Chapter Eleven
Harrison tossed his chips into the pile and leaned back in his chair, waiting for his friends, and his grandmother, to make their moves. He stole a quick look around the room, hoping the other patrons of the pub had gone back to their own conversations. They had, for the most part, though there were still far too many people throwing looks his way.
And that damned pool board was still up behind the counter. Looked like things were getting interesting, too. Nicole had managed to last far longer than most people had bet on. The odds were increasingly favorable that she’d go the distance. He was almost ready to join the pool and make his own bet.
Cole, Chris, and Brooks tossed in their chips and looked at Granny. Each face showed varying degrees of nervousness. Harrison had to bite back a laugh. His Granny was a lot even for him, and he’d been dealing with her his whole life. Watching his friends try to navigate her foggy waters was more entertaining than he’d expected. And she seemed to be having the time of her life. Definitely a win-win for the Troy family.
“What are they waiting for?” she asked him, nearly shouting as if he were the one hard of hearing.
“For you to place your bet,” he said.
“My bet, eh?” She grabbed a handful of chips and tossed them into the pile. “Used to be a time all the laddies wanted me for was my body. Now all they want is me chips. Damn ungrateful lot, is all I can say.”
Chris choked on the beer he’d been drinking and grabbed for a napkin. Brooks grinned with delight at Granny, while Cole didn’t seem to be sure if he should laugh or pretend she hadn’t said anything.
“You all right there, mate?” Harrison asked Chris.
“Yeah. Peachy.”
Harrison smiled at him and then turned back to his grandmother. “You sure you want to bet that much, Granny?”
“I’m sure. I may be old, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how many disks to throw in the kettle, and don’t you go forgetting it.”
“Of course not, Gran, but it is a rather sizeable bet. Are you sure you can cover it?”
“Of course not. That’s what you’re for.”
Harrison chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Toss a few more disks in for me, my lad.”
Harrison obliged with another chuckle.
“Chips,” Chris said, apparently trying to be helpful.
“What?” she asked.
“They are called chips,” he said again, a little louder.
“Gerry!”
The bartender looked up. “Yeah?”
“The Yank wants some chips.”
“Coming up!”
He shouted something over his shoulder to the folks in the kitchen, and Chris frowned, looking between the two of them. “What was that?”
“You asked for chips. He’s put in an order for you.” She turned to Harrison. “Honestly, my boy, I turn my back for one second and yer halfway across the world dragging home strays that beg for spare food like a squirrel on a nut farm. And us just done with tea.” She shook her head at Chris who gave him a look so full of confused exasperation that Harrison broke down laughing.
“No worries, Gran. I’ll keep them in line.”
“See that you do.” She slammed her cards down on the table. “Show me yer cards, me lads!”
A chorus of groans sounded as they each got a look at the full house she’d been holding. Even Harrison’s eyes widened, and his grandmother cackled with glee and then slammed her cane on the table to help gather up her chips.
“You didn’t tell us your dear old grandmother was a card shark,” Brooks muttered to him.
“Nobody likes a poor loser, laddie,” Granny said, sweeping the chips into a pile in front of her. “I’ll trust you to deliver my winnings in a prompt fashion, Harry.”
“How’s that assistant of yours working out, Mr. Troy?” someone called from the other side of the room.
“Assistant? What assistant?” Granny asked.
A woman at the next table said, “The young woman he brought with him.”
“Ach,” Granny said, pushing her chair back. Harrison hurried to help her up. “She’s no assistant. She’s his fiancée. What’s all this assistant nonsense?”
There was a chorus of whoops and groans and a flurry of activity broke out. Gerry brought the board out and more bets started flying. Harrison let out a long breath.
“They’ve all gone daft,” Granny muttered. Then she shook her head. “I’m off to see how that wonderful fiancée of yours is getting on with the dress fitting.”
Harrison hoped he managed to keep the scowl from his face as his grandmother tottered off in search of Nikki and the ladies. The last thing he wanted was another reminder of the ridiculous farce he was playing out. No, scratch that. The absolute last thing he wanted was a reminder in front of his so-called friends who had now been reminded of the ridiculous farce and appeared to be practically salivating for details.
He sat back down and gathered up the cards for another shuffle.
The silence around the table was almost deafening, especially compared to the cacophony going on around them. He glanced up to see every one of his friends staring at him with their best give-me-all-the-gossip faces.
He scowled at them. “You already know everything worth knowing.”
“I very seriously doubt that,” Cole said. “How in the hell did you leave the States, the most confirmed bachelor I’d ever met, only to end up engaged by the end of the plane ride?”
“We are not engaged,” he said, shuffling the cards through his fingers with a bit more force than necessary.
“I don’t know. Your granny seems pretty determined to see you married. And what the hell is all that?” Cole asked, pointing at the crowd surrounding Gerry and the pool board.
“It’s nothing.” Harrison didn’t really hold out hope that they’d buy that, but he had to try.
Brooks leaned over to the table behind them and asked them. It took less than three seconds before every one of his so-called friends jumped up from the table to run over and add their names to the board.
“Bloody bastards, every one of you,” he said when they returned.
“Oh, come on,” Brooks said. “You didn’t really expect us to pass that up, did you?”
Harrison released a long breath. “Hoped, yes. Expected, no.”
He drained his beer and raised his empty glass in the air so Gerry would bring him a refill.
He brought it over almost immediately, along with a large basket which he plunked down in front of Chris.
“Your chips, sir.”
“My what?”
The bartender pointed at the pile of thickly cut French fries.
“What…?” Chris asked again.
“Thank you, Gerry,” Harrison said.
The bartender waved and meandered away, stopping at a few tables here and there to chat and make notes on a pad. More bet changes, apparently, since he beelined straight for the board. Chris turned to Harrison, eyebrows raised in question.
