Behind the Stick

by Sandra Marie

  Her stomach twisted, the hors d'oeuvres she’d eaten earlier now sitting like lead in her stomach. Tears pressed at the back of her eyes, and she waited for Gavin to pop up and denounce his brother’s claims, but Gavin was nowhere to be seen.

  Afterall this wasn’t some story from her books. This was the cold hard reality. Gavin didn’t have the same feelings for her that she did for him. All he cared about was his precious bar and keeping his brother’s reputation intact.

  Lauren met Ashton’s green eyes and refused to be intimidated by the surly man. She imagined that he dominated the boardroom with his air of superiority, but this wasn’t a boardroom, and she wasn’t someone that he could break to his will. Not that he even had to. The only thing she was guilty of was falling head over heels in love with his brother.

  “Thank you for the lovely evening. I hope you beat last year’s record.” She took off, hurrying through the crowd, and tried desperately to get outside before the disappointment and sadness poured over her lids. The last thing she wanted was to make a total fool of herself. Her shoulder made contact with someone, but she didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. Not even when she heard Lily May call after her.

  Gavin finally got away from Pops and the person he’d wanted to introduce him to. He quickly headed back to where he had left Lauren ready to apologize for keeping her waiting for so long. Problem was, she wasn’t there and either was Ashton. He looked around, trying to find the beautiful woman in that amazing gold dress, but amongst the sea of people, he couldn’t find her.

  He spotted Ashton with Lily May and made his way toward them. As he approached, he heard Lily May. “What was that about?”

  Ashton shrugged, but he had that guilty look on his face.

  Lily May’s hands landed on her hips. “Ashton Oliver Mills, what did you do to Lauren?”

  Gavin’s heart slammed to a stop against his chest.

  “I may have assumed something,” Ashton said.

  Gavin stepped in, grabbing his brothers’ shoulder. “What did you assume?” Gavin said through clenched teeth.

  “That she might sue you for the accident at the bar.”

  Gavin threw his hands out in front of him, anger and frustration crashing together in a fiery rage. “What is the matter with you?”

  “Nothing, I was just covering my ass.”

  Of course he was because all he cared about was himself and everyone else be damned.

  Lily May shook her head. “Here you go again getting too big for your britches.”

  Gavin made it perfectly clear that Lauren wouldn’t sue him because Gavin knew her. Lauren wasn’t capable of something so petty. She didn’t care about money or attention, the only thing she was guilty of caring about was him and now she thought he betrayed her.

  Gavin tried to hold down his anger, but it was racing up on him faster than he could control it. “Did you ever think that not everyone is out to get you? That not everybody cares about your freaking money? Did you?” Gavin yelled, and quite a few heads turned in his direction, but he didn’t care if he was making a damn scene. He was sick and tired of Ashton constantly thinking that every single person in the world was driven by greed. He needed to wake up and smell the damn coffee. “Lauren could give two shits about your money.”

  Ashton’s regal façade wilted. “I messed up.”

  Gavin slapped a hand over his chest. “Did Ashton Mills just admit that he’s not perfect?”

  Ashton stepped toward him finger raised. “I have never claimed to be perfect.”

  “Haven’t you?” For the last decade it’d always been about how great Ashton was, how accomplished and successful he was. Gavin couldn’t escape it if he tried. It was everywhere, surrounding him and making him feel like he’d never amount to anything because, how could he? How could he be anything when Ashton was Mr. Perfect?

  “No, I haven’t,” Ashton said. “If you think that, it’s on you, not me. I have never claimed to be anything. I have worked my ass off to get to where I am, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. Shit happens. It’s a part of life, and I’ll be the first to admit when I mess up because I can man up and take responsibility.”

  “Oh!” Gavin exclaimed. “You’re going to go there right now? You screw up, and you twist it back around to my mess up.”

  “Someone had to say it. If you would have manned up and got the construction taken care of, this never would have happened.”

  “You don’t think I don’t know that!” Gavin yelled. Anger melted into frustration and he thrust his hands through his hair. He should have gone to Ashton sooner. If he did this whole nightmare could have been avoided.

  “What is going on over here?” Pops asked. “People are staring.”

  “Why don’t we take this to somewhere more private,” Dad suggested.

  “Yes, please,” Lily May said with a fake smile plastered on her face. She waved to a few people, that smile barely slipping from place. “Before people start to talk and the whole night is ruined. I love you both, but you are not taking this night away from me because you don’t have the sense that God gave a goose.”

  “Huh?” Gavin said.

  Ashton rolled his eyes. “She’s calling us stupid.”

  “Do you have the handbook?” Gavin managed to crack a smile despite the range of emotions battling it out inside him.

  “What handbook?” Ashton exclaimed.

  “Please go,” Lily May said with another wave to the people. “And don’t come back until you’ve straightened yourselves out.”

  Gavin had no intention of coming back unless Lauren was on his arm. He glanced at Ashton, still pissed at him. “I don’t have time to deal with you. I have to find Lauren.”

  “Come on, I’ll drive,” Ashton said.

