He swiveled his jaw. “I wasn’t watching my step.”

“Aye. I heard you got yourself a snootful. Well, that’s no answer.”

Since she’d decided to snipe at him, Shawn reasoned, she wasn’t going to wallow and brood. Much better all around. “It served at the time.”

She filled the bowl, set it on a plate. “And now?”

He wanted to lean over, just lean to her while both their hands were occupied and close his mouth over hers. Instead, he lifted a shoulder. “And now I’ll have to be more careful where I step.” For the hell of it, he began to hum in harmony with Eileen’s lovely voice.

“You think it’s as easy as that, do you? Well, it’s not. We’ll talk about this after closing.”

He let her have the last word since it was exactly what he’d intended to say to her. When she stalked out, her face fierce, he went back to work with a lighter heart.

A couple of tourists from Cleveland overindulged. Brenna helped Aidan steer them toward the B and B, on foot, as it was feared they’d break their necks if they attempted to ride their bikes even that far.

Gauging his timing, Shawn slipped out. “Ah, well, you got them off, then. I was thinking you might need an extra pair of hands.”

“No, they should be able to stumble their way into bed.” Aidan watched them lurch and weave down the street and shook his head at their off-key rendition of “Whiskey, You’re the Devil.” “A pair of Yanks straight out of school. Well, but what’s a Grand Tour without one drunken night in an Irish pub, after all?” He caught Shawn’s eye, figured the meaning. “It’s been a long one, so we’ll call it a night. Thanks for helping out, Brenna.”

“It’s not a problem. Good night, Aidan.”

“It’s been longer for you and me,” Shawn said when he and Brenna were alone on the street.

“It has, but it’s not done. I’d like a walk on the beach if it’s the same to you.”

“All right.” He didn’t take her hand, but walked beside her, his own hands in his pockets. “It’s a fresh night. Full of moon.”

“That’s lucky. We won’t freeze or fall on our faces.”

He had to laugh. “You’re such a romantic fool, Mary Brenna.”

“A fool, from time to time. I was foolish with you, knowing my sister’s feelings.”

“With or without you, I couldn’t give her what she thinks she wants from me. There’s no getting past that. I’m sorry she’s hurt, and sorrier still that it was you she struck out at. But in thinking it through, I don’t know if there was a way it could’ve been avoided.”

“I could have waited until her feelings for you faded off, as they will.”

“So, I’m the forgettable sort.”

She glanced up at him, then away. “That scores your pride, but it’s the way it is. She’s barely twenty and can’t see through the stars in her eyes.”