Something to Prove

But she was determined to show her father the business and get it over with. Regardless of his opinion, she knew she’d done a good job. “Are you ready to look at the bar?”

“Bar?” her mother asked.

Her dad looked almost as confused.

“Didn’t Keith tell you?” She looked at Keith, who shook his head. Damn, she’d been so sure that Keith had told him everything.

“What are you talking about?” her dad asked.

She let out a breath. “Remember when you asked me to do an audit of your personal holdings? I found a property that I knew nothing about. One that was losing money. I came here to check it out. Then I decided to take it on as a project.”

“Without telling me?”

“Yes. I wanted to do it all on my own, from beginning to end.”

“She’s done a great job. Wait until you see it,” Keith chimed in.

“Do we really need to discuss business now?” Mom asked.

Keith jumped in to deal with Mom. “You know, Mom, you’ll probably be bored. Why don’t you take the car back to your hotel, and Dad and I will take Elizabeth to the business.”

“Sweetie, it’s her birthday. She should be out celebrating, dancing, and drinking. Not standing around with her brother and father looking at a tavern.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes and tried to remember what her mother had been like before Dad had become successful. Over the years, the image had become dimmer and dimmer. She was a woman of means and, to her, that carried with it certain expectations.

“It’s a bar, Mom. Not a tavern. A regular neighborhood bar. A sports bar, in fact. And it’s attached to a bowling alley. We’re putting in a kitchen so we can sell nachos and hot wings. Things that don’t require a fork. It’s exactly how I want to spend my birthday.” The knowledge sank deep into her bones, unsettling every inch of her. She’d enjoyed almost every minute of being at the bar. Being there on her birthday made sense. Being with Colin made sense.

Elizabeth stood and tossed her napkin on the table. “Thank you for coming all this way to have dinner with me on my birthday.” She walked around the table and planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek. “It means a lot. I do have to get back to work, though, regardless of whether you join me. I’m closing.”

Keith rose. “I’m coming. Dad, you need to see this.”

“Can’t your father visit in the morning?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

Keith saved her from having to answer. “It’s a bar, Mom. If he wants to see how it works, he needs to come at night.”

“Fine. I’ll see you back at the hotel. Don’t forget we have an early flight tomorrow.”

Her mother air kissed the three of them and walked to the front of the restaurant.

“Are you sure I wasn’t adopted?” Elizabeth said the words aloud that she’d often wondered in her head.

“No such luck, Libby.” Keith’s tone had softened.

He hadn’t called her Libby in years, unless he was trying to tease her and get under her skin. Something was in the process of shifting between them, but she didn’t know what or how, much less why.

Keith drove and parked in the lot beside the bowling alley. Elizabeth started walking toward the bar, wanting to put her best foot forward, but Keith said, “I think we should see the bowling alley first.”

She shot him a dirty look that he ignored. Well, at least when he saw the bar after the alley, her dad would be really impressed.

She pushed through the door of the bowling alley, preparing excuses for why it wasn’t busy. Inside the dark space, she became speechless. Balloons and streamers dangled everywhere. A sign hanging above the shoe counter read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIBBY.

Her eyes became misty. Her father hugged her and so did Keith.

“Surprised, huh?”

“Yes.” She pulled away from them and was immediately surrounded by Janie and Lori.

Their yells and hugs were a welcome distraction from the emotional wave she was riding. Bianca announced her arrival over the loudspeaker, and the few patrons that were there raised their glasses in a toast.

She looked over the faces with their attention on her and searched for the one face she wanted to see more than any of them.

Colin’s.

He was behind this. She knew it. She scanned each person through her watery eyes with no luck. She said hi to Bianca and asked where Colin was.

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen him all day. He called this morning to make sure everything was on track, but that was it. I thought he would’ve been here a long time ago.” She put a pair of shoes on the counter. “Hurry up and change. Cosmic bowling starts soon.”

Elizabeth took the shoes. Keith stood behind her.

“He’s not coming.”

She didn’t pretend not to know who he was talking about.

“I told him that I would make sure you knew he didn’t do any sabotage, but he said he wasn’t coming. That you had other issues.”

Other issues. Like laughing at him for saying he loved her.

Colin not showing up to her birthday party, one that he obviously had a hand in planning, spoke volumes. He wouldn’t forgive her.

She wanted to cry. But she had a roomful of people counting on her to have a happy birthday. She blinked and swallowed hard.

