “It’s not more bar space.”

“What is it then?”

Her stomach began to burn again. She reached into her desk drawer and grabbed her bottle of antacids. Damn. She’d forgotten to buy more. Dumping two green ones into her hand, she stood. “It’s better if I just show you.”

He pointed at the bottle. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Just an upset stomach.” Although she was back to chomping antacids almost constantly, she wanted to believe that. She wanted to trust that the added stress wouldn’t get any worse than what the small tablets could fix.

The chalky lime-tasting powder clung to the tops of her molars, and she grabbed the keys Keith had left. “Let’s go out back and I’ll show you.”

She took Colin to the back door of the bowling alley. Shoving aside pretty memories of a birthday party, she focused on reality. She knew nothing about how to run a bowling alley. She knew even less about that than she did about running a bar. Part of her believed Keith had done this on purpose, like he’d known she’d come here and be completely overwhelmed. Logic told her otherwise, but the sibling rivalry always reared its ugly little head.

Inside the building, she flipped on lights. “Here it is. A bowling alley.”

Colin said nothing in response. He turned in a circle and then walked down the length of the room.

His silence unnerved her all over again. “See, a mess.”

“If it’s been closed down this long, why not just leave it? We have a good thing going with the bar. Why not sell this half as is?”

“No—” She stopped herself from saying that it would be cheating. He knew nothing about her battle with Keith for the company. “I need to have the whole thing turned around.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. He was going to leave. She could see it. He’d bail, and she’d be back to square one. Well, not square one, because the bar was looking pretty good. “I know you didn’t sign on for this. If you want out, that’s fine.”

He put his fists on his hips and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t scare that easily. And you’re not getting out of our contract. If I don’t get my bonus until the whole thing sells, then we’ll get the whole thing ready to sell. You’re not cutting me out now.”

A pain shot through her chest. “I wasn’t trying to cheat you out of anything. I meant that we would figure out a decent split.”

Although his face remained hard, his shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

A deep breath worked its way from her lungs. Relief swamped her in a way she hadn’t expected. She didn’t want him to go. She enjoyed working with him. They made a good team. “Okay.”

They stood staring at each other for another long moment. Finally, she cleared her throat. “What do you know about bowling?”

Not a fucking thing. That’s what he knew about bowling. The muscles in his jaw were so tight he thought they’d crack. “Not much.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

She looked defeated. Not quite as bad as her near breakdown in his apartment, but pretty bad. How did she handle working when she took everything so personally? Like this was a personal failure? “We’ll figure it out. All we need is to find someone who’s willing to teach us. There are plenty of bowling alleys in the city.”

“And?”

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we’ll do some research. I’m thinking if we can sway one good manager to join us, we’ll be golden.”

She crossed her arms. “Have someone in mind?”

“No, but I was just thinking that Ryan has his manager, Mary, trained so well that she could run the bar without him, so it would probably work the same way with a bowling alley.” For someone who thought on the fly, he sounded pretty good, even to himself, and he knew he was full of shit.

“Okay. I’ll go back to my office and start the search again. Will you be able to check some out tomorrow with me?”

He did his best to hide his grimace. He needed to put in time at O’Leary’s, especially with Ryan being gone for Quinn and the baby. “Probably.” He’d have to figure out how to squeeze a few more hours into the day.

Following Elizabeth back to the bar, he couldn’t help but stare at the sway of her hips. Had they really had sex just hours ago? She showed no sign of afterglow, but he knew she’d enjoyed herself.

He shook his head again. He needed to keep thoughts of her naked body out of his head. The business needed his full focus. There was no way he’d be able to afford to buy both businesses from her. If he couldn’t talk her into separating the bar from the alley, he’d at least have the bonus he’d get from selling. It should be more than enough to buy something else.

Especially if he helped her figure out the bowling alley.

Back at the bar, Elizabeth disappeared into her office, and Colin checked on the front. A decent-sized crowd had filtered in while he and Elizabeth were at the bowling alley. Mike didn’t need his help. Colin didn’t know why Elizabeth had been so worried. If Mike kept this up, they would have plenty of time to investigate other alleys and begin work on this one without feeling too much of a strain.

Maybe Elizabeth was worried about money. Ryan had said that her family had deep pockets, but what if her budget couldn’t accommodate the bowling alley? Maybe that’s why she took it all so personally.

He needed to stop worrying about the whys of it all. None of it mattered. He and Elizabeth had a contract that stipulated she was the money end and he was the experience. If he was going to continue to hold up his end, he needed to learn about running a bowling alley. How hard could it be?

His brother Michael used to bowl on a league with the other firefighters. He’d give him a call and find out where they’d bowled. It was a starting place. He checked his watch. He needed to go back to O’Leary’s and make sure everything was okay there.

