Chapter 12

12

Brando drove aimlessly for about two hours before he found himself in downtown Baltimore. He realized Declan’s bar and grill was just two streets away.

For a second or two, he thought about driving back to Kaitlin’s house. He wanted to beg her forgiveness then talk about it like rational adults. He wasn’t ready. Brando knew he would get hurt all over again when she refused him. She needed time and he needed the company of men.

He parked in a lot closest to the restaurant and made his way over to it. Truth was, he had nowhere to go. The only male family he could get together with was Vicente, but he was at his mother’s. If Joey got wind of what was going on, his mother would be on the first plane out east. That was not something he needed. It was bad enough he was going to have to deal with Kaitlin’s aversion to marriage; he didn’t need his mother getting in the middle of it.

He walked through the front door, and the smells of rich food and beer hit him. Not in a bad way, but one that reminded him of some of his favorite places to go eat. When he looked around, he realized the place was bigger than he expected. Booths lined two walls and there were quite a few tables scattered in the middle of the floor, almost every one of them filled with a few people for a Sunday afternoon.

As he stepped further into the room, Brand realized even without it being Declan’s, he would probably like it. It was a bit of the old and a bit of the new. Dark wood dominated the room, from the floor to the bar and walls. Baltimore sports teams were featured in almost everything from signed shirts, baseball caps, and balls of all sorts.

“Hey, soldier boy, what are you doing here?” Declan said as he made his way through the diners.

“I’m a Marine.”

The smile her brother offered him told Brando that he did it on purpose. Damned if it didn’t make him like Declan even more.

“Kait giving you problems?”

He shrugged, not really wanting to gossip about Kaitlin. “Just needed to get out and about.”

Declan studied him for a second, then shook his head. He patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on. I’ll buy you a beer.”

There wasn’t a place to sit at the bar, so Declan led him back to the kitchen. The kitchen was busy and filled with even more scents and about twenty degrees hotter. Chefs, wait staff, and workers of all sort moved back and forth, filling orders. There was an alcove with a booth table. The booth didn’t match the decoration in the dining area. The red leather was worn, and the table had a multitude of scratches on the surface.

“This is different.”

Declan opened up one of the large fridges and grabbed a couple of beers. He smiled.

“It was an Italian restaurant back in the day. Only special customers got to eat back here with the chef’s attention. In fact, rumor has it, it was mob owned. They said that one of the made men would entertain some of the biggest names in the mafia back here.”

“Cool,” he said, sliding into the booth.

“So, you and my sister had a fight?” he asked as he twisted off the tops on the beers and then joined him in the booth.

Brando took a long draw off the bottle and swallowed. He enjoyed the yeasty taste as it slid down his throat.

He realized that Declan was watching him and waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

The door from the dining room swung open and Aeden stepped into the kitchen. A younger blond guy was with him, and Brando was having a really bad feeling about the situation.

“Don’t worry,” Declan said. Brando looked at him and he saw Declan smiling at him. “They were meeting me here. We have a rugby game in about an hour.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Kaitlin said something about going to see you play.”

Brando took another big swallow of beer. Before the other two sat down, he realized he was almost done with the bottle.

“I think you need to grab Brando another one,” Declan said.

“Ah, so you’re the soldier boy,” the younger one said.

“Marine.”

“What?”

“I’m a Marine. Not a soldier.”

“Oh, okay,” he said with a smile. “I’m Emmet.”

He nodded at the younger addition. He looked more like Kaitlin than the rest of the brothers. Same shade of blond hair, and the same nose.

“So, what are you doing here? Did Kaitlin kick you out?” Aeden asked.

“Kiss ass, Fitzpatrick.”

“Is that an invitation? Just want you to know, we don’t share our conquests and I don’t swing that way.”

“Ah, give the guy a break,” Declan said. “He had a fight with the maniac we’re related to.”

“So, can’t take a little heat, Marine?” Aeden challenged.

“I can handle it just fine, Fitzpatrick. And remember, you might be able to handle a hose, but I usually do my work with a gun…or a knife.”

Declan stood and went to the refrigerator. He set another beer down in front of Brando.

“So, what happened?” Emmet asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Come on, Santini. Let us know what’s got you so upset.”

“Your sister refuses to marry me. She’s just so sweet and then she gets all crazy on me. Telling me no…even in her condition.”

“And what condition would that be?” Aeden asked, his voice barely audible above the clatter of kitchen workers.

He looked up and found all three brothers frowning at him.

“No comment,” he mumbled.

Aeden groaned. “Dammit, now we have to be nice to him. He’s going to be related, even if he can’t convince her to marry him.”

“Cut it out, Aeden,” Declan said.

“So, she’s pregnant?” Emmet asked.

“I did not tell you that. She’d have my head on the platter.”

Needing to move, he slipped out of the booth and started to pace in the small space in front of the alcove, careful to stay out of the way of the cooks and servers.

“She really has the nerve. Tells me she won’t marry. Ever. Why didn’t she tell me that before she made me fall in love with her again? The woman has some nerve.”

Aeden and Declan shared a look.

“She does have some nerve. Do you know what happened to Glen?” Declan asked.

He stopped pacing. “She refuses to talk about it. I tried a few times, but you know she’s crafty.”

“Yeah, really crafty that one,” Aeden said before taking another gulp of beer.

“And she has the nerve to tell me I’m pushy. Me.” He finished off his beer and slammed it on the table. “She thinks I am going to do what she wants? No way. There’s no way I can have that happen. Hard-headed woman.”

“Yeah, she’s that,” Emmet said as he handed Brando another beer.

Brando twisted off the cap and took a big, long drink. “Yeah, but she’s sweet. And sometimes, when she laughs, I get kind of dizzy.”

“Okay, I think Santini has had enough to drink,” Declan said.

“Naw, I can handle it. I’m a Marine and a Santini.”

“Is that a fact?” Declan asked.

“Yeah.” He leaned forward and almost fell over. He righted himself. “We’re legendary in the Marines. In all the services, if you count my cousins, who all decided to go into different services.”

“Ah,” was all Declan said to that.

“And so you had a fight because she refused to marry you and you left?” Emmet asked.

“I was worried I would say something mean.” He frowned at Aeden. “You can’t say anything mean to Kaitlin.”

“Of course not,” Aeden said as his eyes danced with amusement.

“Hey, why don’t you come with us to the game? Do you know how to play rugby?” Emmet asked.

“No, Emmet. We can’t have him getting hurt. Kaitlin would get pissed,” Declan said.

Brando frowned at the brothers. “I won’t get hurt. I’m a Marine.”

“And a Santini,” Aeden added.

“Yeah,” Brando said.

“He’s been trained to kill people, Declan,” Emmet said. “He can handle a rugby match, right?”

Feeling pleasantly warm, Brando shrugged. “Never played but it can’t be any worse than live ammo training.”

Declan was still not convinced. “I just want it noted that I disagreed with this from the start. If soldier boy—“

“I’m a Marine.”

Declan rolled his eyes. “If the Marine shows up back at Kaitlin’s with even a tiny scratch, you know she’s going to snatch all of us baldheaded.”

“You worry too much,” Emmet said. “You’re worse than Mom.”

“Yeah,” Brando said as his burped. “Stop worrying.”

“We’ll watch out for him,” Aeden promised. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”