Pulling her phone out, she dialed his number, hoping he’d answer. He didn’t, so she left a message. “Hey, Colin. Thank you so much for the party. It’s really amazing. Uhh . . . I don’t know what else to say. I wish you were here.”

With shoes in hand, she turned to find a place to sit and change. A blur of orange flew at her, and she found herself engulfed in Moira’s embrace. Moira had come to her birthday party, but not Colin.

“Happy birthday! Did you really think we’d let you get away without celebrating? The O’Learys love a good party. Were you surprised?”

Surprised was an understatement. She forced a smile and slipped off her heels. “I never would’ve guessed. The Brannigans are not party people.”

“That’s a shame. Come on, let’s bowl.” Moira spun and headed for the nearest lane.

It looked like she’d already befriended Lori and Janie. The three of them stood at the table typing their names into the scoreboard. Keith and Dad held back, watching from the sidelines, but they stayed while she bowled.

Bianca piped some dance music through the speakers, and it was loud enough to drown out most conversation. Too bad she could still hear her own thoughts.

Ten frames of bowling and laughter with friends relaxed her more than a glass of wine. After the game, she changed back into her shoes, knowing her father wouldn’t stay much longer and she really needed to show him the bar. As she changed, Moira plopped down beside her.

“So what’s up with you and my brother?”

Elizabeth swallowed again. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s not here. He’s totally into you, but he’s not at your birthday party that he planned?”

“We fought. I screwed up, and now he wants to have nothing to do with me.” With her shoes in place, she added, “And I can’t blame him.”

Moira jumped up and gave her a quick squeeze. “Colin never stays mad for long. Trust me. I’ve been pissing him off my whole life, and he likes you a whole hell of a lot more than he likes me.”

“Thanks. Another game after I talk to my dad?”

“You got it. I think some of my other siblings might be stopping by.”

Elizabeth didn’t believe that Colin just needed a cooling-off period. He was plenty cool. The way he’d looked at her after she’d apologized . . . No, she couldn’t go there now. She needed to focus on the bar and showing her dad all that she’d accomplished.

She found Keith and her dad talking by the shoe counter. Their heads tilted toward each other conspiratorially, but Elizabeth did all she could to push that fear down. The alley was noisy, and they could be discussing anything. By now she should’ve learned not to jump to conclusions.

She tapped her dad’s shoulder. “Ready to look at the bar?”

He narrowed his eyes, and she knew he was thinking that it was unnecessary, but as usual, he would indulge her. They made their way around the counter and through the walkway Colin had put in.

The bar wasn’t much quieter than the alley. The TVs blared with a White Sox game. She paused, a little impressed with herself for even recognizing that. After pointing out the improvements that they’d made in the bar, she brought them to her small office to talk money.

“The bar is turning a profit, Dad. It’s not huge, but given that it’s been neglected for a decade, this is an amazing difference. We have a steady flow of customers, and as the summer goes on, we have plans to increase that customer base.” She turned her computer screen so her father could see the spreadsheet.

“You’ve done a good job here, Elizabeth. I don’t particularly like that you went behind my back to do this, but I’m impressed.”

Those were the words she’d wanted to hear, but the look in his eyes did not express what he was saying. His words were the equivalent of a pat on the head. “I went behind your back because you’ve never given me the same opportunities you’ve given Keith. So I stole this one. It was supposed to be mine anyway, right? I did more than you ever thought I was capable of. Why can’t you give me that?”

“What are you talking about? I just acknowledged your hard work on this business.”

She just nodded.

They said their good-byes, and Elizabeth walked them out. In truth, he had acknowledged her work in the same way he always had. It had just been a long time since she’d paid attention. The weeks she’d spent here, away from the stuffy Brannigan attitude, had softened her. She actually expected some praise. When had she ever gotten praise from her father?

Had she really expected a prize for doing her job? She thought back to her early days of working with Colin when he’d thought he deserved a thank-you for doing his job, and she smiled. She had screwed up with him from the very beginning.

Everything was much clearer now. She needed to make some changes in her life. She’d take what she’d learned here and move on. Her life would get better. It couldn’t get worse.

Tonight she’d pretend to party. Tomorrow, she’d move on. Without Colin, there was nothing left to keep her here in Chicago. It was time to get back to the real world, where silly bowling shoes didn’t fit into her life.

