The Bartender's Daughter

by Isabelle Flynn

  He felt the shake of her head against his chest. “She can’t. There are bills that need to be paid.”

  “Then I’ll pay them.”

  She pushed away from him and threw up her hands. “No. Lee, stop trying to throw your money around. It can’t fix every problem.”

  ****

  She shouldn’t have snapped at him. He offered to help with the house because he could and because he didn’t like seeing her in pain. He walked away from her a moment later to deal with his friend and sister, all buttoned up and quiet. She was the reason he shut down and she was compelled to fix it now. She stepped out of the office and saw the two men with their heads down. They didn’t notice her when she walked up behind them. She could just hear Jake’s voice.

  “That’s what they all say. It’s not too late to find that out. We’ll have John draw something up. If Sam signs it, you’ll have your answer and some protection.”

  “If I sign what?” She looked from Jake to Lee. He looked guilty while Jake just looked smug.

  Jake replied first. “In case of a divorce, you both should have protection. If you’re willing, I can have a friend of mine, one that deals with prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, work on one. I’m sure we can come up with a mutually satisfying agreement.”

  “You want me to sign some kind of prenup? We’re already married and I don’t want Lee’s money. If I’m to sign something, it needs to say that. Not one frigging cent.” More anger than she had room for coursed through her. Her face heated while the blood pounded through her body. She turned and walked toward the door. She ignored Lee when he called her name. This was really the last thing she wanted to deal with today.

  She was two blocks away before she heard pounding feet behind her. Lee reached for her hand, and she let him grasp it as they walked in silence. She was too riled up to talk but she still needed that connection to him. He squeezed but didn’t try to stop her from walking off her anger.

  It took another block before she was ready to speak. “I needed air. I would have come back before lunch. You don’t have to worry about me taking off.”

  “About what Jake said—” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

  She stopped and pulled her hand out of his. “It’s okay. I should have expected that this was coming.”

  “He’s just worried. It’s part of his job, as my lawyer and friend.”

  “Of course. You must be a very wealthy man. You’ve already offered to help me. You’re willing to put your own money into the bar. I don’t have anything but a little in savings and half of a failing business I can’t afford. I’m not even the full owner of the cottage. Let him do what he needs to make sure you have your protection.” She sneered the last word and continued walking.

  “You’d be protected too, Sam. If things don’t work out, you should have…” He hesitated finishing.

  She knew what he meant. “A consolation prize? No, it’s okay. I really can take care of myself. Despite having friends with money, I never abused those friendships. Beyond borrowing clothes, I never took from Serena or Dylan. I married you when I thought you were a bartender living off tips. I don’t want any of your money.”

  “What if we had children?”

  He seemed just as stunned by the question as she felt.

  “I didn’t know we were even near that stage.”

  “We’re not, but there might be a time when we are.”

  “I don’t get it. This is how you bring up having children? In the context of lawyers and legal documents? What’s wrong with going into a marriage with the promise to stay together forever? No exit strategies. No talk of assets and protection.” A sharp pain pierced her heart. That he brought up children while convincing her to sign a financial agreement ripped her apart.

  He stiffened, his hands curled into fists. “Forever? Is that what you were thinking when you left? Maybe Jake’s thinking you’ve taken off once before, what’s to stop you from doing it again?” He stopped her from walking on by grabbing hold of her wrist. He spun her around to look up at him.

  She sighed. “I explained everything to you.”

  “I get it but that doesn’t stop anyone from wondering what the next misunderstanding will be. We’re going to have fights, Sam. We’re going to disagree on the big things. How are you going to handle that?”

  She reached for him but he stepped out of reach. “I screwed up but you did too. Are you planning on keeping secrets from me? It goes both ways. If signing some stupid piece of paper is going to make you feel like I won’t take off again, then I’ll sign it.”

  “It’s not—” He took a step toward her, but she raised her hand.

  “I’m fine with signing any paper you put in front of me but I’m not fine with having your wealth thrown in my face.”

  “How is moving into that stifling hot cottage with its lumpy bed throwing my wealth in your face?”

  Another comment about the cottage and she had to hold back her urge to scream. She kept her voice soft, controlled. “If you don’t like it, you can take your things back to your three-story house. I know we can’t go back in time, but I thought we’d be able to relive some of our good memories.”

  He let her go and she charged ahead, no destination in mind. She needed movement. She thought he turned back to the bar but a few minutes later, he caught up with her again. This time he didn’t allow her to speak as he grasped her arm and swung her around to him. His lips crashed down on hers. A few gentle tugs on her arms and she wrapped them around him. His shoulders were wide, his body a harbor she needed. It always came back to this. She loved Lee, nothing anyone else could say would ever change that. She didn’t want to fight with him, didn’t want to constantly relive their mistakes.

  He pulled back to look down at her. “I don’t know why we’re fighting. I don’t want a prenup, postnup, any kind of nup. I just want you. Wear my ring, Sam. Forget about the money, where I came from, where you came from. Just give us a chance. Please.”

  ****

  He did it. He got the ring back on her finger. They walked back to the bar slowly, holding hands but not talking. He was surrounded by the rightness of it. Sam beside him, no more talk about money or the past.

