Becoming the Whiskey Princess (32 page)

It’s been fuckin’ fantastic.

All I need is for Amberlyn to be happy and things will be excellent. Which, I think I got myself a plan for that. Heading out of the boardroom, I start toward my office. My da offered me his office, but I like mine. Probably ’cause it’s big enough for Kane and me. Finding my best mate sitting behind his desk, I send him a nod before shutting the door.

“How’d it go?”

“Bloody good, he starts next week and had some great ideas. I’m happy,” I say with a grin as I wake my computer up to send some emails.

“Awesome, Fiona said that he was excited and was gonna take the job. Even Sheila was supportive. He must be bored or something.”

I laugh. “Yeah, he just said that to me.”

“Grand, this will be good for him then.”

“And the distillery.”

“Oh, for sure. Smart man, he is.”

“That’s for damn sure,” I agree, hitting send on an email to my da before opening another. Even though my da isn’t here, I still try to keep him in the loop with this. Just in case I get stuck, he’s always up to date and can help me. “Let me run something by ya real quick.”

Looking up at me, his brow rises as he nods. “Yeah?”

“Amberlyn’s been on me about something, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“All right…”

“She doesn’t want to live at the house,” I explain, and even he is surprised by that.

“Really?”

“Yeah, she hates it. My mom is always walking in on us and shite. She doesn’t like people waiting on her hand and foot, as she says, and she just isn’t happy.”

Kane nods slowly, a worried look on his face.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head and shrugs. “Nothing.”

“No, tell me. What?”

He lets out a breath and looks down, messing with the pen in his hand. Finally, after a moment, he looks up at me. “You’re not gonna dump her, are ya?”

I can’t help it. I laugh. Shaking my head, I meet his worried gaze. “Not in a million years.”

“Oh,” he says, letting out a long breath. “Thank God!”

I’m still laughing when Kane joins in with me as I lean back in my chair, kicking my legs up on the desk. Calming down, I look back over at him.

“All I saw was ya going back to the way you were before her, and I really don’t want that guy back. I’m happy, and I want ya to be happy too.”

A grin pulls at my lips as I nod. “I know, and I am happy. But I can’t be when she isn’t. I don’t know how to make her happy, short of getting us a place.”

“Yeah, but is that what ya want?”

I shake my head. “To be honest, no. But,” I say and then pause, thinking for a moment. “I think it was yer da who told me once that marriage is about compromise. Remember that time yer ma painted the cabinet pink, I think, and he lost it. But she said it was what she wanted, and even though it was visibly not something he wanted, he let it be.”

Kane laughs as he looks up at the ceiling. “I do remember that. Crazy coots.”

I nod in agreement. “Sure, but I figure I won’t be happy unless she is happy. Living in my home is what I thought my married life would be, but I’m not marrying someone who wants that life. She just wants me.”

“Which is what ya wanted from the beginning,” Kane adds, and I couldn’t agree more. “Ya always wanted a girl who didn’t want this life, and ya found her. So don’t expect her to live the life you have.”

“No, I know,” I say with a nod. “I mean, she doesn’t want that part, the house, the service, and parties, but man, Kane, she loves helping people.”

He grins at me as he nods. “She’s a great lass, Dec. Ya did good.”

“I did,” I agree, my heart fluttering in my chest like a damn schoolboy. “Did ya see she started a coat drive for those kids?”

“I did and then that yous two is gonna build that library.”

“Yeah,” I say with a grin. “She wants to work there once it opens.”

“She’d be good at that. She’s a nerd at heart.”

I laugh. “Yeah, when she isn’t at school or work, she’s either in my bed or reading.”

He just grins at me as he nods, and he doesn’t have to say anything. I know what I need to do. “So I have to find somewhere, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But maybe ya can find somewhere and let it be a compromise, still?”

“Yeah? How?”

“Get a place on the grounds or have something built for ya.”

What a great idea! Kicking my legs down, I smack my desk before pointing over at him. “You’re a fuckin’ genius, Kane.”

“Eh, stop. Yer makin’ me blush,” he teases as he turns to his computer. “Your ma won’t like it.”

“I don’t care,” I say. “It isn’t about her; it’s about Amberlyn.”

When I get back to the house, I feel good.

I spent most of the afternoon on the phone with different contractors and have someone who wants to meet with Amberlyn and me to look at designs for a house. He’s gonna draw up something nice, he says, and I believe him. I’m pretty sure my family has used him before, but first I have to talk this over with my da.

Walking toward my da’s study, I knock on the door and wait for him to tell me to come in. Opening the door, I find my ma is in the room too. Well, I guess I’m gonna tell them both, then.

“Declan, sweetheart,” she says as I come in, falling into the chair beside her.

“Hey Ma, Da,” I say, sending a nod to him.

“Got your email, good work. Michael will be good for us.”

“I agree,” I say, resting my ankle against my knee.

“Did you get the email from production?”

I shake my head, pulling out my phone. “No, when?”

“Just a minute ago,” he says, a grin on his face. “Cathmor goes to stores and pubs in three months.”

Grinning, I nod. “Bloody fantastic,” I say, my heart pounding in my chest. Pride is seeping out of my pores, and I can’t wait to tell Amberlyn. First though, I have to get this taken care of. “I didn’t come to talk about that, though.”

“No?”

