“Quiet now,” Noah said to Daniel, whose heavy boots creaked on the upper step. Laughter boomed down the hall as the band began to play a familiar tune.
“There's no need,” Daniel said. “I doubt anyone will hear anything tonight.” With his father close behind him Daniel lowered his head and snuck down the steep creaking wooden steps. Cool damp cellar air hit his face, suddenly reminding him of a cave he explored as a lad with Sophie and Caitlin hot on his trail.
“As you see, there's plenty of storage space along the walls.” He gestured to the large open space that ran the length of the entire pub
“Wow, certainly bigger than I thought it would be. But is this really the best place to store such precious cargo?” Daniel asked, as he looked around the large storage space and up through the slotted wood where light from the bar above showed through. “While there's plenty of noise going on, I can't help but wonder if it's a bit exposed for such dealings,” Daniel finished as he took a sidestep and got a clear view of Caitlin’s face. She was smiling again. He was surprised to find himself glad for it.
“Yes, well,” Noah said, “sometimes the best place to hide things is in plain sight.” Daniel said nothing, he merely continued to watch Caitlin as she joked with what could only be described as a drunken sailor. His face, from what Daniel could see, was weathered by wind and sea and he seemed to be trying extremely hard to keep and maintain the attention of the sassy redhead.
“Pay attention,” Noah said, drawing Daniel's attention back to him. “It's important for you to know where everything goes. I can't have my Cait being suspicious. Stealing his gaze from her freckled face, Daniel turned back to her father and listened intently as he explained where all the cargo was meant to go. He was shown the books, how he should update the inventory, and how to differentiate between what was legal, and what was less than legal. Daniel closed the book and slid it neatly onto the shelf. He froze. Caitlin stood at the top of the stairs, her eyes full of suspicion.
“What are you doing down here?” she asked, her voice full of accusations.
It was Noah who spoke first. “Just showing him the ropes, child.”
“What is it that you need?” Cait's eyes flickered suspiciously around the room as her sculpted brows furrowed into a hard line showing a striking resemblance to the aging auburn-haired man beside them. “I don't like being kept out of things,” she said after a moment, before turning on her heel and stalking back up the stairs, “And we’re out of Guinness again,” she called as the door slammed hard behind her.
“See now, that's what I'm talking about,” Noah said, with a quick grin and wink to Daniel. “She's got spirit my girl. Fire in her heart and impulsivity that can make or break a business. She needs a man like you in her life to help steady her. You need a woman like her to ignite the fire within you,” he said as he pressed a short finger hard against Daniels’s chest, the same place that his daughter had only an hour before.
“You agree with him, Dad?” Daniel said as he turned to face his father who stood looking amused at his old friend and a son.
“I often do. I would like to see our two families united not just in business, but in blood.”
Daniel sighed heavily, slid his hands into his pockets and looked back up the staircase where she had disappeared. They weren't wrong, she was full of fire and when it wasn't pissing him off, it was intriguing.
8
Caitlin
God,what was it with men?
They felt like they ran every goddamn thing, didn't they? Fuckin’ patriarchal societies.
Caitlin's blood pounded in her ears. She clenched her fists at her side, fighting for composure. Although she worked in a pub, and one could expect to see an angry man or woman ready to explode and throw it all away, she wasn't about to lose her temper. She wasn't going to let them think she was just some hysterical female who needed a man to control her. God, to think she used to have a crush on his stupid face. To think part of her still wondered how his lips would feel against her skin.
“Caitlin.” An irritatingly familiar voice called from behind her. Funny, she hadn’t heard him coming, and it startled her. She whirled around to face him.
“What?!” she snapped, not bothering with niceties.
“Whoa, easy there,” he said, holding his hands up in peace, his eyes caught somewhere between amusement and concern. “You don't need to bite my head off.”
“Don't tell me what I need to do,” she countered, frustrated at his very existence.
“I know it's not what you want to hear, but I'm not going anywhere. I have a job to do,” he said, gesturing down to where their fathers stood below, probably eavesdropping.
“You don't have to do it. You could say no and go back to whatever fancy town you came from.”
“You know very well where I was,” he replied, a smirk spreading across his lean face.
“Fine then,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her body. “Go back to Dublin and leave me be. Let me run my business, the one thatIhave earned. I don't need you, or any man telling me how to run it,” she growled.
Saying nothing, Daniel took a careful step toward her. And her heart pounded harder in her chest. He continued to move toward her, closing the gap between them and pulling her body hard against his. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” she demanded as she slapped a hand hard on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.
“What everyone wants me to do,” he said. His eyes searched her face and lingered on her lips for a moment.
“I hardly think everyone wants you to grope me in a hallway,” she snarled, ignoring the leap of pleasure in her stomach.
“Everyone wants us together Cait,” he said, using her childhood nickname for different reasons. “It's there, under the surface, or sometimes a slap in your face,” he said, glancing down to the floorboards and the cellar below. Cait wondered if they had pressured him into pursuing her. “Well, I have to say I was initially opposed to the idea but, I'm finding it more and more intriguing,” he said, as his eyes did more to her body than his hands ever could.
