Flirt With Me by Kristen Proby

Chapter 11

~Hunter~

“It was so cool,” Rachel says as she unpacks her overnight bag. She’s been talking nonstop since we arrived back on the island, and Maeve went to check on her house. “Grams and Gramps and I watched every minute of it. Maeve was so pretty. And then you won, and we were yelling and screaming and jumping up and down. And you even said my name in your speech.”

“What other name would I say?”

She rolls her eyes, making me grin.

“And it was sweet, what you said at the end about the new chapter and meeting someone new.”

“You know, now that you say that, I’d like to have a chat with you. Let’s go sit out here.”

I turn and walk to the lounge area that Rachel and I made in the loft space. We have a big TV, leather couches, and a ping-pong table with room to spare.

“What’s wrong? Did it go bad? Are you breaking up with her?”

“Good God, you have an active imagination,” I mutter and sit across from my daughter. “No, it didn’t go badly at all. In fact, we had a great time.”

Rachel deflates in relief.

She’s a bit dramatic.

“You’re not a baby anymore, and I’m not going to insult either of us by thinking that you’re not an intelligent young woman who knows what goes on between two people who care about each other.”

“Sex.” The word is simple, and matter of fact, and puts a lump in my stomach.

“Among other things. Also, side note, if you start having sex, I want you to tell me. I’m serious. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m not,” she says and rolls her eyes again. “Boys are scared of me because you’re my dad.”

I grin. “Really? That’s great.”

Rachel narrows her eyes.

“I mean, how horrible for you. Anyway, I care about Maeve, Rach.”

“You love her.” She smiles and reaches over to pat my shoulder. “You just don’t know it yet.”

You’re wrong. I know it.

“I want to move forward with her and see if this is something that might stick for the long haul. And I don’t want her to stay in that apartment.”

Rachel frowns. “Then where would she…? Oh. You want her to sleep with you.”

“I do, but only if it doesn’t freak you out. Because as you know, you’re the most important part of my life, and I don’t bring women home. You know that.”

“I know. That’s how I know she’s really important to you. And I like her, Dad. I like her whole family. They’re really cool.”

“They’re definitely cool,” I agree. “I don’t want you to feel disrespected if I ask her to move in with me.”

Rachel licks her lips and thinks it over. “Grams said something last night that I hadn’t thought of before. And it’s true. She said that in just a few years, I’ll be off to college, living my own life, and you’ll be moving onto another new part of life. An empty nester or whatever. And that it’s okay for you to start thinking about yourself more. I wasn’t complaining or anything. She was just talking. Dad, it’s okay. I like Maeve, and I know that nothing’s going to change between you and me.”

“If something makes you uncomfortable, I want you to say so,” I reply, my heart in my throat. “Because even though you’re going to leave me when you’re thirty, I still love you more than anything.”

“Uh, I’m leaving before I’m thirty.”

“Twenty-eight then.”

She laughs. “Sure, Dad. Ask her to move in. Just please don’t do anything gross when I’m around. Because that’s just…ew.”

“It’s a deal.” I pull her over so I can kiss her on the cheek and ruffle her hair. “We need to start planning for school.”

“It doesn’t start for, like, two months,” she says.

“It’s a new school. I want to be prepared for it.”

“I need clothes,” she says, thinking it over. “And all new supplies. Maybe Maeve will take me shopping.”

And just like that, I’m no longer the cool one.

“What am I, chopped liver?”

“You can come, too, I guess, since you’re the one paying.”

“Come back here, you little shit,” I call when she runs away, laughing. “Yeah, you’d better hide!”

“You don’t scare me!”

I laugh, relieved that the discussion went better than expected, and walk down to the kitchen. I glance out the window and scowl.

Maeve is hauling stuff out to her car, and the luggage is heavy given the way she has to lug it up into her vehicle.

“What’s up?” I ask as I walk out the door and join her by her car.

“Oh, I’m just taking a few things over to Maggie’s.”

“You’re taking your suitcase over to your sister’s?”

“Yeah.” She clears her throat. “I was going to talk to you, but then I got carried away upstairs. I met with the contractor, and he said it’s going to be at least two months before my house is done. And we all know that means three months. That’s a long time to inconvenience you, so I spoke with Maggie, and she said I can just stay with her.”

