“Yo, Dec!” Brennan shouted over the music to his other brother dressed as Batman. He jerked his chin at the women.
“I’ve got them,” Declan said. He steadied the women as they flopped around like fish and escorted them towards the exit. The scantily clad nurse pouted over her shoulder at Brennan and whined, “Aww, can’t we stay with you tonight?”
“Nope.”
He wasn’t in the habit of taking patrons upstairs to his two-bedroom apartment above his family’s Irish pub, The Lucky Irishman. And he wouldn’t make an exception for her. He was nothing like his old man, who for sure would have taken her up on her offer.
Sean Jr., his father, walked in through the swinging doors from the kitchen with an enormous birthday cake for Errin. Brennan strode to the sound system to switch songs while Errin’s brothers walked in behind Sean Jr. singing ‘Happy Birthday’ while popping confetti all over the place.
Yeah, fuckin’ great.Some time around Fourth of July he would still find those motherfuckers in a glass of wine somewhere. He searched for Bunny, as her family nicknamed Errin after the Energizer Bunny.
She danced on top of a chair, her body curving to the upbeat music. When the rest of the pub started singing along, Errin jumped off the chair on a high-pitched squeal and ran like her arse was on fire.
“I can’t believe it! You’re really here!” she shrieked. Her brothers had surprised her by flying in from New Jersey.
She jumped into the arms of her oldest brother, Calum, and the rest of the Walshes joined in on the reunion huddle. She hiccupped while crying and clung to them like it was the last time she’d ever hug them again.
But Brennan wasn’t mistaken. His brother Duncan had described Errin as an ‘angelic spitfire’ after first meeting her. Under her sweet and innocent shell lurks a girl who swears like a sailor and talks before she thinks.
She even sets his brother Ronan in his place with confrontational conversations and stupid jokes. A slight smile tugged his upper lip,and he shook his head.
About an hour later, he leaned in over the bar to decipher another slurred order. “And one Ssseaa Breeezz.”
He nodded at the guy and picked up his credit card from the oak bar. Errin caught his eye when her fine arse sashayed through the pub and stopped four barstools over to order.
His coworkers Tori and Jessica were in charge of that side of the bar. He ignored Errin while she swayed to the music with her eyes closed, singing along with the music.
She had surprised him tonight by turning up in a cute black ballerina outfit instead of some overly sexy costume. Her long honey colored braid kept sliding over her right breast, grazing her nipple repeatedly and making it stand out like a sore thumb against the shiny fabric of her outfit. But he wasn’t going there.Hell no.
Shewasn’t his type.
Sure, Errin was hot. A professional dancer with a body to show for it, and not to mention those beautiful aquamarine doe eyes and long, warm blonde hair. But that mouth on her? Within the first thirty seconds in meeting her, he concluded they would never be a thing. Or even friends.
“Hi Tori. Can you get me a round of tequila shots?” Errin shouted over the pumping music. “And do one with me!” Brennan looked at that luscious but loud mouth that never stopped talking. Often yapping about stupid things he didn’t have the time for. Stupid things he wasn’t even remotely interested in.
He guessed their eleven-year age difference made it so he couldn’t relate to her half of the time. Or perhaps it was for the lack of trying.
He’s determined to stay away from that cluster fuck. She was the youngest Walsh sister, and he wasn’t about to get involved with the sister of Kayla and Kate.
They might date his brothers Duncan and Donovan, but the Walsh-Mills connection would end right there. It would get messy the moment things would end between him and Errin. Probably sooner.
Tori walked over to his side of the bar to grab the tequila bottle and caught him staring at Errin.
“Pfff. Black Swan… thinks she owns the place…” Tori muttered under her breath.
“What’s that?” Brennan said as he walked by to grab the ice bucket near Tori’s feet under the sink. They were almost out of ice and he needed to fill this spare bucket.
“Hmm?” she asked like she hadn’t heard him.
He had no time for this and left Tori standing there. While he was filling the ice bucket, Tori passed him to stand behind the register where she handed over the pin device to Errin.
Errin pulled her cellphone from her outfit where it rested over her breast. She took her card from her phone case and placed it in the pin device. Tori was making Errin pay for her drinks, even though he’d instructed the staff that Errin’s drinks were on the house tonight since it was her birthday.
He stepped up and snatched the pin device out of Errin’s hands before she’d confirm her payment.
“What the fuck?” Errin said. Her narrowed eyes met his and in their stand-off, she ignored his outstretched hand to return her card. He raised a brow, and she shook her head.
“Drinks are on the house, Errin. Happy birthday,” he said.