After her plane landed, Elizabeth went home to unpack and figure out what to do with her future. The more she thought about her meeting with her father, the more she was convinced that he was ready to hand over control of Brannigan Enterprises to Keith. She’d have to suck it up and move on.

The problem was that she’d never come up with a contingency plan. Being CEO had been her one and only goal. Did she want to work for Keith?

Not by a long shot. Not even after they’d moved in a positive direction. They’d had a lengthy discussion over bowling. She’d been surprised to see how much her brother liked to talk once he had a few beers in him. He kept apologizing for being a bad brother. He thought it was his fault that she didn’t have a family. He wanted her to fall in love and make a new life.

He wanted her to keep the bowling alley.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t continue to hold on to something that wasn’t meant to be. Holding on to the alley meant holding on to Colin. That wasn’t fair to either of them. They’d been clear about that up front. Best-case scenario, they’d have fun while she was in town, but then they’d be over. Her accusations had ruined an amicable parting. He’d never called her back after the party.

She could admit she’d taken the coward’s way out. She couldn’t face him again. His cold indifference tore at her.

After changing into an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers she’d stolen from Colin, she crawled into bed ready to sleep for a week. Before she even closed her eyes, the tears started and, for a change, she didn’t try to control them.

Colin avoided his entire family for the next two days. He’d worked around the clock to keep his mind off Elizabeth. He’d listened to her message a dozen times. I wish you were here. Like some lame postcard. Not “I’m sorry I fucked up.” Certainly not “I love you.” And then she had just left. She went back to Florida without a good-bye, like a toddler who’d lost her favorite game. As if he didn’t have a good reason for being pissed off and hurt. She obviously didn’t want to speak to him, so he got to work to forget her.

He’d received a very businesslike e-mail informing him that the bar and bowling alley would be on the market immediately. She kindly asked him to return to Brannigan’s and complete the kitchen so it would be ready to sell.

The kitchen was finally finished for the bar, and they had a temporary license. Mike and Bianca took it upon themselves to organize and do a taste test for menu items. He heard them laughing and joking in the back. Every now and then, Mike would stick his head into the hallway and ask if Colin needed help.

He needed too much. He’d fallen in love with a woman who didn’t trust him, who lived thousands of miles away, and who planned to sell his business out from under him.

No, there was nothing Mike could do.

The door to the bar opened and his mom came in. For someone who had worked in a bar for years, Eileen O’Leary looked completely out of place.

“Mom. What are you doing here?”

“I came to see what you’ve been doing with your life.” She sat on a stool and looked around the bar, as if she could offer an official appraisal.

His mom nodded. “He would approve.”

There was no need to clarify who she was talking about. Colin had always sought Dad’s approval.

“He’d be proud.”

He felt his face flush. “Thanks.”

“Where’s Libby?”

He cleared his throat. That was as emotional as his mother would get. “Florida.”

“Vacation?”

“For good. That’s where she lives, remember?” He busied himself with wiping down the counter.

“Her business is here with you.” His mother’s back stiffened. It wasn’t often that he witnessed his mother going into mama bear mode, but this time was unwarranted.

“She’s selling the business. That was always the plan.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You just let her walk out.”

How did she manage to spin this back to an attack on him? “What was I supposed to do?”

“Do you remember what you told Ryan after he had brought Quinn to the house for dinner the first time?”

He thought back to almost a year ago and shook his head. “I think I called him a stupid shit for letting the best thing in his life walk away.”

Eileen slid from her stool. “You should take your own advice.”

What the hell did that mean? He couldn’t tell his mother that he and Elizabeth had agreed to sleep together and when the project was over, so were they. Talking about sex with a parent was creepy. But beyond that, he knew she would call him on being a liar. His relationship with Libby had evolved, and his mother obviously knew. He just didn’t know what to do about it. Telling Elizabeth he loved her had meant nothing.

He couldn’t offer Elizabeth what she wanted. CEO of Brannigan’s Sports Bar wouldn’t be enough for her.

Sleeping for a week wasn’t in the cards for Elizabeth. She tossed and turned and cried. Being in bed by ten p.m. had become a foreign concept. She sat awake watching Highlander until two every night. She’d tried to meet with her father twice, and both times he put her off.

She was supposed to be using the time to figure out her life, but she couldn’t focus. Every day she went into the office and pushed papers around but accomplished nothing. She checked and rechecked her bank balance and began searching for a project of her own.

