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“Oh,” he says, his head bobbing. “The sweet one. Black curly hair.”
“No, that's Shannon. Molly's daughter.”
He snaps his fingers. “Right.” He pins me with a gaze that's surprisingly steady. “You know the people that own the pub?”
I smile at his amazement. “I know the people that own all the businesses in town. Did Shannon make you the special birthday drink?”
“The one with lime juice?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Three of them,” he says. Then shakes his head. “Probably two too many.”
I chuckle. “Molly made that one up. Decided to give it away to the birthday boy or girl. But she made itverystrong and kind of nasty. She didn’t want people to like it. She wanted them to get drunk fast and move their birthday celebrations back home.”
He grins, and it's wobbly and adorable. This man is incredibly handsome, and he always has an intense air about him. He is always in charge, always knows every detail of what's going on around him, and I swear I don't take a breath that he's not aware of, but right now all of his inhibitions are down and he's just happy and feeling good. I like this side of him. Too. I like the other side of him a lot as well. Dammit.
“I'm not sure that's working out for her,” he says.
“It doesn’t always, and it annoys her. But you’re probably too big for just one drink to affect you much.”
He lifts a brow. “I’m too big?”
“You’re…” I stop, realizing maybe I shouldn’t be talking about how big he is. Because that always takes my mind into dangerous territory. “So tall,” I finish weakly.
He laughs. “I can definitely hold my liquor. I’ve been drinking with three crazy Irishmen and a Brit for a decade.”
God, I love his laugh. I grin. I’ve done some research of my own. I know about Colin, the other Irishman besides Cian, and Henry, the Brit. They are Fiona’s and Cian’s bodyguards. It seems all the men are good friends. Three more people he left behind to come to Cara.
Jonah’s studying me. “If youarea pub girl, and you know all the people, why didn't you come down?”
“Torin doesn't think we should be socializing together. People might start talking.”
Jonah shakes his head. “But it wasmybirthday.”
“You didn't invite me.”
He leans in, resting his forearms on the countertop. “Would you have come if I'd invited you?”
Good question. Torin really has tried to make a point that we should not be seen socializing. He thinks it would be too easy for people to make the jump that there's something more going on between us. I think he's overreacting, but it’s fine. We don’t need to socialize now. There will be plenty of that required once we’re married.
But looking at Jonah now, I nod. “I think I would have.”
“Linnea—” He takes a deep breath. Then he sits up straighter. “What is that smell?”
I grin, then turn and take one of the finished trays of cookies from the countertop next to me. I pivot back, presenting them to him, nervous and excited. “Surprise.”
His mouth falls open. “Are thoseWell, Frost Me?” He says the name of the cookie company reverently.
I nod. “Yes.”
“But…how?”
“I called and talked to them. They couldn't ship cookies already assembled. They might have gotten broken or messy. But we arranged for them to ship me the dough, icing, and the other decorations in refrigerated containers. So I baked and decorated them here.”
His eyes move from the tray of cookies to my face.
“These are my favorite.”