  Gavin glared at him like he grew three heads right there on the spot. “Why in the hell would I want to go anywhere with you?”

  Ashton ran his hand through his hair and let out a breath. “Because this is on me, and I need to help you fix it.”

  “You should have thought of that before you got yourself involved in a nonissue.”

  Ashton sighed. “I got it. Okay? Do you want me to help you or not?”

  “You can’t leave, this is your event.”

  “You definitely cannot!” Lily May said. “You can go in a back room and work out your issues, but you can’t leave the premises.”

  “Babe, I have to,” Ashton said. “I’ll be back before the auction.”

  “You better be back quickly and things with Lauren better be fixed or you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

  “Cross my heart.” Ashton kissed Lily May, and Gavin took off with Ashton on his heels.

  Lauren had never felt so unbelievably stupid in her entire life. If this is what she got for putting her books down and trying to experience life outside of the pages, then she never wanted to step away from the pages again. Heartache was bad enough when she read about it through her characters, but feeling it now, the empty pit in her stomach, the ache in her chest and the uncontrollable desire to find a corner and cry was too much for her to take.

  She hated to feel weak, and right now that’s exactly how she felt. Weak and pitiful because she fell in love with Gavin Mills while he kept her close so she wouldn’t sue him.

  Maybe she was overreacting, and she should turn around and go speak to Gavin herself. Ask him why he thought she’d want to make this kind of deal with his brother? Did he think that little of her?

  Going back to speak to him would be the brave thing to do, the honorable thing, but Lauren was terrified of what would happen if it all turned out to be true. She’d be a pathetic puddle of emotion, and she didn’t want Gavin to see her that way. She didn’t want anyone to see her that way. There was a reason she bottled her emotions up. A reason she didn’t open up to just anyone.

  Tears pressed against her eyes, and she was angry at herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Unable to see through the onslaugh
t of moisture, she pulled over to get herself together. She grabbed a napkin from the glove box and blotted at the tears that managed to escape.

  With a deep breath, she put the car back in drive and pulled back onto the road. Her phone flashed with Gavin’s name, but she ignored it. She had nothing left to say to him. All she wanted right now was to go home, get out of this ridiculous dress, and crawl into bed with one of her books.

  She wanted to escape reality and pretend that tonight never happened.

  At home, she threw her car in park and swiped at her eyes. Olivia and Ashlynn were probably sleeping, but if they weren’t Lauren didn’t want to have to answer any questions because she wouldn’t be able to stop crying long enough to get words out.

  She blotted her eyes one last time and got out of the car. She was halfway up the porch steps when she heard her name. Every muscle in her body froze. Gavin was the last person she wanted to see. She didn’t think she could face him. She liked to believe she was a strong independent woman, but right now she felt weak and broken.

  She continued up the stairs.

  “Lauren, please.” This time it wasn’t Gavin, but she knew that voice too. If Gavin was the last person she wanted to see, Ashton was second on that list. He told her exactly what he thought about her a short while ago.

  “I messed up,” Ashton said. “Don’t punish my brother for my stupidity.”

  She didn’t turn around, but she stopped walking, listening to what he had to say.

  “I’ve been screwed over time and time again, and because of that I always think the worst of people. I’m working on it, and I’m sorry. Please listen to what he has to say because I think you’ll want to hear it.”

  She heard Ashton’s shoes back away on the sidewalk, then the sound of a car door opening and closing. The car started and took off. Lauren turned around, ready to scream to wait, but though the car was gone, Gavin was still there.

  “Hi,” Gavin said. The usual ease of his features was pulled tight with tension. There was a desperation in his eyes that hit her right in the heart. She fought the urge to run into his arms. She wanted to believe Ashton, but for all she knew, they were doing damage control. Ashton was a calculated man and like he said he’s been screwed over before. He knew how to prevent it, how to keep things hunky dory. This could be all part of his master plan.

  “Lauren, I’m sorry about what Ashton said.”

  She shrugged, trying to hold on to what little resolve she had left. “It’s okay. I’m just happy I know the truth.”

  “How can you even think that about me?”

  She didn’t have an answer. She finally opened herself up to someone, took the leap, and jumped in head first. It wasn’t something she did, and the pain she felt in the last hour was more than she ever wanted to feel again. She felt her heart closing up again.

  “Do you really think everything between us was because I was trying to keep you from suing me?”

  “I don’t know what to think.” She wanted to believe it was all real because it felt real more so than anything she’d ever experienced in her life. She loved him, but he made a deal without consulting her.

  He stepped toward her. “If spending time with you didn’t mean anything to me, then why did I save this?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened the worn leather flap and pulled out the green construction paper that she made into a badge.

  “You kept it?” she said.

  “I told you I would, and I don’t plan on ever throwing it out.”

  “It’s just a piece of paper.”

  “It’s not though. It was the moment that I realized I’d fallen in love with you.”

  She gasped, completely taken aback by his admission. He moved to her, taking her hands in his, the construction paper pressed between their hands.

  “What about the deal?”

  He looked at her a perplexed look on his face when he closed his eyes and exhaled. “You thought?” He opened his eyes and shook his head. “The deal I made with Ashton was that his company would sponsor the St. Patrick’s Day event.”

