“If not the O’Brien men,” she said to Laila, “what is it you think that you and I have in common?”
“We’re both at loose ends,” Laila said readily.
Moira listened in amazement as Laila described the way she’d quit the family bank after a feud with her father over her relationship with Matthew.
“So, here I am, having spent my entire life in banking, and now I’m running this little one-woman accounting office that’s so dull it bores me to tears. Even with the inn as a client, I have barely enough work to fill the hours of a couple of days a week. I’d done this before and it hadn’t seemed nearly so awful, but after having a taste of working at the bank for a short time in a challenging capacity, it feels as if my life is moving backward.”
“But your father came to the wedding,” Moira recalled. “Haven’t you made peace? Couldn’t you consider going back to work for him?”
Laila shook her head emphatically. “We’ve reconciled, but I can’t go back to the bank. I’ve accepted that my father will never really believe I belong there. Maybe it’s sexist, maybe it’s just an inability to see the extent of my competence.” She shrugged. “In the meantime, though, I’m floundering a bit, trying to find my way, to come up with a new direction, the same as you are.”
“It’s a bloody awful feeling, isn’t it?” Moira said, delighted to have found someone with whom she could honestly commiserate without feeling like a failure.
“Bloody awful,” Laila agreed. “But here’s the thing— I know one thing for sure. It’s not up to Matthew to fill that void for me or to point me in the new direction. Our relationship is separate.”
Moira regarded her with sudden understanding. She could see exactly how she’d managed to twist it all together. “So you’re saying that if I want this job at the bar, if I think it would fulfill me in some way, that should be entirely separate from Luke, even though it might bring us into daily contact?”
“Exactly,” Laila said. “Take the job, if you want it, and the legalities for you to stay here can be worked out. At the same time, if you and Luke build a relationship, if the love between you continues to grow, well, that will just be a further blessing, won’t it?”
Moira gave her a considering look. “Perhaps you’re the one who should be joining Luke behind the bar. You seem to have a real knack for giving out practical advice that makes total sense. Until this minute, I’d just worked myself into a frenzy expecting him to give me a package deal that would guarantee personal and professional happiness until the end of time.”
Laila laughed. “Who knows, though? Something tells me you could get both. If Luke’s anything like his brother, he’s an excellent multitasker. And despite Mick’s ridiculous split with Megan for a number of years, it’s evident that the men in this family tend to mate for life.” She grinned. “Once they get around to it, anyway.”
Her assessment made Moira smile. “What about you, though?” she asked Laila. “Do you have any idea about what you want to fill the void in your life?”
Laila rested a hand on her stomach, though it was far too soon for any evidence of a baby bump. “I think perhaps fate has stepped in,” she admitted, though she still didn’t sound entirely happy about it.
Moira frowned, wishing in some ways they could trade places. “A baby is a blessing, especially when the parents love each other, as you and Matthew do.”
“I know that, and we wanted children from the beginning, but I wanted to be settled as me first, if you know what I mean. I wanted a professional identity—the same as Abby and Bree and Jess. I spent most of my life envisioning myself as president of the Chesapeake Shores Bank. With that dream over, I need a new one.”
Moira thought she detected something in her voice that Laila might not even be aware she was conveying. “Is that because you really wanted to be president of the bank, or because you thought you should? Was it more about impressing your father, pleasing him? Or perhaps trying to prove something to your friends? Believe me, I can understand how spending time with such high achievers like the O’Briens can influence a person. People have seized on my sudden display of photography talent and taken off like a runaway train, thinking it’s the answer to my prayers.”
Laila looked surprised. “And it’s not? Truly?”
“Maybe it is,” Moira said. “But, to be honest, I don’t think it’s where my heart is. It’s just been a pleasant change to think I have such a grand option and to see something other than disappointment in my grandfather’s eyes.” She shrugged. “I suppose I’ll know with more certainty once I’m back in Dublin and have worked all those jobs Peter’s lined up for me. Then I’ll know if photography is truly satisfying to me or if I was only relieved to finally have a goal of some kind.”
“And you think the bank was something I’d built up in my mind, maybe even because I knew my father wanted Trace to take over, not me?”
Moira glanced over at her. “Is that possible? Sibling rivalry can be a powerful thing, especially if you felt you were competing for the approval of a parent.”
Laila looked genuinely surprised by the suggestion. “I’ve never looked at it that way before. And the truth is, I always chafed at the kind of person I felt I had to be—rigid, controlled, predictable—in order to hold that position. I’ve been much happier since Matthew lured me into breaking free of the way I saw myself and lived my life.”
“So maybe you haven’t lost as much