“Let’s go inside.” I turn toward the door and open it for her, then follow her into the kitchen. “Have I somehow given you the impression that having you here is an inconvenience?”

She frowns. “Well, no. Of course, not, I just thought that because this thing between us is so new, that it was inappropriate to assume that I could just stay for as long as I like.”

“This thing.” I cross my arms and watch her from across the island. I want to pull her against me and crush my mouth to hers. I want to remind her that this isn’t just a thing.

“Why are you mad?”

“Because you made a decision that involves me without talking with me.” I rub my fingers over my lips. “I don’t want you to go.”

“Oh. Well, okay. I can stay above the garage—”

“I also don’t want you to stay out there.”

She frowns again and blinks at me. “Then where in the world will I stay?”

“With me.”

Silence.

“With me.”

“We’ve already said that it’s not right for me to stay with you with Rachel here.”

“Rachel and I talked about it. She’s not stupid, she understands what’s going on with us. This thing. And she likes you. Not to mention, she wants to see me happy. So, she and I are on the same page and understand each other.”

“Why are you so frustrated?” she asks again.

“Because I’ve been planning a way to keep you with me, really with me, not out in my guest house, and you’ve been scheming up a way to escape. I thought we had a good time in LA.”

“We did.”

“I thought that we’d taken this thing to a whole new level.”

“You don’t like that I called us a thing.”

“No. I don’t. Because, damn it, I’m falling in love with you. And you’ve made how I feel into something small and insignificant.”

She shakes her head, those green eyes bright.

“No, this is a lot of miscommunication—which I hate because we’re adults, and miscommunication is for bad romantic comedies.” She walks around the island and takes my hands, moving them around her waist to her lower back, and then leans into me. “I’m not trying to run. I just didn’t want to assume. This is new territory for me, you know?”

“Yeah.” I sigh and tip my forehead against hers. “And I’m an asshole. I don’t want you to go to Maggie’s.”

“I gathered as much. And it’s pleased I am that you had a talk with your daughter.”

“Your Irish is coming out.” The way it does when she’s turned on.

“I’m all worked up,” she admits. “First it was the bloody contractor. And then trying to decide what to do from there. Are you sure you want me here, underfoot, for several months?”

Forever.

The word almost slips out of my mouth, but I catch it.

“You are welcome here indefinitely.”

She smiles and lifts on tiptoe to kiss my lips. “Thank you.”

“Child entering,” Rachel calls out. “In case there’s anything goofy going on in there.”

Maeve laughs and steps away from me. “Nothing goofy.”

“So, are you staying?” Rachel asks.

“Looks like it. Were you eavesdropping?” I ask my daughter.

“Of course, I was,” Rachel says. “Don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of it.”

“I have to take my bags back upstairs.” Maeve walks toward the door. “No, wait. I need to bring them in here. Sorry, habit.”

“Why don’t we help Maeve move her things, and then we’ll all go out to dinner?” I ask Rachel.

“I would love to, but I have to work,” Maeve says. “I’m expected at the pub in just a bit. But you’re welcome to come and eat there.”

“I totally want some of Fiona’s stew,” Rachel says. “I told Gramps about it, and he said that he and Grams will come see us next weekend. He wants stew, too.”

“It’s the best there is,” Maeve agrees.

We spend an hour moving her things from the vehicle and apartment to the house, and then Maeve comes out of the bedroom dressed in her O’Callaghan’s Pub shirt and denim shorts.

“Have I told you that your legs are fucking amazing?” I ask her as I wrap my arms around her waist.

“No, you haven’t. But thanks. I find if I wear shorts, I get better tips.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re kidding.”

“I certainly am not.” She grins and pats my cheek. “I have a roof to pay for. Why are roofs so damn expensive anyway?”

“Maeve—”

“No.” Her smile fades, and she’s perfectly serious now. “You’re not going to pay for my roof, Hunter. I can afford it. I’m just mostly kidding about the tips.”

“You’re not kidding.” I wish she’d just let me pay for it. It’s nothing to me. And here she is, working her ass off to afford it.

“Okay, I’m not totally joking. But if all it takes to get an extra five bucks is to wear a pair of shorts, who cares?”

“Maybe I care.”

She laughs. “Right. You have no reason to. Besides, you’re the man who used to be on national television in your underwear.”

