Something to Prove (24 page)

The shower refreshed him some, but he was dog-ass tired. Mike was behind the bar and
Erin served a couple at a table. It was Sunday and business was slow. Maybe he should
talk to Elizabeth about whether it was worth staying open on Sundays. It made sense
during football season, but he didn’t know if afternoon baseball would be a big-enough
draw. And after how busy they were last night, they could all use some time off.

He checked the register and the stock at the bar and nodded at Mike. Then he went
over to the bowling alley, where he found Bianca strolling down a lane and sliding
a ball for a perfect strike.

His loud applause made her jump.

With her hand over her heart, she said, “Thanks, but next time, don’t sneak up.”

“I didn’t realize I was sneaking. I thought the repairmen would still be here working.”

“Nope. They just left, so I figured I’d give it a test run.”

“That was some fast work.” He looked up at the monitors and saw that Bianca had logged
her name in and it showed a strike.

“We still need to get the floors waxed, but most of the equipment here was in good
shape. It just needed to be updated.” Her ball had returned, and she turned away from
him to roll it again.

This time she left a seven–ten split.

“No way I can pick that up.” She went behind the counter and reset the machine before
turning it off. “When do you think we’ll open?”

“We’re waiting on the order of shoes. The floor guys are coming tomorrow. So maybe
later in the week? I’ll talk with Elizabeth and see what her plan is. She always has
a plan.”

“How is she? You said you had to pick her up from the hospital. Did something happen?”

He shook his head. Elizabeth would freak if everyone knew her business. “No. She was
sick, but she’ll be back in a couple of days.”

He followed Bianca out and locked up. She had agreed to come back and supervise the
floors getting done during the day, so all Colin had to do was show up and let them
in. Since the locks had been changed, he didn’t want too many people having access.

The thought brought him back to the damage yesterday. Had it really only been a day?
His body felt like many more than twenty-four hours had passed. Sitting at Elizabeth’s
desk, he put his feet up as he had seen her do many times. The position was surprisingly
comfortable.

He leaned back and closed his eyes. Just as his mind began to turn off, his phone
rang. He jolted up. No, not his phone, the business line.

“Hello, Brannigan’s Sports Bar.”

“May I speak with Elizabeth Brannigan, please?”

“She’s unavailable right now. I’m her partner, Colin. Is there something I can help
you with?”

A throat cleared on the other end. “Partner? This is her brother, Keith. Do you know
when she might be available? She’s not answering her cell phone.”

Shit. He had to think fast. After what Elizabeth had told him this afternoon about
her family, he knew he’d just stuck his foot in his mouth. “Uh . . . I’m not expecting
her to be in until tomorrow. Can I take a message?”

He didn’t want to have to deliver a message. He didn’t want to admit to Elizabeth
that he’d told her brother they were partners.

“No. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

Keith hung up, leaving Colin feeling slightly relieved.

Elizabeth caved and spent an extra day in bed, catching up on sleep and eating mushy
food. Colin managed to both keep an eye on her and run their business. For the first
time in weeks, she’d been able to relax.

Now, though, she needed to get back to work. She had to check on the progress of the
bowling alley and figure out a plan for the grand reopening. She also had to nag the
insurance company about getting her a check for the damages after the break-in. Colin
wouldn’t let her pay him back out of her own pocket, but she knew he couldn’t afford
to foot the bill for everything he’d replaced while she’d been sick.

Dressed in her new business attire of jeans and a T-shirt, she felt comfortable. Colin
had already left; he’d been keeping longer hours than she did. She packed her meager
possessions and locked up his apartment. Continuing to stay when they hadn’t been
sleeping together sent the wrong message, no matter how easy it felt. She didn’t want
to assume she belonged living in his space. She was better and should get back to
her own life.

Colin had left her car parked in the same spot when they came from the hospital. After
not driving for three days, the car felt awkward, but it only lasted a moment. She
relaxed her body and drove to the bar. She parked on the bowling alley side and went
to check on the progress there. The door was propped open, allowing a breeze to blow
through. Her eyes adjusted to the dim interior and she looked around. The place looked
clean if not inviting.

“Hello?” she called out, hoping Bianca and Colin hadn’t left the place unattended.

Bianca shot up from behind the counter. “Elizabeth. Hi. Colin said you were going
to be out for a few more days.”

Elizabeth figured that was what Colin had hoped. “No, I’m back. Where are we with
getting this place going?”

Bianca held up a shoe. “Shoes just arrived, so I’m organizing back here. Computer
systems are up and running beautifully. Floor guys are coming out to wax later today,
so we won’t be able to do anything for another day or so until they’re done.”

Elizabeth stared and barely prevented her jaw from dropping. She’d expected everything
to come to a halt while she’d been out.

“Is there a problem?”

“N-no,” Elizabeth stammered. “Good job. It looks like Colin definitely hired the right
person.”

Bianca beamed. “Thanks.”

Loud pounding and thunking against the wall stopped both of them.

“What is that?” Elizabeth asked.

Bianca shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it’s Colin.”

A moment later, a sledgehammer broke through the wall behind what used to be a bar
of some kind.

“What the hell?” Elizabeth edged closer.

Two more smacks and Colin’s face poked through the hole. His wide, silly grin filled
the space, and her heart gave a little jump.

“Ha! I knew it,” he said.

“Knew what exactly?” she asked, trying to muster the anger she knew she should feel.

