The décor here definitely wasn’t to Tammy’s normal taste. Far from it, in fact. But there was something about the beer posters framed on the wall, and the green neon harp — the logo of the Guinness brewery — in pride of place above the bar, that appealed to her. It was… cozy.
There was also an intriguing quotation in gold letters printed onto the bar itself: ‘No man is rich enough to buy back his past’. She wondered which of the brothers had chosen it, and why.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a snort of laughter from the table next to her. Billie had soda all over her top.
‘Young lady,’ her gruff-looking Daddy, Angel, said, ‘what did I tell you about drinking too quickly?’
‘You said not to,’ Billie replied in a small voice.
‘You’re overexcited, aren’t you? To make a new friend?’
Tammy’s cheeks burned as she realized that Angel was speaking about her.
‘A little bit.’
‘Even so,’ Angel said, ‘I think a little discipline is in order, don’t you?’
Billie nodded reluctantly.
Angel rose from his booth and headed for the bar — presumably to grab a cloth to clean up the spilled soda. Tammy took her chance.
‘Billie?’ she asked quietly.
‘Hello!’ the bright-haired Little replied cheerfully. ‘How can I help?’
Tammy winced as Angel glanced back at them, but he didn’t keep watching.
‘I just wanted to ask — is this what it’s like? Having a Daddy?’
A look of amusement played on Billie’s lips. ‘You mean, the discipline?’
‘Yeah. You know — you do something naughty and then your Daddy punishes you?’
‘Well, itcanbe like that. Depends on what rules you set with your Daddy, of course.’ Then Billie gave a wicked smile. ‘Or yourDaddies.’
Tammy was about to pretend to be scandalized, when Conor and Finn appeared, brandishing glasses of what looked like black milk.
‘Ready for an experience?’ Conor grinned. As he gripped the pint glass and offered it to Tammy, she looked at the bulging muscles of his arm — accentuated by the tight black t-shirt he was wearing. Her eyes traced the lines of the complex Celtic knot inked on his taut skin.
‘I think so,’ Tammy sighed. She took the glass, her fingers brushing against Conor’s. ‘Hey — this is pretty!’ she said. In the white foam on top of the pint of beer, there was a picture of some kind of leaf.
‘It’s a shamrock,’ Conor said. ‘Meant to be lucky. It’s one of the first things you learn in bartender school.’
‘You’ve been to bartender school?’
Finn snorted. ‘Course he hasn’t, Tamster — Conor’s allergic to any kind of school at all.’
‘To be fair,’ Conor said, ‘I just put in a lot of practice.’ He licked his lips. ‘Delicious practice.’
The drink smelled… weird. Not like normal beer. It wasn’t like Tammy was a beer expert or anything, but she’d had the odd bottle of Bud and Coors in her time. As she lifted it to her lips, she could see the Healy brothers smiling.
The first taste wasn’t bad. It wasn’tgoodexactly, but the true flavor was masked by just how cold the drink was. It took a moment or two before the real taste came through — a thick, bitter, metallic funk. Tammy grimaced, dreading to think how wild her facial expression must have been.
Conor and Finn both burst out laughing.
‘So, you like it?’ Finn said, through a veil of chuckles.
‘Is it meant to taste like this?’ Tammy asked.