Ryan was counting on him. He’d let Ryan down enough over the years that he didn’t want to add to the stress of new parenthood by not keeping up with everything. Ryan’s hands had always been full with work and now he had Quinn and Patrick.

Thinking the name of his nephew was difficult. He had no right to be jealous. He knew that, but he couldn’t prevent the feeling. He knocked on Elizabeth’s office door, but didn’t wait for an answer. He swung the door open and saw her glaring at her computer screen.

“Hey, I’m going to step out for a bit. Mike has everything under control. I’ll be back before closing.”

She tore her gaze from the screen to face him. “Okay. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. I just want to check in at O’Leary’s. I’ll be back. Then maybe we can go over to the bowling alley and see what we have and what we need.”

She smiled sweetly. “Sounds good.”

“See you.” He tapped the door frame.

“Colin.”

He turned back.

“Thanks. For everything.”

“Everything, huh?”

Her neck and cheeks grew pink.

“I meant the help with the bar and bowling alley.”

He entered the office and leaned over the top of her desk. “Does that mean you didn’t appreciate the orgasm you had this afternoon?”

She lifted one eyebrow. “Oh, I appreciated the hell out of that. But it shouldn’t continue. You need to stop flirting with me.”

“Why? If you have such determination to not sleep with me again, then my flirtation shouldn’t make an impact whatsoever.”

“It just makes things harder.”

He couldn’t stop the chuckle at her double entendre.

She pushed away from the desk, putting distance between them as if she thought he might try to take her right there. “It would just make things easier if you didn’t waste your time flirting. Plus, you could focus that energy on more productive things.”

He straightened and offered her a half-assed salute. “Yes, boss.”

He left her office letting her feel like she’d won. He had no intention of backing off. They’d be spending way too many hours alone together for him to give up the idea of having her legs wrapped around him again.

Driving to O’Leary’s, he thought of what they could do with the space if they didn’t want to keep it as a bowling alley but came up empty. At least a bowling alley loosely fit their design. Bowling was a sport, right?

They could do their own league and offer birthday parties for kids. If they made the alley a family place, it could grow a lot of their business. Mom and Dad could have drinks and watch a game on TV while the kids tried to bowl. Maybe they could get a small arcade going. He pictured the place in his head, but didn’t have a strong sense of it. He couldn’t even imagine how they could connect the two businesses. He needed more time there.

“Hi, Mary,” he called as he walked through O’Leary’s. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s right as rain. Did you see pictures of that adorable baby?”

“I saw the real deal this morning.”

“Ryan called, and I let him know you were here earlier, but that I would close up. How are things going at your bar?” She wiped the bar down as she talked, simultaneously scanning the glasses to see who might need a refill.

“We hit a small glitch, but we’re headed in the right direction. What’s the schedule like here for the rest of the week? I’m guessing Ryan won’t be around much.”

Mary moved to pour a beer, and as he watched her pull the handle of the tap, he remembered what it was like to have his arms around Elizabeth, teaching her to do the same. He shook his head.

“Ryan has all the shifts covered. He figured Quinn would be going in any day, so he planned for this.”

Figures. Ryan didn’t trust that he could rely on Colin. Colin had told him he’d be here, and he had been. Maybe he hadn’t put in as much time since getting involved with Elizabeth, but he hadn’t walked away either. He banked the automatic anger so he wouldn’t take it out on Mary. “Give me a call if you need anything. I’m going to go upstairs and have a nap. Last night went on forever, and I have to work tonight.”

“Okay. See you later.”

He wasn’t needed here. He never had been. How could he not feel resentment toward Ryan because of that? Ryan had made sure of it. For a year Colin had been trying to prove himself worthy while hoping for Ryan’s forgiveness.

It looked like that would never happen. Maybe it was time to move on. If Ryan wanted to keep doing it all alone, Colin would let him. The rest of the family had welcomed Colin back with open arms. He was tired of trying to please Ryan.

Ryan wasn’t Dad. Colin didn’t need his approval. He’d build Brannigan’s into something to be proud of. Then he’d move on to have his own place.

He’d be a success in spite of Ryan’s disbelief.

Elizabeth stared at the list of bowling alleys in her hand. This was all too much. Keith’s betrayal was reminiscent of their past. She couldn’t believe he’d done this to her again.

Was winning that important to him?

Of course it was. It was important to her too. The difference was that she didn’t cheat to win.

A bowling alley.

What would have possessed Keith to buy a bowling alley?

Interest stirred in her blood. The memories of that long-ago birthday party danced in her head. She wondered if anything was operational next door. She hadn’t played the game since she was a kid, and she had a whole alley all to herself.

Why not? The worst that would happen was that she’d go over there and find out that nothing worked.

She pushed away from her desk before she lost her nerve. She stopped in the front and was surprised to see another crowd. Still not quite as big as the night before, but steady enough to suggest success. She smiled and waved at Mike. He seemed to be handling everything. The bar looked clean and the customers satisfied.