  She broke the silence first. “What are we going to tell everyone?”

  “That you were swept off your feet and couldn’t possibly live another day without me?”

  She swatted his arm with her free hand. “Maybe you couldn’t live without me.”

  “We already know that.” He stopped to take another taste of her sweet lips. He never wanted to stop.

  “I want you, Lee. I truly don’t want your money or anything to do with it. I know you thought that was my reason for going to New York. At the time, Serena was my only option to get out of town. She’s my best friend. It was never about how much money she had. If anything, these last two years have shown me that I’ll never fit in with that crowd. I’m not polished. I’m just a bartender’s daughter.”

  “You’ve been selling yourself short if you’ve been trying to fit in with the St. James crowd. That’s not polish, it’s over-processing.”

  She melted in his arms when they wrapped around her. Warm lips molded against hers. Her hands reached up to pull him down to her, while her fingers ran through his hair. A horn had them jumping apart. They both laughed as they recognized the white Volkswagen bug. One of their waitresses, Shelly, passed by slowly, a big grin on her face as she waved.

  “Well, that settles that. By tonight everyone in town will know we’ve been making out on a public road.” She slid a hand over her hair, smoothing it down while looking up at Lee’s face.

  “Good. Let’s get back to the bar. I want to make sure Joanna hasn’t thrown my things in Jake’s face before he left.”

  “I can’t say I feel any differently, but why does Joanna dislike him so much?”

  “It has something to do with her ex. She dated Pat Winters for the last year or so. His parents are friends of my mother’s. I
don’t know if Joanna chose him or if she went along with my mother’s insistence that they were a good match. Either way, he proposed at Christmastime and she accepted. Jake had been warning her for a while that he didn’t think Pat was the right guy for her. She didn’t want to hear it. About a month later, she surprised Pat at work with dinner when he was working late. It’s clichéd but he was caught with more than his hand up the secretary’s skirt.”

  She gasped beside him. “Oh no. Poor Joanna.”

  Sam would have gone through the same feelings when her sister lied about their relationship. He remembered how broken Jo had been the night she pounded on his door, after driving the hour and a half from Boston. Knowing Sam went through the same thing killed him.

  “Why does she blame Jake?”

  “He knew that Pat was cheating. She feels humiliated and anger seems to be her way of handling it. There’s more to the story but neither one is talking. I only know that Joanna barely speaks to him.”

  A few minutes later and they were entering the bar. The dining room was half full, a better showing than all of last week. Sam looked up at him, a question in her eyes.

  “Oldport Rams Club’s monthly meeting. I already spoke with Alan. He was setting up the tables when we left.”

  Joanna lifted a tray of drinks over her head as she worked her way to a back table. As she handed them out, another waitress was taking orders.

  Sam jumped in to help. He set himself up at the corner of the bar. The next hour, she, Joanna, and the other waitress worked the men from the Ram’s Club. All old enough to be their grandfathers but most acted like they were sailors out on shore leave. The ladies spent most of their time dodging innuendos and laughing at inappropriate jokes.

  Lee kept one eye on the screen of his laptop and the other on Sam. He loved the way she hustled, delivering drinks and food while laughing and flirting casually with the older men. Moving from kitchen to bar to table seamlessly. He flashed to the cool, composed woman in the sexy white gown from the club to the energetic waitress in front of him. She was wrong. Sam was just as adept at fitting in with the crowd he grew up in as she was with the crowd he chose to be with.

  As soon as the meeting ended and the dining room was empty and put back in order, Joanna sidled up to him. “What exactly are you thinking?”

  “That you’re a natural at tending bar but you’re also awesome working a table.” He smiled but she didn’t unbend from her stance.

  Jo’s hands landed on her hips just as she got that look in her eyes. The one that said she was about to become a major pain in his ass. “She’s only been back for a month.”

  “Joanna, we’re already married. Nothing’s changed.”

  “It was only a few days ago that she was cozied up to Dylan. How can you trust her?”

  “They’re friends.” He took his glasses off and put them down on the laptop, settling in for the conversation.

  “He wasn’t looking at her like she was just a friend.”

  “She’s not Pat.” He said it softly, afraid to point out the real source of her anger and fear.

  “No, because I didn’t marry the jerk. Jake’s right. Get her signature while her pride is on the line. You could lose everything. Your businesses. The house. The boat. The Jeep. It’s stupid to put all of that at risk.”

  “What happened to you? You sound like…” He stopped himself. Jo couldn’t be as jaded as their mother and sisters.

  “Maybe because they all have a point. Pat and I were going to sign a prenuptial agreement. Can you imagine if I had actually married him and then found him on the desk with that skank? At least, I would have kept my things.”

  “Did you ever think your willingness to keep that stuff separate had anything to do with why that relationship was never going to work? You were never in love with him. Did you ever feel like you couldn’t live without him? Did you ever wonder what you were going to do if you never saw him again? Sam is a part of me and I’m not giving her up. That’s the difference. If she left again and took half of my possessions, it wouldn’t be losing money that hurt the most.”

