“I was at the house for dinner last Sunday,” she reminded him. “And I stopped by the gallery for coffee with Mom earlier this week.”
He shrugged. “She didn’t mention that.”
Jess studied her father with a narrowed gaze. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you saw me take off from Panini Bistro earlier, does it?”
Mick frowned. “You heard me calling you?”
“They could have heard you in Ocean City, Dad.”
“Well, why didn’t you stop? You looked upset. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.”
“I’m sure Connor and Heather filled you in.”
“They didn’t tell me a blasted thing,” he grumbled. “I think I figured out a few things for myself. You want to tell me if I got it right? Did it have anything to do with Will being there with that woman?”
Jess tried not to let it show that his question had thrown her. “Why on earth would you think that?” she asked, hoping to keep a tremor out of her voice.
She had no idea why seeing Will with another woman had shaken her so badly. In fact, she’d told herself initially that her annoyance had been aimed solely at Connor and Heather. Only after she was well away from the restaurant had she conceded to herself that seeing Will on a date, especially one likely arranged by that online dating service of his, had infuriated her.
She forced herself to meet her father’s gaze. “You do know there’s nothing going on between Will and me, right?”
“Is that so?” he said, sounding skeptical. “I’ll admit it was guesswork on my part, but when I ran the theory past your mother, she didn’t deny it was a possibility.”
“So you and Mom have been speculating about this already?” Jess said, having no problem at all making her tone icy. Just the thought of it chilled her. It was a little late in life for the two of them to suddenly start caring about her feelings.
“I’m worried about you,” Mick said unrepentantly. “That’s what fathers do.”
“You didn’t worry all that much when I was seven, did you?” she said accusingly. “Mom had just left, and you were running all over the country on various jobs. Neither of you spent a lot of time taking my feelings into account back then.”
Mick frowned. “Different time,” he said, not even trying to defend the indefensible. “I’m right here now, and I care about what’s going on in your life.”
Jess knew the only way to get him to back off was to tell him some kind of tale that would reassure him. “Look, Connor and I had words earlier, that’s all. It was no big deal. We’ve been fighting since we were toddlers. We always get over it.”
Mick didn’t look entirely convinced. “And that’s all it was, just a spat with your brother? It had nothing to do with Will?”
“Nothing at all,” she insisted. “Everything’s fine with me. I promise I’ll even be speaking to Connor by the time Sunday dinner rolls around.”
“Okay, then,” Mick said, accepting the explanation with obvious reluctance. “And you’re not interested in dinner tonight?”
“I wish I could, but I don’t like to leave here when we’re swamped. One of the guests might need something.”
He pulled her into an embrace, then kissed the top of her head. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
She let go of her irritation, glad to have the matter settled for now. “I will, Dad. I promise. Thanks for helping out this afternoon.”
“Anytime, kiddo.”
She watched him leave, then breathed a sigh of relief, only to jump when she heard Gail’s chuckle right beside her.
“You fibbed to your daddy,” Gail taunted.
“I did what I had to do to throw him off the scent,” Jess told her. “If he had any idea I was annoyed about Will, neither one of us would be safe from Dad’s meddling.”
“Are you scared he’d meddle, or are you terrified he might be good at it?” Gail asked. “Meaning?”
“The way I hear it, once Mick O’Brien sets his mind to something, things usually work out the way he intended.”
“My father can meddle from now till doomsday, and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference when it comes to Will and me,” Jess retorted.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t half as much conviction behind her declaration as there probably should have been.
When another week passed without even one date being arranged by Lunch by the Bay, Jess became even more infuriated. It was worse now that she knew it was Will’s company. It proved just how little he thought of her.
She could practically hear his recitation of all the reasons why he didn’t want to match her with any of the men paying for his service. He thought she was flighty. He thought her dating history was too erratic. He knew her too darned well—or thought he did—and didn’t want to risk his stupid company’s reputation by pairing her up with some poor sap.
Just thinking about the way he’d dismissed her made her see red. Add in the fact that he’d never even acknowledged her enrollment in the service and that he didn’t have the courage to return her money, and she was ready to tear into him if they ever crossed paths.
Not that she intended to go looking for him, of course. In fact, it might be best if they didn’t cross paths for months, maybe even years.
And then, long before she’d had a chance to work off her full head of steam, she spotted him in the bar at Brady’s on a rare Friday night away from the inn.
“There he is, the worm,” she grumbled to Connie and Laila as she got to her feet. The two glasses of wine she’d consumed on an empty stomach made her a little unsteady.
“Sit back down,” Connie pleaded. “Dillon Brady may adore you, but he will not be happy if you cause a scene in his restaurant. It’s the classiest place in town. He doesn’t condone bar brawls.”
Jess turned her attention to Connie. “Then Will should leave,” she declared. “He’s scum. He’s impossible. He’s annoyingly judgmental. And he’s a coward to boot.”
“Talking about me, I assume,” Will said, pulling out a chair to join them.
Connie gave him a warning look. “This may not be the best time,” she murmured.
“Oh, I’m used to having Jess take potshots at me,” he responded easily. “It’s what she does whenever she thinks I’m getting the best of her in a discussion. Instead of offering rational arguments, she resorts to personal attacks.”
Jess’s temper kicked up another notch at his thoroughly condescending tone. “We don’t argue,” she retorted. “You’re just plain stuffy and pompous. You utter decrees as if they’re the gospel truth and we mere mortals shouldn’t dare to question you.”
Will stared at her incredulously. “When have I ever done that?”
“All the time,” she said.
“Name once,” he challenged.
Jess faltered and took a sip of her wine. Unfortunately, specific instances seemed to be lost in the depths of her faintly inebriated brain. “I don’t have to. You know I’m right,” she said, proud of her evasive maneuver.
Will, blast him, merely smiled in that superior way he had that always set her teeth on edge.
“Oh, go away,” she said irritably.
“Not five minutes ago I thought you had things you wanted to say to me. Now’s your chance. Go for it.”
“I