“It was international television, thank you very much.”

She barks out a laugh, and I join her. “See? They’re just shorts. No one gets to touch my legs but you.”

“Damn right.”

“You have a baby in a bar,”Maeve says to Izzy when we walk into the pub. Izzy’s rocking the baby back and forth, but the sweet thing won’t stop crying.

“She has colic,” Izzy says. She looks exhausted. “Sometimes, if Keegan rocks her, she’ll stop crying. But he’s swamped, and I’m exhausted.”

“I’ve got her,” I say and step forward, my arms outstretched for the infant. “Rachel had colic, too, and I was a single dad. I get it. Has she eaten?”

“About an hour ago,” Izzy confirms.

“Go catch a nap,” I reply as I set the baby on my shoulder and pat her tiny back. “I’ve got this.”

“Are you sure?” But the hope in Izzy’s eyes is unmistakable.

“Go,” Maeve says. “If we need anything, we’ll come up.”

“I’m not going to cry,” Izzy says as she turns away and flees up the stairs.

I tuck the blanket around the baby more firmly and hold her close. “There now, sugar. Aren’t you tired from making all that racket?”

She quiets and takes a big, deep breath.

“That’s right. You just needed someone calm, didn’t you?”

I kiss the baby’s soft head and then glance up to find Maeve, Maggie, Rachel, and Fiona all staring at me in surprise.

“What?”

“Well, if I’ve ever seen anything sweeter in all of my life, I couldn’t say what it was,” Fiona says as a smile spreads over her face. “You’re so good with her.”

“I like babies.” I kiss her head again. “What’s her name?”

“They haven’t named her yet,” Maggie says. “They can’t agree on the name, so for now, we’re just calling her Baby.”

“I don’t mind calling you Baby, if you don’t,” I say to the little infant in my arms.

Maeve wraps her apron around her waist, and Rachel sits next to me at the bar, sipping on a root beer.

“You look good with a babe on your shoulder,” Keegan says when he walks behind the bar. “Did my wife flee then?”

“I told her to go get some sleep,” I reply with a smile. “I have experience with cranky babies. And cranky teenagers, now that I think about it.”

“Hey,” Rachel says in protest, making me laugh. “I’m not always cranky.”

“Only on days that end in y,” I agree, and she sticks out her tongue at me, then turns to Keegan.

“Mr. O’Callaghan, are you hiring?”

I blink at my daughter. “What?”

“Well, I might be. What kind of job are you after, lass?”

“I’d do just about anything. I can waitress or clean up. Buss tables. That sort of thing. School starts in a month, but I’d still be able to work on the weekends.”

I stare at her, stunned. I had no idea that she wanted a job, but it’s a good idea.

“You can’t serve alcohol as you’re underage,” Keegan tells her. “So, you can’t be a server. But you could help seat the customers when they arrive and run food out from the kitchen. Buss those tables and wipe them off. And I can always use someone to help me wash the glasses back here.”

Rachel sits forward with excitement. “I would be happy to do all of those things.”

Keegan nods as though he’s thinking it over. “Would you be able to start tomorrow afternoon then?”

“Yes!” Rachel claps her hands and smiles over at me. “I just got a job, Dad!”

“So you did. That’s good. You can start paying rent.”

“Har har.” Rachel sips her drink happily.

“I’ll have Maeve get you a couple of T-shirts as that’s our uniform around here. But we’re casual, so jeans are just fine to go with it.”

“Come on,” Maeve says and motions for Rachel to follow her. “Let’s go pick out a couple. We have a new pink one that’ll look great on you.”

The two of them head back to the storeroom, and I shift the baby to my other shoulder.

“Thanks for that.”

“Rachel’s a good lass. She’s happy and helpful, and I think it’ll be good for her. She might meet some new people, too, because we get plenty of locals who come in for the food.”

“That’s a great idea. I didn’t even think of it, and I should have.”

The baby starts to fuss, so I stand and walk her around the pub crooning in her ear.

It feels good to hold a little baby again. Rachel grew up in the blink of an eye, and I missed a good portion of it because I was always gone.

I never considered having more kids, but I didn’t have Maeve in my life before this either.

Just as I think that, the woman comes back into the bar area with my daughter. When her eyes meet mine, she grins widely.

Maybe this new chapter is more interesting than I originally thought.