Maybe striking out with her own company was what she needed. She’d proven, at least to herself, that she could do it. Starting over was a frightening prospect.

When her father called her into his office, she prepared for his verdict. Her mother had started planning his retirement party, so Elizabeth knew a decision was imminent. She knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

From the door, she saw her father standing in front of his desk, with Keith by his side. Nothing in Keith’s expression hinted at what they’d been talking about.

Her father picked up a box from his desk. “This is for you.”

He handed it to her. A brown box, nothing special. No paper or ribbon. She slid the side open and pulled out a nameplate.

“For a long time, I assumed Keith would take over, being the eldest, but I saw a spark in you in Chicago, Elizabeth. You showed some gumption. That’ll take you far in this business.”

Her heart stuttered. Tears welled and she smiled at her father. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t get too excited yet,” Keith said, flashing a nameplate of his own.

“What?”

“Dad wants a trial run. I think it’s a stupid idea.”

Their father bristled. “Nonsense. How else am I supposed to know if you can handle the job? I’ve spent most of my life building this business.”

No, not another competition. She couldn’t do that. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I quit,” Keith said, startling everyone. “We shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for you. We’ve continuously proven we can handle the business. It’s not fair to pit us against each other.”

Both Elizabeth and their father stared in stunned silence.

Keith grew a pair, who knew? He stood and walked out of the office, leaving his nameplate on the desk.

Her plaque weighed heavily in her hand. What the hell?

“Well, Elizabeth, looks like you’re it. Congratulations.”

Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be it. At least not this way. She’d wanted her father to choose her. She didn’t want to be given the position by default. All the work she’d done wasn’t so she could win by forfeit. She wanted more than an empty victory. “I quit too.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Keith was right. I’m done competing for everything.” She thought of the O’Learys. “We’re family, but you’d never know it to look at us. I’m done.”

She slapped the nameplate on the desk beside Keith’s and quickly left the office before she could falter. Working without a plan had never been her forte.

Down the hall, she knocked on Keith’s office door. “Hey.”

He looked up from his desk. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Not quite. I quit.”

“Why would you do that? He was going to give you everything you wanted.”

She stood in front of his desk, fingering the small items sitting there. “I didn’t want it as runner-up. Plus, you made an excellent point. He shouldn’t pit us against each other. We’re more effective when we’re on the same side.”

The thought sparked an idea, then another. She and Keith did work well together.

“What’s that look about?”

“Were you serious about quitting?”

“The competition, yes.” He swung his arm out. “But this is my home. I’m fine with my position. Dad can hire someone to be CEO.”

“I have a proposition for you.” A jolt zinged through her at the thought of a challenge, much as when she’d first decided to take on The Irish Pub.

They made plans to meet for dinner to discuss a new business venture. Colin was right; there was no reason why she couldn’t work with a partner.

Colin had spoken to the real estate agent that Elizabeth signed with. The asking price for the bar was out of his reach, but if he had a new partner, he could swing it. Something his mother had said about letting a good thing go stuck with him.

There was no getting Elizabeth back. She’d made it clear that her goal of CEO was more important than anything. He’d gone into their relationship with his eyes open. It was never supposed to be a permanent thing. They were always supposed to go their separate ways. He might not be able to get the woman, but he could hold on to what they’d built. It wasn’t as good as having her, but it would do.

He knocked on Ryan’s office door. “Got a minute?”

“What’s up?”

“Elizabeth left town and put Brannigan’s on the market.” He moved into the room and sat in front of his brother. “I want to buy it.”

“Why? I thought the place was a mess.”

“It’s better.” Colin paused to gather his thoughts. This had been so much easier in his head. “I helped build that place. I really want it, but I can’t afford it on my own.”

Ryan started to shake his head.

“Before you jump all over me, look at this.” He placed his carefully crafted proposal on Ryan’s desk. “This is not some scheme for me. I’m looking for a silent partner. Emphasis on silent. I just need the financial backing.”

“I told you before—”

“This isn’t like before. Look it over. If it’s a no, it’s a no. I wanted to give you first stab since we’re family. I’m not looking for charity. This is a business arrangement.”

Colin stood and left the office. He had no idea what Ryan was thinking. To Ryan, Colin would always be the family fuckup. Colin didn’t know how to change that; he’d earned the title. Eventually, he would prove to everyone that he’d changed.