“I’ll be next door if you need me. Call my cell. I’ll be back in a while.”

He looked a little confused about her going next door, but nodded. Inside the bowling alley, she turned on every light switch she could find. The place was a mess. Inches of dust and dirt coated every surface.

She yanked a tarp from a rack. The cloud of dust made her cough, but once she regained her ability to breathe normally, she saw that the rack was still filled with bowling balls. She ran her hand along a shiny, smooth ball. The cool surface made her fingers itch to pick it up. She spun the ball until the three holes were faceup.

Sliding two fingers and her thumb in, she hefted the ball. It was too heavy for her to use, but she liked the feel of it. Setting the ball back in its spot, she shook her head. She was being childish. She didn’t have time for games.

Behind the shoe counter, she found some more switches and flipped them. Fortunately, there were no shoes. She didn’t think she could bear the stench of shoes that had been sitting for a decade. The shelves held a few cans of spray, probably for the shoes. If she wanted to make this work, they would need to order all new shoes. The balls seemed to be in good shape. She picked up a mini-pencil from the shelf and sifted around for a sheet of paper.

Making a list was something she was good at. Just looking around, she was able to see many things they’d have to order. Little pencils, scorecards . . . unless they upgraded to all electronic scoring. That would probably be the way to go.

She’d never imagined that being the first one to take on a business would be so hard. She always came in after Dad or Keith had things in place. She was expected to run the staff and make sure they’d hired the right people, but Dad and Keith were the idea people. Maybe that’s why they thought she couldn’t handle being in charge.

They never trusted her to come up with the ideas. In fact, they’d never even asked for her input. Sure, she was good enough to maintain the books and follow their plans, but they’d never thought to invite her into the development phase.

Well, she would show them. She would take this alley and turn it around, just as she had the bar.

Upgrades of this nature would be more expensive than anything else she’d done. If she wanted access to company funds of this proportion, she’d have to explain to her father. No, for this, she’d use her own money to keep flying under the radar.

First, before ordering anything, she needed to find a repairman to make sure the equipment was operational. She didn’t know if she could afford to replace the pin setters. It was too late in the day to make calls now. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

In the meantime, she’d start the cleaning process all over. She wondered if Moira was free. She could use the company. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Moira’s number. She dialed Colin again, but it went to voice mail.

“Hi, Colin. It’s Elizabeth. I’m in the bowling alley, and I figured I’d get a jump start on cleaning and was wondering if you’d give Moira a call and see if she’d be interested in helping. Just a thought. See you later.”

She disconnected and went back to her office to change into jeans and a T-shirt and get cleaning supplies. She bet her father and Keith never got this hands-on during a takeover. It was definitely a new experience.

The Brannigan’s T-shirt she put on was the one Colin had given her that revealed too much skin. She wore it because she hadn’t gotten an extra one from him and she wouldn’t be with customers. In the mirror, she caught sight of the red marks just above the neckline of the shirt.

Colin’s whiskers had done that. The skin was a little raw, but the memory flooded her with pleasure. She filled a bucket with soap and hot water and trudged out the back door and swung into the alley. She hoped to find the water still connected on that side or this was going to be a real pain in the ass.

She worked in silence, scraping away layers of dirt and scum, beginning the next phase in the project that was truly hers.

The bleep of a voice mail woke Colin from sleep. He jolted awake, more well rested than he’d felt in days, maybe even weeks. He listened to the message from Elizabeth. Where did that woman get her energy? She’d already been at the bar all night last night, found out about the bowling alley, fought with him, had sex, and now she was back at work, attempting to tackle the cleaning of the bowling alley. He rolled out of bed, knowing he needed to go help.

He checked the time. He could call Moira, but part of him preferred to have Elizabeth to himself. If Mike was handling the bar without a problem, there was no reason they couldn’t work together to put a dent in the cleaning of the alley.

And maybe if he was really lucky, he could talk Elizabeth into coming back home with him.

He took a quick shower, checked in with Mary down at O’Leary’s, and headed out. He began to question exactly how Ryan had managed to run both bars for so long by himself. Sure, he had Mary, but he still put time in at both places on a daily basis. He guessed Ryan hadn’t had much of a personal life over the past few years.

Ryan had almost lost Quinn because he was so used to doing everything alone. Colin had convinced Ryan that he wasn’t alone, that they’d work together to take care of their family. Now Colin felt the pressure of that commitment.

He pulled up behind the bar and parked in a spot on the bowling alley side. The back door was propped open. He walked in and saw Elizabeth scrubbing a long counter. The noise from the bar next door seeped through the wall. Before announcing his presence, he took a look around with fresh eyes.

The room was a mess, but it wasn’t destroyed. Elizabeth had pulled tarps off the racks to reveal rows of bowling balls. The hardwood flooring of the alleys appeared to be in good shape.

