I know Jeremy well. And while my sister's ex is terrified of Owen, he's too much of an egotistical bastard to let her go without more of a fight.
"Does Jeremy know you're here?" I ask Gracie.
"Nope." She pops the P in a beautiful show of snark and defiance. "And he doesn't know Owen moved here either, so I should be safe. I'm going to change my number anyway. Just in case he grows a set of balls and thinks he can take on Owen."
I laugh at the notion. Our brother isn't the kind of man you take on. Not unless you want to end up in the hospital. Or the mortuary.
"Now it's your turn." Gracie looks straight at me. "What brings you to Willow Creek?"
I take a moment to figure out how much I want to tell her, but in the end, I decide that the truth is probably best.
"You know Chase and I separated, right?" I wait for my sister to acknowledge she knew before continuing. "Well, I needed a change of scenery. Owen made some offhand comment about how much Annalee loves this place, and I figured I would give it a shot."
"Okaaaay.” She drags the word out like she’s not completely buying that. “But why a pub?"
Now, that I don't really have an answer for, so I merely shrug my shoulders. "I wanted an adventure, and this place was empty,so I figured why the hell not. I didn't buy it with the intention of owning a pub. That came after I spoke to Ang."
When Gracie tilts her head at me like she doesn't understand, I offer some additional explanation. "I had no idea what I wanted this place to be, so I asked Ang his opinion when I hired him. I didn't want to compete with the diner, but the town doesn't have a bar or anything, so we settled on a pub. That way we could still sell food, but it won't be competition."
"We?" Gracie almost sounds jealous when she asks.
I guess I could see how that would sound sketchy to my sister.
"We as in the pub. Not we as in Ang and I. He's merely the contractor."
I watch as relief clouds her eyes, and I know in that moment that this isn't just some fling for my sister. This is the real deal.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
GRACIE
"Okay, yeah, that makes sense." I clear my throat and my mind of the little green monster that tries to make an appearance. I have no reason to be jealous of my sister's friendship with Ang. It's a job to him.
But I was once a job as well.
I shake the thought away. Even if I don't know Ang that well, I know my sister. And Ang isn't her type. Plus, I don't care what she says about her and Chase. That man is the love of her life, and there's no way she’s getting over him anytime soon.
"I better get back. I need to grab Everly," I tell the room at large without looking at either of them.
"Did you stick her with Owen or Annalee?"
It feels good that Ang doesn't ask where I left Everly, but rather with whom. It shows that he trusts me to make the right decisions by her.
"Annalee. When I left, they were coloring at the reception desk. She must've known I would bring Everly there eventually, because she was prepared."
"I guess I need to get over there and meet Annalee at some point," my older sister remarks.
"You're going to love her,” I assure my sister. “Honestly, she's perfect for Owen. A little quiet at first, but she has no issue standing up to him. Besides, she doesn't judge my T-shirt obsession, so right there she has my devotion."
Annie laughs and shakes her head. "I'm so used to you wearing them, I didn't even notice today's until you said something. Nice one, by the way."
I glance down at the cute raccoon lying sideways across my chest. Today's shirt says: “When night falls, I get trashy.” Considering what Ang and I did last night, I feel it is entirely appropriate.
Smiling at my sister, I say, "I do what I can to make people's day." I turn to Ang. "Got a few minutes to walk back with me?"
With both a nod and a smile, he places his hand on my lower back and leads me out. "I'll be back soon," he hollers over his shoulder to my sister.
"So I take it you didn't need to meet with your foreman?" I ask as soon as we step onto the sidewalk.
