Chapter 12
Elizabeth
Locals packed the bar leaving standing room only, but nights were always like this in the fall.
Nerves pitter pattered inside my stomach. What was I doing? I was about to get up on stage in front of everyone I knew and make a fool of myself, that's what I was doing. Earlier, I'd tried to cajole the questions from Sean, but he refused to give up the goods.
Lots of people had come up to me and asked about my dad but had their eye on my ring. I thanked them for their well wishes and told them he was recovering. Most didn't give a crap about him and just wanted to find out some juicy gossip about me getting married again.
After lunch, Caden had gone to the motel he was staying at on the edge of town to do some work. If anyone wondered why he wasn't staying with me, they didn't ask.
I'd gone back to my apartment to change and then walked along the beach. The time alone gave me too much space to think about the lies I'd told and the crime I was about to commit.
Our kiss played on repeat in my mind, and how my lips tingled when I thought about it. Did it affect him as much as it had me? With the passion behind the kiss, it must have. Or did he render everyone he kissed helpless? I wanted more than kisses from him which rankled me. I shouldn't want anything other than his money and his help with the club.
"You look like you're about to walk to your death." My youngest sister, Beth, stood behind the bar and set a glass of wine in front of me.
Beth was my mom and Sean's daughter, and we resembled one another except Beth's hair was an unusual shade of spun gold.
She shouldn't be serving alcohol because she was only twenty, but she'd grown up in the bar and could always be found doing something be it cooking, waitressing, or balancing the books. Sean had even taught her some brewing techniques, something none of his other daughters had any interest in.
"You know how I hate getting up in front of people." I ran my fingertips up and down the sides of my glass. Knocking back the entire contents for some liquid courage was tempting, but it would probably make me forget what little I knew about Caden.
"Say no. Tell Sean and mom your fiancé doesn't want to."
"Your fiancé doesn't want to do what?" He asked, appearing behind me.
Shivers danced up and down my back. Why did he have this effect on me and why did I let him? My body should know better than to fall for a killer smile and a hot bod. And then there was his accent. Every word he said sounded so freaking sexy. He could recite the ingredients from the back of a beer can, and it would sound like the elixir to life.
He placed a lingering, baby-soft kiss on my cheek and then leaned against the polished bar top.
"Tell our mom and Sean you don't want to take part in tonight's quiz," Beth said.
"Not at all," he said. "It'll be a good laugh if anything."
"At whose expense," I muttered.
"What can I get you?" Beth asked Caden.
"A pint of your dad's finest."
Beth poured Caden a Chocolate Cigar, one of Sean's most popular stouts and set the glass in front of him before moving on to serve other people.
"You're supposed to look happy," he said. "It's our engagement day, and we've put an offer in on a house."
"Happy?" I whispered. "I'm over the moon at lying to everyone I know. And I can tell everyone here is wondering how someone like me ended up with someone like you."
His brow wrinkled. "Stop it, Lizzie. I don't want to hear any more rubbish about me not wanting someone like you. Or how I ended up with someone like you. I thought I made it very clear what I think about you. You're as sexy as fuck. Looks like I'm going to have to prove it to you again and again and again."
There was a twinkle in his eye, and I smiled despite my guilt. Caden Gallagher is not your real fiancé looped around my brain so fast it created a cyclone of words and pulled he'll hurt you into the mix.
Sean tapped the microphone on stage to get everyone's attention. "Thanks everyone for coming. It's a wet one out there so let's get this evening started and forget all about the weather. First up this evening, we're playing Mr. and Mrs. and as I'm sure you're all aware, thanks to Susan letting the entire world know, my beautiful stepdaughter Elizabeth got engaged to Caden Gallagher this afternoon. A whirlwind romance."
A whispered murmur went through the crowd, they all knew what had happened to Eric and me. I forced myself to smile despite dying inside.
"Caden is from my neck of the woods, a bit further South than Donegal, but we'll forgive him for that."
Caden lifted up his glass in salute.
"Up you come, you two," Sean said.
I grabbed my glass and took a gulp. Caden took my hand and led me to the stage, and I prayed no one recognized the fear on my face.
"Caden, you stand opposite Elizabeth," Sean instructed.
In front of each of us were two bar stools with a few sheets of paper and a black marker.