“Chips,” Harrison said. “At least what we call chips here.”
“But I didn’t want…” He sighed. “Screw it. Since they’re here…” He grabbed a few and took a bite. “Good chips.”
Harrison shook his head and started dealing.
“Okay, now that Christopher has his snack,” Brooks said, with a less than subtle eye roll, “I believe we were discussing your nonexistent fiancée who is apparently, at this moment, being fitted for a dress?”
“It’s a dress for the wedding reenactment from that…that…book that is apparently going to be the bane of my existence.”
“You know, you really should give that whole thing a chance,” Cole said, snagging one of Chris’s fries. “Kiersten got me watching the show, and I gotta tell you—”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” Harrison glared at him, but Cole just chuckled.
“Seriously, what is your deal with it?”
“You mean aside from the fact that once our guests show up I’ll be forced to dress like one of the damn characters every day because my family added that to the brochure without telling me? I also now have to lead a group of rabid fans through the highlands of Scotland all summer when I could be lounging by the pool on my terrace listening to the serene sounds of millions of people power walking down the sidewalks.”
“Scotland is beautiful,” Chris said.
Harrison snorted. “So is that snake-infested island off the coast of Brazil. Doesn’t mean I want to spend my summer there, either.”
“So why do the tour yourself? Hire someone else to do it.”
“I will going forward. But for the first trip, I need to be there personally and make sure everything runs smoothly. We’ll be visiting the estates of some family friends, and since this new venture is what I’m hoping will revive the business, I’ll feel better being on-site making sure things go well. That does not mean, however, that I am happy about it.”
Cole nodded slowly. “All right. And where does your new fiancée fit into all this?”
“She doesn’t,” Harrison said. “Nicole is here as my assistant only. What my family chooses to believe is entirely up to them. I’m only going along with it for my grandmother’s sake, and once we leave here, the charade is over.”
“You aren’t planning to see her again at all after this summer?” Brooks asked.
“No.”
He looked up and caught the glances the boys were passing back and forth. “What?”
Brooks shrugged. “Nothing. Just that women have a way of sneaking up on you. I mean, look at me. One day I’m partying on my yacht, and the next I’m married with a baby.”
Harrison glared. “I’m thrilled for you. What does that have to do with me?”
“Maybe nothing. Maybe something. She just seems like a great girl, is all.”
“You guys don’t even know her. Neither do I really.”
“That’s our point,” Cole said. “Maybe you should get to know her. We’ve only seen a little, but so far, she seems amazing, and more than up to the task of dealing with you and your family. Seems like someone who deserves a chance.”
“Besides,” Brooks chimed in, “the odds seem to be in your favor.” He pointed at the pool board and Harrison scowled. Brooks just grinned at him.
“Even if I wanted to strike up a relationship with her, and I don’t, it would never work out.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” Cole said.
“Sure I can,” Harrison said. “Aside from the fact that she’s already found herself another job so she can stay here, in the village I can’t wait to escape from, she also finds my family entertaining and a joy to be around. A long-distance relationship with someone so obviously in need of psychiatric care isn’t exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Pfft,” Brooks said. “One, your family is a total delight…”
“You’ve only had them in small doses. A lifetime of it is another story.”
“And two,” Brooks said, ignoring that comment, “it’s the twenty-first century. Distances aren’t as long as they used to be.”
“The key word in all that is distance,” Harrison said. “Being thousands of miles apart most of the time isn’t good for any relationship, I don’t care how many FaceTime sessions you have.”
“It’s not ideal, maybe,” Cole said. “But you guys seem great together. It’s at least worth exploring. I’m sure you can work something out…”
Harrison let out a long sigh, trying to keep his cool. “I swear, our poker games have gone from a relaxing night out with my mates to a giggle and gabfest with the ladies over tea. Can we please talk about something other than my love life?”
Chris raised his glass. “Agreed. Far too much woman-talk going on in here.”
Cole and Brooks turned to him. “Speaking of…what happened with you and Cass? I thought she was finally going to make an honest man of you,” Cole said.
Chris looked at Harrison. “Help.”
He snorted. “Sorry, mate. I’d rather they interrogate you than me. Besides, I’d like to know the answer to that, too.”
He sat back and listened while Chris tried to fend off his friends’ rapid-fire questions about the demise of his relationship with Kiersten’s BFF, truly grateful they had moved on from questioning him. Mostly because he didn’t have any answers.
Technically, nothing was going on with Nicole. It was a farce. But when he was with her…it didn’t feel so fake. He’d never felt so simultaneously happy, terrified, and confused as he was after a few minutes with her. She was somehow everything he’d ever wanted and everything he’d always been trying to get away from all rolled into one. And how would that work? Even if they were on the same continent?
He looked up to find all three men staring at him. “What?”
They laughed. “See?” Brooks said. “He’s a goner.”
Cole laughed, and Chris gave him a sympathetic look. Harrison scowled at them all. “Bite me.”
They laughed again, and he drained the rest of his glass. “Besides, being with Nicole would mean ruining our tradition.”
“What tradition?” Cole asked.
“You married Kiersten. Brooks married one of Kiersten’s best friends. Chris…” Harrison glanced at his friend. “Sorry, mate, but Chris was, until recently, in the longest relationship of his life with another of Kiersten’s best friends. Nicole doesn’t fit the bill.”
The sound of female laughter echoed from the doorway moments before the women themselves entered. Granny, talking animatedly to Leah, while Kiersten and Nicole followed behind. Arm in arm, heads together, laughing like they’d known each other all their lives. They waved to the men and then cozied up in a booth.
“You were saying?” Cole said.
Harrison swallowed hard. “Shit.”