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Mabe's Burden by Kelly Abell
Blurb:Hot tempered, Mabe O'Banyon will do whatever it takes to keep the family's Irish pub, Shenanigans, out of the mob's dirty hands. She quickly learns, though, their attorney and the bank will offer no help. So, she calls in the reinforcements--Mara and Meg. She hasn't seen her two sisters for years, but her desperate message brings them running.
Commercial real estate developer, Aaron Shaw
has a secret. He arrives in Monticello, FL, expecting to purchase a quaint
Irish pub and move on to his next conquest. But the transaction doesn't take
place as planned--in fact, it doesn't take place at all. The hardheaded
owner--a stunning redhead with curves that don't quit--isn't
selling.
With time running out and the mob on their
heels, Aaron wants nothing more than to save the woman he's fallen
for from impending danger. Mabe is torn between a man she loves but can't
trust and the need to hold on to her family's pub. Their choices lead them down
a path neither could have guessed.
One-liner:
While
being threatened by the mob, a hot-headed barkeep goes toe-to-toe with
a real estate developer who wants to save her and falls
head-over-heels...until she learns he's been keeping a horrible secret.
Excerpt - When Mabe meets Aaron Shaw for the
first time
The door to the pub swung open for a tall, ebony haired man
wearing an expensive tan suit. Mabe straightened. Riveted, she stared at his
strikingly angular face. His chin, grooved by a slight dimple, struck her as sexy.
His gaze roamed the bar, settling on her. Warmth radiated
through her entire body. Never had she felt such an intense attraction to a
man. Who the hell is he? She didn’t recall ever seeing him in the pub.
Her nerves tingled. Resembling a panther, he wove his way through the crowd.
Slightly ashamed of her attraction to a strange man at her father’s wake, she
turned her back, resuming her position behind the bar. She spoke to several
patrons, mentally noting their drink orders on her way.
“No one could pull a pint like your da,” an old grizzled man
at the end of the mahogany counter stated. “Smooth like silk he was.”
Mabe smiled. “He was, Angus. We’ll miss him.” She handed a
frothy mug to the man. “Here you go. Enjoy that.”
“I will,” Angus declared, raising his glass to her. “To many
years.”
She picked up a glass of Coke, clinked it against Angus’s
mug. “And to you.”
“I’ll have one of those if you don’t mind,” a deep voice
spoke from behind her.
Turning, ready with a flirty response on her tongue, she
came face to face with her handsome stranger. His eyes matched the deep rich
mahogany of the bar. His smile, while slightly crooked, seemed genuine and
swept the words right out of her brain.
“Uh…sure. Name your poison.”
“Guinness?”
Mabe nodded, pulled the beer, scraping the foam from the
top. “I’ve never seen you here before. What’s your name, and how did you know
my dad?”
His gaze caught hers, sympathy reflected in his eyes. She
tried to look away, but she couldn’t. The man was a god.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks. He will be missed for sure.”
“I just realized…this is his wake, isn’t it? A private
party?”
She nodded. “It is.”
The man smiled gently. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I’m intruding.
I should go.”
She set the beer in
front of him. “Nah, we’re all friends here. It is a private party, but stay if
you’d like.” She gestured. “Those are my sisters Meg and Mara. We own the place
now.”
“It’ll be hard to run it without your father, won’t it?”
Mabe sighed, leaning on her elbows. “It won’t be the same,
for sure, but we’ll do okay. It’ll take some work….” She glanced lovingly
around the pub with all its Irish paraphernalia adorning he walls. “Da, loved
this place. I grew up here. It’s our place. We’ll make it work.”
She shivered, feeling his intense stare. Her skin burned
under the laser scan of his eyes. Her pulse jumped. If the room were empty
except for the two of them, he’d be in some serious trouble. He took a sip of
the Guinness, still staring at her over the mug.
She licked her lips then broke the gaze. She swiped at the
glossy mahogany top with a rag. “What brings you to town?”
“Business,” was his response.
“Ooh, cryptic, are we?” She flirted.
“Suits me for now.”
A man at the end of the counter signaled for her. She held
up a finger then approached her guest. She served a few more beers, all the
while being extremely aware of his gaze. His allure was more powerful than any
she’d ever experienced. Monticello wasn’t full of dashing men in expensive
suits, but it had its fair share of good lookers. Lord knew she’d flirted with
some from time to time, even dated a few, but none of them stirred in her what
this man did.
No longer needed, she returned to him, eyeing his empty mug.
“Another?”
He nodded, offered her a smile.
Her knees weakened. She steadied herself by grasping the
smooth wood. What the hell is wrong with me? She pulled his beer, but
before she handed it to him she asked, “What did you say your name was?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t.”
She set the mug down in front of him. “Oh, come on. You’re
not going to waltz into my pub during my daddy’s wake and not tell me who you
are. It’s not polite.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “Not polite, huh?”
“Not at all,” she declared, leaning on the bar, offering him
her most dazzling smile.
“Okay then…if you insist.
“I do.”
He held out his hand. Mabe reached out, taking his warm palm
in hers. The air between them practically crackled with tension. “Aaron Shaw.”
Her previously heated blood froze. In one swift moment, all
the allure she’d experienced earlier evaporated. This is the shark trying to
buy my pub. The nerve of this man, waltzing in here, flirting with me, when all
the while he’s casing the joint for a future purchase. She grabbed his beer
unceremoniously dumping it on his head. The dark brew dripped from his hair all
over his tan suit.
“What the hell?” he shouted, jumping off the stool.
“Get out of my pub,” she yelled at him.
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