“Why are you hiding over here?” Jess asked. “You and Luke haven’t had a fight, have you?”
“No, but he’s looking after a million-and-one details. Rather than letting me help, I seem to annoy him by asking what I can do.” She shrugged. “So I’ve done whatever I’ve noticed that needs to be done and now I’m biding my time till the doors officially open.”
Jess laughed. “Pay no attention to Luke. That’s the O’Brien independent streak talking. Don’t take it personally. We all get a little crazed when we have something major on the line. You should have seen me the night the inn opened. I was a nervous wreck. I would have alienated a saint. He’ll calm down once the rest of the family gets here and the invited guests begin to pour in, proving that this pub was a brilliant idea.”
Moira met her gaze. “It really is going to be a huge success, isn’t it?”
“I certainly think so. And I heard the band you chose tuning up. They’re perfect for an opening night. It will set the tone and lure people into coming back anytime music’s on the schedule. No one will be able to resist such a lively atmosphere. I’m so glad he hired them for tomorrow night’s official opening, too.” She looked at Moira. “Your idea, I assume. I imagine he was worried about the expense.”
Moira grinned. “Yes, I managed to convince him that it would be shortsighted not to let the general public get its own glimpse of the atmosphere we’ll be promoting, from food and drink to music.”
“Well, they sound fantastic,” Jess said.
“That’s what Nell and I thought,” Moira said, relieved to have their vision supported.
“Why don’t we sneak over to the bar and get something to drink?” Jess suggested. “Luke’s standing over there, and despite whatever he said earlier, I think a glimpse of you might calm him about now. He’s looking a little frantic.”
“It might make more sense to open the doors and let the rest of the family pour in. They’ll calm him more than I will.”
Jess smiled. “You’ve honestly no idea of the power you have over my cousin, do you? He adores you. I have to admit that at first none of us could see it, but now that I’ve gotten to know you, I do.”
Moira chuckled at the candid comment. “You’re referring to my charming behavior when you came to my grandfather’s at Christmas. I’m surprised you didn’t have me put on a watch list to keep me out of your country.”
“And risk Luke’s hating all of us?” Jess asked. “No, we gave him credit for seeing something in you we’d missed and gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
They were almost to the bar when the door opened and a tall, willowy, blond beauty walked in as if she belonged there.
“No way!” Jess said, momentarily frozen in place.
Moira stilled beside her. “Who is it?” she asked, though if memory served her correctly, she thought she already knew.
“Kristen Lewis. And trust me when I say she does not belong here. She can’t possibly have been on the guest list.”
Jess was obviously about to bolt in her direction, but Luke got there first. To Moira’s relief, he didn’t look any happier about Kristen’s arrival than Jess had. Putting a soothing hand on Jess’s arm, she said, “Maybe we should join them, but only if you can keep your temper in check. Let’s not start out the night with a scene, if one can be avoided.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Jess muttered. “But we are definitely going to join them, if only long enough to kick her sorry butt right back out the door. She needs to be gone before Susie and Mack get here.”
To be honest, Moira was less concerned about Susie’s reaction than she was about whatever hold this woman might still have on Luke. She was gorgeous and clearly predatory. Moira had recognized the type instantly. She’d met her share of them over the years, clinging possessively to men in the pubs where she worked. Often they were staking a claim to perfect strangers, men they’d stumbled into and were determined to hold, if only for the night.
As she and Jess neared, Moira heard Luke quietly trying to reason with her and Kristen just as stubbornly resisting his suggestion that she leave.
Suddenly feeling fiercely protective of her own turf, Moira slipped her arm through Luke’s and beamed at Kristen. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Moira.”
“Ah, the Irish holy terror,” Kristen said, her expression smug.
After all her advice to Jess about behaving civilly, Moira found she was barely able to hold on to her own temper, even as Luke stepped in with a sharp warning.
“Enough, Kristen!” he commanded. “Please don’t make this any more awkward. There was a reason you weren’t on tonight’s guest list, and I’m certain you know exactly what it was.”
Kristen gave him a defiant look. “Is this really about poor Susie?” she inquired, then turned her arch gaze on Moira. “Or don’t you want your little friend here to know just how close we are?”
Even before Moira or Luke could reply to that, Jess inserted herself into the middle of the fray. She latched onto Kristen’s arm with a white-knuckled grip that was likely to leave bruises. “Say good-night, Kristen,” she ordered in a
