I took a deep breath.“Right.It’s been hard for Mom.Much more than either of us expected.”
“Was his death expected?”
I nodded.“Cancer.We thought the treatments were working, but it somehow spread.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand.“Say no more, Ivy.Cancer fucking sucks.”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” I muttered.
“Yeah.Why did Jeff call you adorable?”he asked in an exceedingly gentle tone.
I shrugged.“Mostly how I am with Mom.”
As much as I loved thinking about Mom and Jeff, it had a somber feel I didn’t want to mar my time with Ryan.
I picked up a french fry and dipped it in ketchup.“If you and your brother live at the clubhouse, where does your sister live?”
He swallowed a bite of his sandwich and sipped his drink.“She just finished her degree this past spring.Her campus apartment lease ended.She’s recently moved into a double-wide near the bar.”
“Is she renting?”I asked, paused, and held up a hand.“Sorry, don’t answer that.I slipped into work mode.”
He grinned.“It’s okay.Yeah, she is renting because she wants to wait until we know where the second location is going to be.”
“Second location?”I asked.
He nodded.“The goal is to build enough business at the bar that allows us to invest in another spot and have three to four bars in town.If they all do well, then Mick wants to get into franchising.”
I forked up a bite of my grilled chicken.“That’s ambitious.”
As I chewed my food, he shot me a look.“What were really you going to say?”
“Thatiswhat I meant to say, though I left off the part that it’s also very risky.The restaurant business is in general.”
“That’s for sure,” he muttered.
“Is there a time line for this?And where do you and your brother fit in?”
He stared down at his drink for a beat, then met my gaze.“If we get the number of locations we need to make franchising possible, I’d be going to different markets and scouting locations and verifying applicants.But that’s five to eight years down the road at least.”
I nodded.That was most likely the real reason he didn’t want a woman.He’d be out of town – if he even made Florida his home.
I sipped my gimlet.“That’s exciting.”
He shook his head and smiled.“That’s funny because you sound anything but excited, Trouble.”
With a sheepish grin, I conceded the point with a head tilt.“No, really.I would imagine between the three of you—”
“Four of us, Lark’s got a heavy hand in this plan.”
I did a slow nod.“Ah, well, I’m sure you’ll be very successful.”
He polished off his drink and chased it with some water.“Time will tell.Lark’s made it clear not only does the market change, but our goals will change too, with time.”
“Wise words,” I murmured, and put the last bite of my chicken in my mouth.
Mom and Jeff had given me similar advice after I passed the real estate exam.
I swallowed my food and glanced around the tavern.“How did you find this place?”