Maybe this wasn’t as bad as he’d originally thought. The place had been closed for a decade. That meant that it hadn’t suffered the wear and tear the bar had been through. This was just neglected space.

“Hey,” he called out to get Elizabeth’s attention.

She jumped a little at the sound of his voice. “Hi. I guess you got my message.”

She turned and tossed a rag into a bucket of water. She wore the T-shirt he had given her, the one that showed a nice bit of cleavage. Her soft skin was still red where his jaw had rubbed against it.

“I’m here to help. Mike will be fine at the bar.” He moved closer. He stroked the sensitive skin below her collarbone. “Sorry about this.”

She swatted his hand away. “It’s fine. Collateral damage. Usually I’m the one inflicting the pain.”

“I should consider myself lucky that I got away unscathed, huh?”

“Definitely.” She reached back into the bucket and wrung out the rag. “This place is disgusting. I’m on my third bucket of water just to clean this counter.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

She shook her head and looked around. “Pick a spot. At this rate, we’ll be here all night.”

He went to the backroom of the bar to grab more cleaning supplies, and while he was there, he snagged a bottle of wine. He rarely drank anymore, but if he had to suffer through more cleaning, he might as well enjoy himself. It also had to help loosen Elizabeth up.

They worked for hours scrubbing and listening to some classic rock station on a battered radio. Colin made a mental note to get the stereo hooked up in here as well. Elizabeth sipped at the first glass he’d poured for her.

“Do you know if both businesses ran together?”

“Huh?” she asked, clearly caught up in her own thoughts.

“Is there a way for the bar and bowling alley to connect up here?”

“I have no idea. I just know that Keith said they closed down the alley because it was too much work.”

“Keith?”

Her face froze like she’d said something she shouldn’t have. “My brother.”

“Oh.” Why would she be worried about talking about her brother? “I’m starving. Aren’t you hungry?”

She shrugged.

“It would be nice if we had a real kitchen here like we do at O’Leary’s. Then we could just yell out an order and eat.” He planted the seed in her mind. Having a fully functioning kitchen would increase the value of the business. “I’m going to order pizza. What do you like on it?”

He prayed she wouldn’t say something weird like fruit. Fruit did not belong on a pizza.

“I’m fine with whatever you get.”

She seemed distant. He wanted to get her to interact. Respond. Something. He whipped out his phone and ordered a pizza with everything and had it delivered to the bar. He propped the front door open so he could keep an eye out for the delivery guy.

By the time the pizza arrived, the counter area was practically sparkling. He’d managed to get the tables at each alley clean. The floors were a different matter altogether. He wasn’t sure if the ratty carpet was worth salvaging.

Colin reentered the bowling alley carrying the pizza. “Do you want to eat here or go next door and eat in your office?”

Elizabeth tossed the dirty rag back in the bucket. “We might as well eat here. My office is a little cramped.”

He set the pizza on the counter and pulled over a couple of stools. He brushed the worst of the dirt off them and offered one to Elizabeth. She looked exhausted. Too bad she hadn’t taken a nap like he had.

She took the smallest piece of pizza from the box and nibbled at it.

“Please don’t tell me you’re one of those women.”

“Those women?”

“The kind that pretends not to eat.”

“No. I love to eat. You’ve seen me eat.”

“Yeah. A salad and fries.”

“I’m just really tired and I still have an upset stomach.”

“Your stomach is upset a lot. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He wasn’t buying it. She was holding back, but he didn’t want to push her. He still had hopes for spending the night with her.

“Are you and your brother close? You never talk about him.”

Elizabeth studied the pizza in her hand. “We get along. I live in the coach house on his property. But I wouldn’t say we’re close.”

“Is he in the family business too?”

She nodded.

“Why isn’t he here helping you then?”

“He’s got other projects.” She tossed her pizza down. “How’s your family? I mean with the new baby and all?”

She obviously wanted to change the topic. Why was her family off limits, but his wasn’t? “They’re great. First grandbaby and all.”

They sat in silence, but lustful images filled his head. “Why don’t you head out? We can get back to this tomorrow when we’re fresh and can think straight.”

She shook her head. “We have to close the bar.”

“I’ll close up with Mike. I’m used to these hours. You aren’t.” He brushed a thumb down her cheek.

“I’m fine. I need the receipts anyway.”

“The receipts can wait until tomorrow. I’ll lock them up in your office.”

He wanted to persuade her. She looked exhausted and she wasn’t feeling well, no matter what she said. “I’ll bring the receipts to you after I close.”

Her eyes widened at his offer. “Why would you want to drive all the way to my hotel when your apartment is so much closer?”

“Good point. Why don’t you go back to my apartment to sleep, and I’ll bring the receipts home with me?”

He smiled, knowing he’d caught her off guard.