He drove back to Brannigan’s and let himself in the back door. The place felt like his, more than O’Leary’s as of late. One way or another, he’d own this bar. He’d tried to take over Elizabeth’s office, but no matter how he rearranged the few crap pieces of furniture, it still felt too cramped. The biggest problem was that he couldn’t rid the space of her.

He worked the bar every night and took his laptop home with him to complete the office end. The business stuff still wasn’t his idea of fun, but it also wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought it would be. He gave himself a mental pat on the back. Hell, if no one else could recognize that he had succeeded, he would.

The delivery of food for their newly opened kitchen arrived, and Colin started unpacking and organizing when Ryan walked in.

Showing up the same day that Colin had asked for a partnership could only mean one thing: Ryan was going to shoot him down. He probably hadn’t even looked at the proposal.

“Hey,” Ryan said.

Colin looked at him and waited.

“Your proposal makes sense. You obviously put a lot of thought into it.”

He’d actually read it?

Colin waited for the “but.” He knew it was coming.

“But I wonder if this place is worth the asking price.”

Colin set down the box he held on the stainless-steel table. “We’d obviously negotiate a better deal, but I’m willing to pay for this place. It will be successful. I’ve worked too hard for it not to be.”

“Why now?”

Colin leaned against the table. “What do you mean?”

“Why should I trust you now?”

He shook his head. He knew he couldn’t win Ryan over. What a waste of time. “It’s pretty sad that a total stranger had more faith in me than my own brother.”

“Sometimes a clean slate is easier to work with.” Ryan inhaled deeply. “I don’t understand why you left, but you expect me to forget you did. Why didn’t you stay and prove O’Leary’s should’ve been yours?”

The fear Colin had buried crept up again, and he wanted to lie as he had been but couldn’t. He sucked in air before forcing out the words. “I left because I couldn’t hack it. Without Dad here, I knew everyone would look to me to be in charge. And I was a fuckup. I knew I’d let everyone down. So I left.”

“Leaving let us down.”

“I’m sorry. I owe an apology to you more than anyone. I never considered what my leaving would do to you, but I knew, no matter what, you’d handle it. It’s who you are.”

Colin turned back to the box of food. “I can’t make up for not being here, but I can promise not to leave again. Every day for three years, I wanted to come home, but I didn’t have the balls to do it. I’m not the same man I was. Hell, I wasn’t much of a man then.”

He dropped burgers into the chest freezer and waited for some response from Ryan.

“What about Elizabeth?”

That sure as hell wasn’t the kind of response he’d expected. Hearing her name caused another arrow of pain in his chest. He unclenched his jaw. “She’s gone. What about her?”

“Did you think about going after her?”

Colin turned back to his brother. “Honestly? Yeah. But I can’t walk away from home again. Even if I did, what would I do? She has a career. She travels nonstop. She doesn’t have room for me.”

“Did you ask her to stay?”

“Yes.” But he didn’t push. He should’ve made it a real invitation. He should’ve made her believe he loved her.

“Then I guess you’re screwed.” Ryan’s stance finally relaxed.

Colin saw the look of pity on his face and tried not to cringe.

“But you do have a partner.” Ryan stuck out his hand to seal the deal.

Instead, Colin grabbed him in a bear hug. It felt good to have his brother back. “You plan to be a silent partner, right?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Yeah, it was definitely good to have him back.

Three days and five failing businesses later, Elizabeth questioned her own sanity. Every site she’d visited held some promise, but nothing excited her. She was exhausted and still didn’t have a plan.

And Keith was little to no help. He’d offered to partner with her, but he really only wanted to write a check and then reap the profits. Keith planned to continue doing business the same way their father had.

She wanted to do things differently.

She wanted to get her hands dirty, to be a part of something, to build something. Simply putting the Brannigan stamp on a business wouldn’t be enough for her. She knew that now.

She needed real involvement. She wanted what she’d found in Chicago with Colin. Could she figure out how to replicate that?

Her phone rang. It was the real estate agent in Chicago. “Hello.”

“Elizabeth. Good news. We have an offer. I’ll e-mail you the details now. I think it’s the best we’re going to do.”

Elizabeth heard the words, but couldn’t quite grasp them. Sure, she’d wanted a quick sale, but she wasn’t ready yet. She looked around her room in her brother’s carriage house. A bottle of antacids sat on the desk beside her frogs. She picked up a frog made of painted rock. Like her, they didn’t have a real home. “Take it off the market.”

