Finn’s hand went to my side, and he leaned in closer. “Just getting the whiskey.”
“I see that.” I slid sideways, ducking beneath his arm and trying to ignore the hammering pulse throbbing behind my eyes. I scanned the bar, the tension in my shoulders drawing them up. No Tammy or any of her friends. Other people sat there, because I couldn’t tell them to leave the table open when we were at capacity.
There was not a single gray or silver head in the entire pub.
Hours later, still with no Tammy, the crowd thinned down to a more manageable level. The bell rang less often, but we’d served more tonight than we had since St. Patrick’s Day.
By ten-thirty, even the people enjoying the patio came in and said their farewells.
“Hell of a night.” Finn stopped beside me, his shoulder pressing into mine.
I nodded, arms crossed and gaze locked on the booth, the absences haunting me. “Hell of a night.”
Ronan moved past us, slapped Finn on the back hard enough to knock him forward a step, and grinned. “Let’s close up.”
“Yeah, Finn. Help Ronan close up.” I popped him in the ass with a twisted up towel.
He jumped and yelped. “I’ll pay you back for that.”
“I hope you do.” We were alone in the pub, so I let down all my barriers, and popped him again. We had plans to celebrate once we finished up the night. Even if the whole thing had been a disaster, we were going upstairs to celebrate the conclusion of Nana Maeve’s will.
My throat tightened.
Finn snapped a towel at me. “You’re messing with the wrong man, love. I’m a master at the wet towel snap.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that because you run around the fire house spending all your time perfecting it?” Declan rolled his eyes and started putting chairs away.
Benny had closed the kitchen hours ago, so we finished the cleanup in record time.
Ronan hit the patio light, turning off the string lights outside and leaving us in darkness with nothing but the light from the stairwell to guide us.
I took it all in one last time.
“You okay?” Finn leaned on the bar, one hand stretched toward me.
I took it and let him guide me toward the stairs. “Yeah. I’m good. A little sad. Overwhelmed. All the things, but kind of in a good way.”
There was no way he understood all the things I felt, and he didn’t try to placate me with empty words. Instead, he dropped his arm over my shoulders and squeezed.
Declan did the same from the other side. “Maeve would’ve loved it.”
“Yep.” I laughed, and for the first time tonight, it came out genuine. The ache in my chest remained, but the two married together, coexisting in a way I hadn’t expected. “She would have said it was all her idea. Claimed all the credit.”
“Absolutely.” Ronan took the key from my pocket and slid it into the knob he’d reinstalled after taking it off.
31
FINN
We walked into Bree’s apartment together, arms slung around her body and shifting around so no one had to let her go.
Ronan kicked the door shut and let out an explosive sigh.
I dropped onto the couch, pulling Bree down with me. “You know what you did tonight?”
She eyed me, then leaned her head back to watch Ronan, who’d taken four glasses from the cabinet and poured equal measures of whisky into each. He carried them over, handing them out one by one.
“What did I do?” Bree took her glass, her fingers trailing over Ronan’s arm. “Other than run out of beer on tap and break a glass.”
