She nodded. “Of course.”
“Violet? What’s wrong?”
“Everything’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“What happened?” I asked, dread filling me. Elise reached out and took my hand, squeezing it. I looked at her then and nodded, my shoulders relaxing marginally. I wasn’t alone. She might not be able to hear the other side of the conversation, but she was here for me. It was weird, but I liked it.
“Cameron had a little accident.”
Ice speared me. “What happened?” I asked again.
“It was more his appendix than an accident. Sorry. I’m a little off.”
“Are you okay?” I paused. “Is Cameron okay?”
“Everything’s going to be fine. It literally just happened, and I was busy making sure I got Cameron to the hospital and then calling your other brothers because of work and everything. And now I’m calling you. I’m sorry I didn’t do a group chat or something. It honestly didn’t occur to me. I’m running on fumes here.”
“A migraine? Is it the baby?”
I could feel Elise’s attention on me, but thankfully, she didn’t press. At least, not yet.
“I’m getting a migraine, but my sister is on her way here to take care of Cameron and me. He’s going to be fine, just had his appendix removed. The surgery went wonderfully. He just can’t work tonight, and with me here waiting with him and my sister, that means we’re shorthanded. Beckham and Meadow are out, using their vacation days. I’m really, really sorry to do this, but can you come in and cover?”
I was nodding and then realized that she couldn’t see me. “Of course.”
I looked over at Elise and cringed. “I just need to deal with a few things, and then I’ll be on my way. Anything you want. Do you need me to come to the hospital, too?”
“Maybe later. Or you can come visit him at the house. He’s not going to have to stay long because everything was pretty routine. It was just a little scary at first,” she said, her laugh a bit hollow.
“What else can I do?” My heart was racing, and I felt like I needed to reach out for something, but my family wasn’t there. And I wasn’t there for them. But I would be.
“I just need your help with work. And you’re doing it. We’ll all meet with the family and annoy Cameron to death later when we make sure he sits down and doesn’t hurt himself.”
“We’re going to do the same thing with you and the baby,” I added dryly.
“Perhaps, but that’s fine.”
She smiled. “I’m sort of used to it at this point. Now, I need to head out. I see Sierra,” she said, speaking of her sister, Aiden’s wife. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Of course.”
I hung up and looked at Elise.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, searching my face.
“My brother Cameron had to have his appendix out. And while he’s going to be okay, his wife is pregnant and gets severe migraines. She needs to relax. That means her sister, my other sister-in-law, has to be with her. It’s all very confusing, but in the end, I have to cancel tonight and head to the bar to help out. I’m so sorry.”
Elise shook her head, and my hopes dropped. “Do not be sorry,” she said quickly. “Do you need an extra pair of hands? I’d love to see the bar that you grew up in.” I didn’t correct her on that. “I can help out where I can. We can make it a date that’s a little different,” she said, laughing. I just smiled, wondering who the hell this girl was and how I could stop myself from falling too quickly.
“You know, I think I’d like that.”
We headed to the car and talked about school and majors and nothing too important because I think Elise knew that I needed to focus on driving and not on the fact that my brother just had surgery and I hadn’t known. I didn’t blame Violet for not contacting me sooner. She had been a little off and had contacted everyone individually as quickly as she could. It’d all happened so fast, and I understood. But I was still a little scared. And I would be until I saw Cameron for myself.
It didn’t take too long to get there, and we pulled into the parking lot behind the bar. Real estate space was hard to come by in downtown Denver, but we took advantage of a small employee parking area.
“Okay, here we go,” I said with a laugh.
“Why do you sound like you’re sending me to the guillotine?” she asked dryly.
“You’re about to meet some of my family, and this might be a little bit of an awkward first date.”
She blinked, her face going pale. “You know, I didn’t think about that. I was thinking more about the bar, not the fact that your family works here.”
I cringed. “I can get you a rideshare home right now if you want.”
“No, we’ll make this work. It’ll be unique. After all, we sort of already slept together, so I guess we’re starting whatever we’re doing backward.”
I laughed. “There was no sort of about it, Elise.”
“Touché.”
The Connolly Brewery looked like an Irish pub in downtown Denver. The family had started it years ago, and it was slowly becoming a staple again.
The family had put money, time, and love into everything. And, thankfully, people were coming back in droves. I loved it. I just hadn’t expected to be here tonight.
“Oh, this is wonderful,” Elise said as we walked into the brightly lit dining area. Everything was shiny wood and a little classier than a stereotypical pub, but it was still great.
It was like a second home to me. Or maybe a fifth at this point.
Brendon was hiding behind the bar, scowling, and I held back a smile.
“Why are your lips twitching?” Elise asked.
“That would be my brother, Brendon. He hates bartending, and according to our regular bartender, Beckham, he’s not very good at it.”
“I heard that, asshole,” Brendon muttered.
“Aiden’s in the back. Harmony will be helping me.”
“Oh, thank God,” I said, and he flipped me off. The regulars at the bar laughed, as did Elise.
“You’re lucky I like you, kid. And who’s this?” he asked, his gaze brightening.
“Hi, I’m Elise,” she said, waving. Brendon nodded.
“I’m Brendon. I know Violet called you in, but we didn’t know you were out on a date. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Elise said, and I nodded. “I’m here to help. Just let me know what you need.”
“We need a waiter.”
“I can help carry food or something,” Elise said, shrugging. “I may as well. I don’t want to sit around doing nothing.”
Brendon met my gaze, smiling.
“Okay. That sounds like a plan. We could use the help.”
Elise smiled at me, and something twisted inside. I thought I knew what it meant.
Hell, this girl surprised me at every turn. While this wasn’t exactly what I had imagined for our first date, it seemed there was no going back.
And I liked it.
Chapter 8
Elise