“What?”

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to sell. So decline the offer and take it off the market.”

“But—”

Elizabeth didn’t wait for reasons why she couldn’t or shouldn’t do that. She sat at her computer, whipped off an e-mail, and scheduled a flight.

Colin got off the phone and depression stabbed at him. He called Ryan. “The deal’s off. Our offer was rejected.”

“So offer a little more. That’s the way negotiations work.”

“I tried.” Part of him wondered if Elizabeth had found out he’d made the offer and she didn’t want him to have it.

“Sorry, man. Let me know if you find something else. I’m still willing to work with you.”

“Thanks.” Colin hung up. He was so upset that even Ryan’s support didn’t make him feel better. He faced his routine for opening the bar with a grimness that took hold of his whole body. His movements were sluggish, and he couldn’t even muster a smile for Bianca, who came in to offer him a taste of the burger she’d cooked.

The front door opened, letting the afternoon sun streak into his gloominess. Without turning around, he said, “Sorry, we’re not open yet.”

“That’s too bad. I could really use an Irish coffee.”

Colin spun so fast at the sound of Elizabeth’s voice that he lost his balance and smashed against the bar.

She smiled. “That’s usually my schtick.”

“What are you doing here?” He realized he sounded like an asshole, but he didn’t know how to fix that. Jumping across the bar wouldn’t be the best thing to do, but it’s what his instincts pushed for. Keeping the desire in check meant he couldn’t necessarily control his mouth.

She tugged at her blouse and cleared her throat. “We had an offer.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“I was the offer you turned down without negotiation.”

“You—” She froze, and confusion ran across her face.

She hadn’t known he’d tried to buy the bar. Why did she turn down the offer then? While she took a moment to stare at him, he studied her. Dark circles showed she hadn’t been sleeping again. Good. At least he wasn’t alone.

“Give me a minute.” She ran out of the bar toward the bathroom, gripping her bag to her side.

He followed, afraid that she was going to be sick again. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. I’ll be right out.” Within a minute, she emerged from the bathroom wearing a Brannigan’s Sports Bar T-shirt. One of the skimpy ones that showed great cleavage. She’d let her hair down and wore a smile that exuded happiness.

She extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Elizabeth Brannigan, and I have a proposition for you.”

Hearing those words again made him smile. He rocked back on his heels. “As good as the first proposition I made to you?”

She took a step forward, and her cinnamon scent tickled his nose. “Better.”

“Really?”

“I’m here to offer you a fifty-fifty partnership.”

“That’s a good deal, but I wouldn’t say that it’s better than my offer.”

Another step. “I’m proposing a fifty-fifty split in both business and pleasure.”

Blood drained from his brain, and he struggled to focus on her words. “What about your dad’s company?”

“He made me CEO.”

That sobered him, and he edged away from Elizabeth. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, but I quit.”

This conversation was giving him whiplash. “Why?”

“It wasn’t what I wanted. It turns out my brother knows me better than I know myself. He bought this place for me as a graduation present because he thought I could make a good life here.”

Colin absorbed everything she’d said. She’d come back for the business, but how did he fit in? “What about us?”

“I want there to be an us. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I hope you can forgive me for thinking that you’d do something to hurt me or our business. Being here, building this business with you, made me happy, and I didn’t know how to trust that. But I’m learning.”

His throat felt raw. “How do I know it won’t happen again? Or that you won’t take off when things get rough?”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

“That’s a lot of trust you expect. The kind that’s reserved for a select few.”

She moved closer again, putting her body within an inch of his. “Would it help if I said I love you?”

His heart jumped into his throat. “Maybe. Are you going to say it?”

“I love you, Colin. I shouldn’t have left. I thought I screwed this up beyond repair. I should’ve fought for us, but I was afraid you didn’t want this.”

He reached out and cupped the back of her neck. “How could you think I wouldn’t want you? I’ve loved you for a long time. I didn’t want to hold you back from your dreams.”

“My dreams were blurry. I didn’t realize how good I had it here until I left. So, do we have a deal?”

Words couldn’t express what he felt. He leaned in and kissed her until they were both breathless. When they came up for air, he said, “One condition.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“You only wear this shirt for me.”

Her laughter echoed in the hallway until she began to snort. “Deal.”