  Realization was like a wave crashing into her, hard and fast. “It was all real then.” She blinked up at him and he nodded.

  “I love you,” he said. “And I know how crazy that is because we haven’t known each other for all that long, but they say you know when you know, and I believe that now. I looked into your eyes that night, and I felt this shift in the universe like things were finally lining up. I realized then that if I never talked to another woman again, I didn’t care as long as I had you to talk to. I didn’t care if you were the only person I ever kissed again because I knew the sparks that I feel every time our lips touch will never be duplicated. My entire life I’ve felt like I lived in my brother’s shadow, but when you walked into my life, sitting at the end of my bar with your nose in a book, it was as if the skies parted and light finally shown down on me. When I’m with you, none of the bullshit matters. All that matters is you and me.”

  Her heart swelled, filling her with so much joy she could barely contain it. This man in front of her was everything she ever wanted and needed. “You talk too much,” she said.

  His lips pressed together, and his head tilted. “I don’t know how to take that.”

  “It means I love you too. Now stop talking and kiss me already.”

  His arm wrapped around her, and he lowered his mouth to hers.

  The bar looked exactly how Gavin had always imagined, and he couldn’t be happier. The four-leaf clover banner he helped Lauren make hung in the corner above the ping pong table he always wanted. A chalkboard hung on the wall next to a dart board, and people gathered around both, playing, drinking, and laughing.

  Leprechauns of all shapes and sizes moved through the bar with glasses in hands and smiles on their faces. Some were a little more glossy eyed than others, and Gavin hoped their good time wouldn’t wind up making a mess of his bathrooms.

  Devin sat at the bar in his usual spot, a new glint replaced the dead look. Gavin assumed it had to do with the fact he was currently in deep conversation with Olivia. Brody and his friends were cheering each other, and Gavin watched as Brody spilled his beer. He laughed it off, grateful for the beer spiller and his continued business even when the place looked like it was hit by an earthquake.

  Lily May, dressed in a multi green colored skirt with shamrocks on both cheeks and green heels that were covered in glitter, stood with Ashton, who actually traded his monkey suit for a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. Ashton was talking with Alex and Frankie, who had the slightest baby bump beneath her white and green t-shirt. Ginny, Steven, Cassidy, and Jon were next to them talking to Rae and Tommy, who was in the middle of an elaborate story Gavin guessed by Tommy’s animated arm gestures. And over by the table, unwrapping the multiple loaves of Irish soda bread for the contest was the woman he was absolutely head over heels in love with.

  Her white sweater sat on the hem of her green skirt and had the word lucky written in green across her chest, and that summed it all up. Gavin was one lucky bastard. He didn’t know what he did right in life to deserve her, but whatever it was he was grateful.

  He no longer gave a crap about that stupid competition he created in his mind with Ashton. He had nothing to prove, at least not to his brother or dads. The only thing he needed to prove was his love to Lauren, and he planned on doing so.

  He filled a few more glasses, then let Luca, his new bartender, hold down the fort for a bit as he stepped out from behind the stick.

  Lauren’s head bobbed to the Irish punk song playing overhead, and he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek just below the shamrock Lily May painted there.

  “Hey, he said.

  “Hey yourself.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “It’s time to start the taste testing. You can get everyone’s attention.”

  “Why? We both know I won,” he said.

 
; She turned in his arms and cocked her head. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, buddy.”

  “We’ll see.” Gavin stood on a chair and whistled through his fingers. The entire bar ceased talking and turned in his direction.

  “Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!”

  A round of cheers greeted him, beer glasses flying up in the air. Brody’s sloshed over his glass and gave Ashlynn a nice shower. Gavin laughed as she turned her evil eye on Brody.

  “I want to thank everyone for coming, and I hope you’re having a great time!”

  More cheers exploded through the bar, filling him with pride. “We’re about to start our Irish soda bread competition. Grab a piece of each, they’re great to help absorb the alcohol, and then make a note of your favorite. Write your favorite down on a piece of paper and drop it in the treasure box,” he said, pointing to the box Lauren had set up on the table. “Cheers!”

  “Cheers!” erupted around the bar, and people hurried over to the table, grabbing up plates like ravenous beasts. Lauren squeezed her way out of the crowd and landed in his arms with a laugh.

  “It’s dangerous in there,” she said.

  “Good thing you got out when you did.”

  “I know if I didn’t, you would have saved me.”

  “You know it,” he said, bending his head and capturing her lips.

  “You two are cuter as all get out,” Lily May said from behind them.

  Lauren smiled against his lips, and he reluctantly pulled away, tucking Lauren against his side. The entire gang joined Lily May, and Gavin couldn’t imagine that it could get better than this. When he was an old man looking back on his life, he would remember this day. It seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but this moment had been everything Gavin had been working toward.

  He finally had a good relationship with his brother again, he was surrounded by good friends who he knew were friends for life, his bar was finally complete, and Lauren was at his side. He was so full of happiness he thought he might burst, and he did when the door opened and his dads walked in.