Wild Chance (Wilder Irish #13) - Mari Carr Page 0,25

a point in her favor, since every member of the Collins family had done nothing but sing their praises the last two months.

She hadn’t seen the final results of their efforts on the pub, but Sunnie had called yesterday and declared it was all perfect and the Morettis were nothing short of genius.

Emmy was pulled from her thoughts by a knock at the door.

She took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Well,” she murmured. “Here goes nothing.”

She pulled it open and smiled when Joe Moretti said, “Hello there, gorgeous.”

Emmy took the hand he proffered, suddenly certain that tonight’s date was going to be a good one.

Finally.

Padraig grinned when his grandfather bellied up to the bar in his usual spot.

“I’d like a pint of Guinness, my boy,” Pop Pop said with a huge smile on his face.

Padraig reached for one of the shiny, new pint glasses, emblazoned with the Pat’s Pub logo, and filled it from the tap. “Your first beer in the new and improved pub,” he said, sliding the glass across the counter.

Pop Pop lifted it in a silent toast and then took a long swig. “Ahhhh. Best beer I’ve ever had.”

Padraig grabbed a second glass, filling it with just a few sips of their Irish champagne, then tapped his pint against Pop Pop’s. “We’re back,” he said softly.

Pop Pop grinned. “I never doubted it for a minute.” Then he glanced down the bar at Emmy’s empty seat. “Where’s our girl?”

Padraig liked the way Pop Pop referred to Emmy as theirs. His beloved grandfather had claimed Emmy as his own since the day she first walked into the pub, referring to her as “my girl” initially. Somewhere over the past six months or so, Padraig noticed the pronoun had turned from “my” to “our.”

“She’ll be here,” Padraig reassured him. “I invited her Sunday night. And confirmed last night by text.”

“I was pleased to see Gio remembered to include our reserved nameplates,” Pop Pop said, running his finger along his name before picking up a napkin to wipe away the smudge he’d left behind.

“The nameplates were the first thing I mentioned when we talked about the design for the rebuild. Couldn’t have anyone sitting in yours or Emmy’s spot.”

Pop Pop ran his hand over the smooth countertop, a gesture Padraig had repeated himself more times than he could count. He swallowed heavily when he saw a tear in his grandfather’s eye.

“I didn’t expect it to be so perfect…didn’t dare to hope…” Pop Pop’s smile was wide when he said, “We got our pub back, Paddy.”

Padraig, unable to speak past the lump in his throat, merely reached over to pat Pop Pop’s hand and nod.

“Feels like coming home after years away,” Pop Pop added.

“Goddammit,” his father, Tris, muttered from behind him.

“Language,” Pop Pop said with a chuckle, and just like that, the emotional moment lightened.

“Sorry, Pop,” Tris replied by rote.

It was a standard interchange between Pop Pop and basically every single member of the family, all of them big fans of cursing. The offender would swear, Pop Pop would utter that lone word, and the apology would follow. His grandfather’s continual admonitions never had a lasting effect. Pretty much every member of the Collins family—with the exception of Pop Pop—cussed like a sailor.

“Something wonky is going on with the Bud tap, Paddy,” Dad said. “Bend down there and see if it’s connected right.”

Padraig squatted down to check. “Oh yeah. One of the tubes came loose. Hang on a second.” He reached back to reconnect it.

He was just rising when he heard his father say, “Fuck.”

Padraig glanced back down to make sure he hadn’t screwed something else up, but everything looked fine.

That’s when he realized Pop Pop didn’t say “language.”

Instead, what his grandfather said was much worse.

“Shit.”

Padraig stood up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, but his father and grandfather were both looking toward the front entrance.

He turned just in time to see Joe Moretti and Emmy walk in together.

Joe took her coat, hanging it on a hook near the door, then placed his hand on her back to guide her farther into the pub.

Padraig saw red, clenching his jaw so tightly, he was surprised his teeth weren’t shattering. There was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

Joe and Emmy made their way over to the bar. She stepped up next to Pop Pop and gave him a hug.

“Welcome back, Mr. Collins. Paddy told me a bit about your trip. Sounds like it was amazing,” she said. “You and I are going