His face twitched. “Elizabeth? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to . . . Hold
on. I’m coming around.”

She crossed her arms and readied for a fight. At the moment she wasn’t quite sure
which fight would happen first: the one where she argued the necessity of her presence
or the one about him busting a hole in the wall.

As Colin strode through the door, she turned to Bianca. “Why don’t you take your lunch
break? I think Colin and I have some things to discuss.”

Bianca’s eyes widened, but she nodded and hurried out the door.

The happy grin on Colin’s face had been replaced with grim irritation. Maybe even
anger. Like he had a reason to be mad? He was the one who’d just put a hole through
her wall.

“What are you doing here?” they both asked simultaneously.

Elizabeth’s jaw clenched. “I’m here to work. I’m trying to build and run a business,
not tear it apart.”

“No, I mean why are you here now? You’re supposed to be recuperating.”

“I’m fine. The doctor said I could’ve returned to work yesterday, but I didn’t want
to deal with your nagging. Now, please explain why you’re busting a hole in the wall.”

Concern shadowed his face. “We knew the two businesses shared the basement, but I
figured that there had to be more than one way to connect them. I couldn’t imagine
them running as two completely separate businesses. After poking around in the storeroom,
I noticed that one wall seemed newer than the rest.”

He stared at her like that explained the hole.

He smiled and grabbed her elbow to lead her to the wall. “When they closed up the
bowling alley, they threw up a sheet of drywall on each side. These spaces are supposed
to be connected. That’s why our storeroom is so small. It’s not a storeroom; it’s
a small kitchen. There’s a gas line for a stove and a hookup for an exhaust fan.”

“Why is this important? We have enough work to do.”

“Don’t you get it? We can really increase our profits if we can offer food. Both the
bar and the alley would share the same kitchen. It encourages people to stay longer
if they can have a meal. Nothing fancy. I’m thinking burgers, wings, and nachos. Maybe
hot dogs for kids.”

His excitement was infectious as usual, but she grasped at rational thought. “First,
we agreed a long time ago that all decisions were supposed to go through me. Second,
adding a restaurant, even small scale, is a huge headache. We have to get permits
and inspections and then hire more people in the hope that it will increase business.”

“How many bars have you gone to that don’t offer food?” He didn’t wait for an answer.
“I know I’m supposed to talk to you first, but I got excited and broke through. Even
if you don’t want to offer a food menu, connecting the two businesses is the right
move.”

She waved a hand at him, knowing his argument made sense. “Whatever. How long until
you get the wall fixed?”

“That’s a day’s worth of work. Then we can walk from one side to the other.”

“Fine. Before you do anything else, we need to check into permits and inspections.
I can’t afford to be shut down over something stupid.” She walked behind the counter
and picked up where Bianca had left off organizing the shoes.

He followed her, and she could smell sweat and man combined with dust from the wall.
What should’ve had her wrinkling her nose made her want to step closer.

“Go back to my place and get some rest. We have this handled.” His palm landed on
her hip.

When she brushed it aside, his print left a mark on her jeans like she’d been branded.
She didn’t tell him she’d taken her things from his apartment. She certainly didn’t
need a babysitter. “I need to keep working. This is too much for you to do alone,
and every day I’m gone slows things down.”

Slows down her return to Florida.

The words were unspoken but hung between them.

She hefted shoes from the box and placed them in cubbies according to size. “I’ll
call Keith and ask him about the food issue. He’d have the background on it, even
if it has been years.”

Something flashed across Colin’s face, and his gaze darted back to the hole in the
wall.

She ignored the nagging feeling his look gave her and stacked more shoes. “Have you
heard from the police at all?”

“Yeah. They don’t have any leads, but whoever broke in didn’t really break in. He
came in through the bowling alley and came up through the basement. They need to know
who might’ve had access to keys for the bowling alley.”

This was all her fault. She hadn’t thought to change the locks on the bowling alley.
She’d been so overwhelmed and distracted. Well, no more. “I’ll check with Keith and
see if he has any clue, but it’s probably hopeless, given that the place had been
pretty much abandoned for years.”

Tension curled in her stomach. So much for trying to stay calm and let the medicine
do its work.

As if sensing her discomfort, Colin moved close again. “Go home and rest. We can handle
this.”

“I’m not leaving.”

She sounded like a bitch and she knew it. He didn’t deserve it, especially after he’d
gone out of his way to take care of her and the business. She looked up into his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m just not myself yet.”

“Bossy is who you are. Since when do you apologize for it?” He cupped the back of
her neck and pulled her into a kiss.

She melted against him, tension unfurling and disappearing. This man was too good.
She didn’t even want to push him away, which told her she was getting in too deep.

He pulled away and she forced herself to focus.

“Better?”

Damn him. He knew she was, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

He smirked when she didn’t answer.

“So what’s with
Highlander
?”

The change in subject threw her. “Huh?”

“For the last two nights
Highlander
was cued up to watch on my TV.” He was studying her face, making her uncomfortable.

“I like it. I used to watch it with Keith. It kind of became our credo.” Again, she
faltered under his scrutiny and talked more than she preferred, but she knew Colin
would expect more explanation. “From the time I was in high school, Keith and I have
been in competition. At first Dad thought it would just push us to better ourselves,
but it became more.”

She couldn’t talk about how ugly it had gotten, especially with her ex-boyfriend Matt
in the mix, or why they no longer went head to head.