"Three questions for each of you," Sean explained. "Four couples will play tonight and whoever gets the most correct answers wins a slap-up meal at Santino's."
The crowd whooped and laughed. Santino's was the village's one and only pizza joint, and a slap-up meal meant a large pie with two Cokes.
I looked at Caden who, obviously enjoying this, gave me a wild smile. The jerk didn't look one bit nervous. When everyone in town found out we were about to commit a felony, he wouldn't be as cocky.
"No cheating." Sean nodded to Beth who pressed play on some cheesy game show music.
"We'll start with you, Elizabeth. What's the most romantic thing Caden's ever done for you? You have one minute to write down your answer."
My mind blanked. The most romantic thing he'd done for me was the proposal outside of the house earlier.
It was the only romantic thing he'd done for me. If all of the questions were that easy, we would be okay.
I scribbled down, proposing in the rain. I bit my lip and glanced at Caden, hoping to send him my answer telepathically.
He gave me a quick wink and a smile as if to say stop worrying . Why wasn't he concerned about this? The crease between my eyebrows would create a permanent crater in my face if I didn't stop frowning.
"Time's up," Sean said and turned to Caden. "And the most romantic thing you've done for Elizabeth is..."
"Asking her to marry me in the lashing rain outside of our dream house."
If punching my arm in the air wouldn't have been a dead giveaway, I would have.
"Let's see your answer, Elizabeth."
I grinned and turned over my sheet of paper.
"One point to Elizabeth. Next question. What's Caden's favorite breakfast cereal?"
Since I'd only had one meal with him, that was a difficult question. He looked like someone who took care of himself, so I guessed he wouldn't eat any breakfast candy like Coco Puffs or Fruity Pebbles, but since I didn't have a clue, I scribbled down the dumbest answer I could think of.
"Caden, what's your favorite breakfast cereal?" Sean asked.
"I don't eat cereal, but every morning if I can I have fruit, yogurt, and coffee."
"Your answer, Elizabeth?"
I held up my sheet of paper. "Lucky Charms."
The crowd laughed, and Caden smiled.
I winked at him and said, "I think I'm right since it was your lucky charms I fell for." A cheesy reply for sure, but from the awws filling the room everyone liked it.
"Caden, your turn."
"What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to Elizabeth?"
Why would Sean ask a question like that? Everyone knew the most embarrassing thing that had happened to me. There was nothing more humiliating than having your husband walk out on you because you had no money.
Caden looked at me, his eyes filled with mischief. I smiled and actually relaxed. It would be okay. Whatever he wrote would be funny.
"Elizabeth," Sean said, "What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"
"Tripping over my feet at graduation and hitting my chin on the lectern."
"There was blood everywhere," Sean said. "Is she right, Caden?"
"The first day I met her, she had a sneezing fit and pulled a curtain down from the railings to hide from me." He turned over the paper. "My answer is sneezing."
Everyone, including me, laughed.
By the end of our round, we had gotten two questions right. We knew next to nothing about each other, and for now, that was okay, because I had three years to get to know him.
Before we got off stage, I took a selfie of us. It was time to create a history, and time to let the world know all about my new fiancé.
****
Caden and I left the bar just before closing time, and he walked me to my apartment building a short five-minute stroll from O'Halloran's.
"That wasn't too bad," he said.
I wrapped my arms around myself to keep out the chill. "I was so scared, but, no, it wasn't too bad. I think they bought it even though we don't know a thing about each other. Now we have to get the wedding over with, and then we should be good, right?"
"Almost. We have to go for the interview and pass that. As soon as I have the green card in my hand, we'll be good."
We stopped outside my apartment building, and I shuffled from foot to foot. Did he want to come inside? Should I ask him? Or did he take for granted he would? He was the one who said we would finish what we had started. Had he meant that or were they just words said in the heat of the moment?
"Well, thanks for a great night. I had more fun that I thought. It was a better day than I expected."
He closed the space between us. "Do you want me to come in?"
"Do you want to come in?" I swallowed hard. Please say yes. Please, please, please say yes.
"I would love nothing more than to come in. We have some unfinished business to take care of, don't you think?"
Not trusting any of the words that would spill out of my mouth, I nodded.