“What is it? Are you okay?” my ma asks before running her fingers through my hair lovingly. Moving away, sending her a sheepish grin, I nod.

“Yeah, Ma,” I say, covering her hand with mine. Looking at my da, I say, “I was on the phone with Mr. Molloy today.”

“Molloy? Why?” my da asks.

“Who’s that?” My ma wants to know.

“Contractor. What do we need, son?”

“A new house,” I say, letting out the breath I am holding as they both stare me down. “There is some land out by the old church and lake. I think I want to build there, if Amberlyn likes it, of course.”

“A house? For what?” my ma asks as my da leans back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Clearing my throat, I look over at my ma. “She ain’t happy, Ma.”

“Who? Amberlyn?”

“Why’s that? Is she not being treated right?” my da asks, and I shake my head.

“No, not anything like that. She just doesn’t want to live here. She doesn’t like being waited on and having my ma walk in on us while we have sex.”

My ma blushes as she looks away, and my da booms, “Noreen, I told ya to stop that.”

“I don’t mean to; it just happens.”

“Every week, it seems,” I supply and shake my head. “But it’s more than that. She wants her own space, and I can respect that.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, but my ma sure doesn’t.

“It just seems a little daft to build a house when this one is perfect for all of us. Take your grandparents’ side; they aren’t here anymore anyway.”

I shake my head. “But they’ll be back once they’re done traveling. I want her to be happy, and for that to happen, I gotta move her to our own place.”

“That just seems a little ridiculous, don’t ya think, Ivor?”

Looking over at my da, I see that he is really thinking it through. His chin is resting in his hand as he moves his thumb along it. Looking up at me and then my ma, he shakes his head. I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until he goes to speak. What he says matters. Ultimately, he owns everything on this land. If he doesn’t want me building on it, I won’t be building. Which means I won’t even be living on my land because I’m gonna give Amberlyn what she wants.

Shaking his head, he holds my gaze. “I don’t, Noreen. It worked for us because my grandparents didn’t live here. We really did have everything to ourselves. It’s different for them, especially when Lena lives here too.”

“Ugh, I don’t know. I think it’s best they live here. In his home,” she says, obviously not agreeing at all.

Sucking in a breath, I want to tell her to be quiet, but when I glance at my da, I feel like he is agreeing with me. I know, even I’m surprised, but his brows are pulled together and he is shaking his head once more. Looking at her, he speaks again, “Yeah, but I get where he is coming from. When you love someone very much, you don’t want to share them or be without them even for a second; I understand that. I’ve felt like that for ya ma my whole life, and I see it in ya eyes when you look at Amberlyn. You love her. Like I love your ma.”

I don’t know about that, I think my love is stronger, but who am I to disagree. Nodding, I say, “I do. I love her and want to make her happy.”

He smiles before leaning back in his chair. “Then it’s settled. If that’s what ya want, I’m fine with it. With Lena moving to Dublin, it will be nice to just be me and your ma.”

While I want to be happy that he agrees with me, I’m a little stunned. “What? Lena is moving to Dublin?”

He nods as my ma says, “Yeah, she needs a change of scenery, from what she is saying.” She waves her hand in a dismissive way. “What she needs is to go find Micah and take him back.”

I stand, kissing her forehead. “Nah, she won’t be happy. Dublin will be good for her. Thanks, guys, gonna go tell my bride the good news.”

I turn to head to the door, and as I reach for the handle, my da stops me. As I turn around, we lock eyes and he smiles. “I’m proud of ya, son. She’s costing me a lot of money, but ya sure do love her and she adds to your life. Which is what ya needed. Someone that constantly adds. Makes it better.”

“Yeah, she does.” I scoff as my grin grows, “And she’s worth every penny.”

Heading out the door, I start to the stairs to go to my room. We have dinner in about an hour, so I can tell her the news and then take her to bed to celebrate.

Good plan, I think.

But when I open our door, she is sitting on the couch with her arms crossed, and I can tell she is seething mad. My brows come together as I shut the door behind me. She is just staring at me, which isn’t like her. She usually greets me at the door, kissing me senseless before asking how my day was. Something is wrong. Very, very wrong.

“Amberlyn, love? What’s wrong?”

Standing up, she puts her hand on her hips, holding my gaze with her angry one. “Oh, nothing much, just had myself a lovely conversation with your mother!” she says, her sentence dripping with sarcasm.

“Ah fuck,” I mutter, falling into the chair. “What happened? I just spoke to her; everything seemed fine.”

“What happened?! Oh, let me tell you!” she yells, and I look up surprised. Amberlyn doesn’t yell at me. Her eyes are filling with tears, and I stand back up, walking toward her, but she puts her hands up. “Not only did your mom know mine, but she dumped her as a friend for your dad.”

My brows are probably in my hairline. “Really?”

“Yes! But that’s not the kicker! She stopped being my mom’s friend because your dad made her.”

Looking at her, I can understand that this is upsetting to her, but I really don’t think she should be hostile and taking it out of me. I didn’t do anything. “I’m sorry, love, but why are ya so mad about this?”

That only makes her madder. “Because she then proceeds to tell me that he changed everything about her. That being an O’Callaghan wife, you lose yourself!”

I shake my head. “That won’t happen to ya. I’ve told ya that.”

“See, that’s what I said, but then she made some good points,” she snaps, and I don’t know why I am being dragged into this.

“Well, please, let me have ’em,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.