The pub had never looked so good. After Dan fixed the pipe and the team pumped out the water, Ronan worked like the devil to gut the storage room and rebuild it with materials that would survive another flood if it ever happened again. Fresh paint gleamed on the walls, and new shelving lined the space in neat rows. Even the floor looked better than ever.
Everything had come together and the renovations were still on schedule. The pub’s revenue had increased and the regulars seemed happy with the changes. We even had new customers trickling in from neighboring towns.
And the guys. Good god, the guys were incredible. Being with them was amazing. Every single time. They never stopped making me feel special, and the connection we’d built over the last few months ran deeper than anything I’d ever experienced.
Finn made me laugh until my sides ached. His easy affection and constant warmth chased away the shadows that crept in when I thought about Mom and Nana. Ronan’s quiet strength grounded me and the fact he built beautiful buildings out of nothingreminded me that broken things could be fixed. And Declan’s presence behind the bar, the way he anticipated what I needed before I asked, made me feel seen.
I’d never had one of those things in any relationship, much less all three.
It should’ve made me happy. I should’ve been content with the four of us falling into place, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of the walls closing in.
The whispers didn’t help. They’d started a long time ago but grown in intensity this last week. I’d been so caught up in everything at the pub that I’d been able to ignore them.
But last week, I’d caught Mrs. Miller and her daughter with their heads together near the bathroom, their voices low but eyes cutting to me every time I walked past. They stopped talking the second I looked their way, both suddenly interested in the menus they’d seen a hundred times.
Two days later, I’d overheard Tom Finnegan’s wife asking Tammy if it was true that I was “playing the field.” Tammy had pursed her lips and answered, but I hadn’t been able to hear her response. The look in her eyes said she might not defend me, despite being one of Nana’s best friends.
Yesterday was the final straw when a group of women I’d gone to school with came in for lunch. One of them, Sarah, asked if I was dating anyone. Her smile had been too sharp and knowing, and when I said no, she’d exchanged a look with her friends that made my skin crawl.
They didn’t believe me. Worse, they thought they’d figured out that I was moving from one man to the next, sampling Clover Hill’s most eligible bachelors like a bar lined with fine shots.
The irony would’ve been funny if it didn’t make me want to throw up.
Declan had told me about his mistake with the plumber. He’d apologized so much it made my heart ache and I’d had to physically stop him from talking. It wasn’t his fault. We’d both let our guard down and that had made us careless.
The damage had been done. Dan was our regular plumber. He came in the pub twice a week. He might not be high up on the gossip chain, but the whispers had intensified after he fixed the pipe, and the looks everyone sent my way grew bolder.
I’d tried to keep my head high and ignore how the conversations stopped when I entered a room. I’d been through it all before, and pretending I didn’t notice the way people watched me gave me back a semblance of power.
They would find something else to gossip about, and I’d be forgotten. But I was running out of energy to pretend.
Which was the reason I sat next to the open window at the fire escape at dawn with Declan, Ronan, and Finn around me. “We need to be more careful.”
Declan drank his coffee, eyebrows pulled low. “How?”
“We’re already doing it.” Finn ran a hand through his hair. “People need to stay the fuck out of our business.”
“They won’t.” A steady ache throbbed behind my eyes. It was too early for this, but we didn’t have any other choice. “Every time one of you touches me, or even looks at me, they start all over again.”
“You’re asking us to not touch you.” Ronan ground out the words between gritted teeth. His hands rested on his thighs, the fingers curled tight into his palms.
I rubbed my forehead. “Yes. No more stealing time together during the day. Especially if anyone is in the pub, or the door is unlocked. It’s too risky. We get too carried away.” I was trying to protect them too. Didn’t they see that?
My heart cracked, sending pain shooting through my chest and intensifying the headache I’d spent the last hour nursing.
“I’m sorry.” My voice almost broke but I managed to keep it under control.
“Don’t.” Finn took my hands in his. “Don’t apologize for the actions of others.”
No more lingering looks. No more touches that lasted a second too long.
Finn pulled me into his arms and kissed my temple. “We’ll be more careful.”
Ronan ran a hand down the back of my head. “We’ll figure this out, Bree. You’re not alone anymore.”
His promise almost broke me.
Declan scooped me from Finn’s arms and kissed my forehead. “It will all blow over.”
