She came to the bar, took the glass from Jax, and downed the liquid like a shot. She gasped as it probably burned her esophagus. “Damn Seamus.”
“That was…something.” Jax’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“Another day in paradise.” I picked up my rag andwiped the counter like the last twenty minutes hadn’t just happened.
Jax chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Darlin’, I don’t know how you do it.”
I gave him a pointed look. “I have a very high tolerance for eejits.”
He grinned, raising the glass of whiskey he’d poured for himself. “Cheers to that, then.” He leaned against the bar and looked at me. “And here I thought small towns were supposed to be boring.”
That’s probably what all those developers thought—that we were boring and useless. So why not just raze everything and put up a parking lot or some fancy bar where the drinks cost a fortune and have ridiculous names likeSex on the Beach?
“Hey.” He lifted my chin.
I shook my head and tried to clear my mind of sad, bitter thoughts. “Stick around,” I suggested through a constricted throat. “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”
“I plan to, darlin’ Dee.”
CHAPTER 25
Jax
Ididn’t want to leave.
It was as simple—and as complicated—as that.
I’d been in Ballybeg for over four and a half weeks now. In that time, this tiny, muddy, windswept village had worked its way under my skin.
The pub. The people. The long walks through fields that looked untouched by time. I hadn’t expected to enjoy any of it—but I did.
I was a city boy. I didn’t do countryside. Not where you couldn’t find a Michelin-star restaurant or a proper bottle of Burgundy. And yet, I didn’t miss any of it. Not with Ronan feeding me.
That might’ve been a problem if not for Mickey, who had me in the best shape of my life.
I thought I’d miss getting on the green, but I didn’t.
Was I done with golfing? Already? I knew players reached a point where they felt they were ready to retire—but I was too young for that, wasn’t I?
Or maybe it was Dee. She was the reason I didn’t miss my previous life.
But real life was knocking on my door, loud and insistent, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
I held her close to me when I told her, “I have to go.”
We’d just made love, and as always, I felt like I’d won a championship. This feeling of victory every time she gave herself to me was intoxicating.
She nuzzled my chest. “I know.” She waited a moment. “When?”
“In a couple of days. I have a meeting with one of my sponsors in London.” The company was bringing their CEO to London, so I couldn’t just not show up.
Her shoulders stiffened just slightly, but then she relaxed around me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Did you cheat on your ex-girlfriend?”
I pulled away so I could look at her face. “What?”
