Page 52 of Temporarily in Love

I tapped my fingers against the counter as I thought. “I was talking to Gemma, and maybe we should wait until Old Man Sullivan comes out.”

Dad chuckled. “I love that beer name!”

Mom smiled as she stood beside me and looked at the logos again. “It’s the harp, hon. It’s the best one.”

“I think we switch everything over now, and when the beer’s done, we’ll do a big release in conjunction with the brewery. It helps both our businesses.”

Dad pinned me with a suspicious look. “Honey, I love that you came here to help, but you’re not going to stick around waiting for that. You have to go home and get a new job, right?”

I took a sip of my coffee, hoping he wouldn’t badger me about this again. Dad kept asking how long I planned to stick around, whereas Mom kept sending me links to houses for sale and apartments to rent in Drakesville.

“Maybe she wants to stay, hon,” Mom said with a twinkle in her eye.

She had been mentioning that a lot lately. It didn’t help that I was spending so much time with Declan, and she was getting ideas that we were back together. Although, the idea of going back hadn’t been appealing to me. My focus was on getting the bar back on its feet and nothing else. I hadn’t given any thought to what I wanted to do past that.

“Lila?” my dad asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t have a job right now, so I’m focused on helping you.”

I wasn’t going to tell him I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a lawyer anymore. Or that I was seriously considering buying the bar. I had a lot of capital. I hadn’t been investing my money other than purchasing my big house out West. Buying the family bar and making sure it was running smoothly was the perfect solution. But I wasn’t sure my dad would go for it. The stubborn Irish man was too proud.

Mom squeezed my arm. “We love that you came home to help us, but you have your own career to worry about.”

I waved her away. “Mom, I worked eighty hours a week with nothing to show for it and a fiancé who cheated on me. I’d rather be here.”

Dad frowned. “Okay, but take the day off. We appreciate you picking up the slack, but that’s not your job.”

“Fine,” I muttered and walked into the kitchen to finish my coffee. Dad went to get a shower, but Mom slid into the seat across from me at the table.

I ignored her while I drank my coffee and typed out an email to Felix.

Hey,

FINALLY have an answer! We’re going with number two, and keep the text as is. We’re going to do the name change, so we’ll want the new logo on the new menu design. Love it so much, Fe. Thanks so much. Send me the invoice for the rest of the work, and I’ll pay it right away.

-L

I shot off a text to Declan.

ME: Felix will send you the hi-res of the logo soonish I hope.

DECLAN: What did we land on?

ME: Harp and the name change.

DECLAN: Perfect. Want to have lunch with me today?

ME: Sure, I’ll see you later.

“How long do you think you’ll be here?” Mom asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe through Halloween, so another couple of weeks.”

Mom smiled. “You love Halloween!”

“The kids asked if I’d take them trick or treating, and Gemma’s putting together a big Halloween Party at the brewery.”

I was excited about the party at the brewery. Despite Declan calling her such a PITA, Gemma and I had become fast friends since I’d been here. He said she was annoying, but I thought he loved her like a little sister. She could be quite excitable, but that was her charm.