  Joanna opened her mouth but closed it on an audible click. “You love her that much?”

  The look of absolute disbelief on her face made him laugh. “That’s why most people get married.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  A roller coaster of a day found Sam searching the kitchen for Jo. She finally found her outside when the storage closet didn’t turn her up. Joanna sat on a milk crate right outside the back door. She wore a poppy-covered dress and the sight of her sitting with her knees together gave the impression of a little girl playing in the dirt.

  Joanna stood up as soon as Sam stepped outside. “I’m coming back in.”

  “It’s okay. I wanted to talk.”

  Sam worried her bottom lip and hoped she’d find the right words. “I’m sorry. I know this is awkward and weird but I hope we can be friends.”

  “I don’t even know what I should say. Congratulations? Welcome to the family? Don’t cheat on my brother. He’s a good guy, he doesn’t deserve that.”

  She blew out a breath and settled in for the talk. “Did he tell you what happened before?”

  “Not really. Only that you left to live with Dylan and Serena.”

  “I did. I got scared. I never really thought he could love me the way I loved him.” She’d been so afraid to talk about Lee or the last two years, worried that once she did, she’d never stop feeling the pain of screwing up. “I was so crazy about him. I did everything I could to bag him, and then I had him and I couldn’t believe it.” She smiled at the memory of those late nights and the success of finally cornering him into kissing her. The thrill of getting her hands on him, the first spark of pleasure coursing through her. The way he held back, keeping his hands by his sides until he lost control and pulled her closer to him.

  “How did it go from that to getting married?” Joanna’s question stopped her from remembering the rest of that night.

  “We spent every minute we could together without tipping off anyone. I don’t know who brought up getting married first but it felt right. I knew my father would eventually be happy for us as soon as he saw how serious we were. I didn’t want to wait to get the rest of our lives started. We hid it for a month before I heard he was cheating on me.”

  Even knowing the truth behind the situation, her heart trembled. She remembered rushing home, picking up the phone to call Lee, and not getting an answer. “He was always so quiet about what he did when he wasn’t working or with me. I didn’t think there could be any other reason for his secrecy.”

  “That’s a lie. Lee would never cheat.” Joanna stood, knocking the crate back.

  “It was a lie but I believed it. I left that night, hoping he’d find me and tell me that the whole situation was a mistake. He never did. You have to understand. He’s so attractive, so compelling. Women were throwing themselves at him, and no one knew we were together. He’d flirt and smile, and I comforted myself with the knowledge that he spent every other moment with me. But I was jealous and insecure about why he never opened up to me about his past or his family. I was ready to believe that it wasn’t all real.”

  “So you ran off with Dylan?”

  “No. I moved in with my roommate from college, Dylan’s sister, Serena. I knew Dylan, became good friends with him, but I never cheated on your brother. Never. Not even when I believed the marriage was a mistake.”

  “How does he know you won’t just up and disappear again?”

  She didn’t have to think about her answer. “Because I’m not going to.”

  She wouldn’t be leaving Lee again. Her heart wouldn’t survive it.

  Joanna’s appraisal meant so much to her. She held her breath until Jo sighed and opened her arms. Sam walked into them.

  “Welcome to the family. I mean it. It’s nice to have another sister.”

  It was everything Sam wanted and still she felt a pause at the mention of Lee’s fami
ly. Was he ready this time to bring her into the other part of his life?

  ****

  Another night on the cottage’s lumpy mattress and his back was screaming for his body conforming ultra-comfortable foam mattress at home. Sam rolled over and laid her head on his shoulder and he told his back to man up. He’d rather have Sam and a backache than an empty plush bed.

  “You’re not sleeping.” She said the words into his side.

  “No, but I’m enjoying having you cuddled up to me. Go back to sleep.”

  She stretched and brought her leg over his. “Can’t. I keep thinking about my sister. She left a message on my phone, thanking me for clearing out my room and taking those boxes she left. The Realtor put up the sign a few days ago. She really wants to dump the house as quickly as possible.”

  “Think she needs the money?

  “No, at least not for herself. She mentioned my father’s second mortgage and needing to make enough to cover bills. Actually, that was my plan to help with the renovations at the bar but it sounds like there won’t be anything left over from the sale.”

  “I told you, Sam. I’ve got it covered.”

  “I know. I just wish I could do more. Maria’s food is unbelievable and their menu will be an incredible asset to the bar. It’s a great plan.”

  He smiled at the memory of Sam eating one of the Seafood Shack’s messy lobster rolls. After dropping several pieces of lobster on her plate, her dress, and the ground, she gave in and ate it with a fork, moaning about how good it was the entire time.

  “I don’t have any money, Lee. I can’t change that overnight. I want to do it right though. We’ll find a way for the bar to pay you back on whatever you put into it. I can live off of my savings so I can go without a paycheck for a while.” Sam snuggled in closer, muffling the last of her words.

  He stopped rubbing a hand down her back and pulled away. “I don’t like this. I don’t like talking about our money as if they’re separate entities. We’re a married couple, living as a married couple. You understand the concept of what’s yours is mine, don’t you? It’s not my money going into the bar, it’s ours.”