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Anyway, I keep telling you, hit the star key and you don’t have to listen to the message.”
    â€œYeah, yeah, yeah. So what are you up to?”
    â€œWorking on the crossword. What’s a six-letter term for a group of crows?”
    â€œDon’t you ever read the news?”
    She took a gulp of coffee. “Sure, on weekdays. Sunday’s my official day off from world chaos. So how’s Melissa?”
    Dev blew out a breath. “She’s fine now but after you called yesterday, she lit into me as soon as she saw I was hung over. Picked a fight and got nasty.” His tone turned grim. “She saw my wallet on the dresser and said I should take her to her favorite stores to make it up to her.”
    â€œOh, real nice,” Mallory said sarcastically. “You ask me, big brother, it’s time to walk.”
    â€œYeah, well.” She could hear a rapid thudding that sounded like he was drumming his fingers. “It ticked me off. As soon as she saw it, she apologized and it was like she was fine. She made breakfast, told me about her day, gave me an ice pack for my head.”
    Mallory frowned. “And that’s supposed to make it all better?” It brought out her protective side. Family took care of its own. “Dev, it’s not like getting married is going to change things. You guys are having problems. If things don’t work right now, they’re not going to later.”
    He sighed. “I don’t know. Sometimes it’s great.”
    â€œYeah, well, is there anything I can do? Do you want to take a break and come up for a visit?”
    â€œThanks, but it’s my problem and I’m the onewho’s got to deal with it. That wasn’t why I called, though.”
    â€œOh, yeah? Then what’s up?”
    â€œWell…” He hesitated. “I was thinking about the bar, after we talked yesterday. Sounds like you’ve got your hands full. It bugs me that I’m not around to help you deal with it.”
    â€œI knew what I was getting into,” she said lightly. “I don’t mind going it alone.”
    â€œI’ve got a better idea.”
    A shudder of trepidation ghosted over her. “Why do I not like the sound of this?”
    â€œRemember I told you about a friend of mine in Newport who runs a bar?”
    â€œYes, and remember, I told you I didn’t want help.”
    â€œJust listen to me. He’s got a bar of his own. I’ve asked him to look in on you, see how things are.”
    â€œNo!” Mallory said sharply. “This is my show, Dev. I can do this alone. I’ve been running bars for other people for eight years.”
    â€œRelax, he’s not going to run things, okay? But he grew up in Newport, his family’s had a pub there for about sixty years. I think he’s worth listening to.”
    â€œI thought you were going to be hands-off and let me run things. Why the sudden change of heart?” she asked, her voice bitter.
    â€œLook,” he said gently, “we both know you had a rough start.”
    â€œI told you—”
    â€œYeah, I know you told me. But yesterday it sounded like you had something up your sleeve you didn’t want me to know about.”
    â€œDev, I was just teasing you.”
    â€œYeah right.” His tone clearly said he wasn’t buying it. “Mal, we both know you have this problem with playing by the rules. And that’s fine if you can get away with it. But you can’t always do that, particularly when it’s your ass and my money on the line. I just want Shay to weigh in before you get us both in trouble.”
    There was a sudden roaring in her ears. “Shay?” she asked carefully.
    â€œYeah, Shay O’Connor. His family owns a pub called O’Connor’s. Maybe you’ve been there.”
    Calm, she told herself. The important thing was to keep calm. “I know it. Has your friend by any chance been to