“Jenna does a great job with Riley’s. It’s a fun atmosphere, the food is amazing, and the people are friendly. The guys and me consider it home.”
“Good,” her dad said. “We hope you always feel that way. It’s always been home to Kathleen and me.”
“You should come up there sometime, Dad,” Jenna said. “Your regulars miss you.”
He shrugged. “Not as much fun as it used to be.”
“Because you can’t drink beer anymore,” her mother teased. “Which doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun with your old friends.”
“And you can drink the non-alcoholic beer,” Jenna reminded him. “Tastes like the real thing. I’d love to have you there. So would everyone else.”
“Maybe I’ll pop in one of these nights, make sure my girlie here is doing as good a job as I did.”
If this kept up she’d need dental work before the end of the night. Her jaw ached from clenching it.
After dinner and dishes everyone moved into the living room. Her mom picked up her knitting, and Tara and Liz huddled together working on something for Liz’s wedding, while the guys watched the rest of the race.
She and Ty were putting the rest of the pots and pans away in the kitchen.
“This would be a good time for you to mention expansion,” Ty said.
She handed a pot over to him. He was crouched on the floor, sliding them into the cabinet.
“What expansion?”
“Opening a new bar.”
“No. Not a good time for that at all.” It would never be a good time.
He took the last pot, stacked it with the others, then stood and leaned against the counter. “Why not?”
“You heard my dad. I’m not sure he even has confidence I’m running Riley’s the way he likes.”
Tyler chuckled. “That sounded more like good-natured teasing to me.”
She pulled up one of the stools and half sat on it. “You don’t know my dad. He may sound good-natured, but he’s fiercely protective of the bar. And he’s traditional. He’d never go for an expansion idea.”
“And you’ll never know that if you don’t discuss it with him. How’s the capital situation?”
“Plentiful.”
“Then put a business plan together and present it to him. It’s a good idea, Jenna, and one where you could capitalize on your natural talent.”
“You’re really pushing me on this. Why?”
“One, because I think your talent is being wasted on being a bartender. Two, because I think if you opened up a second bar, you could sing there, which would make you happier because you’d actually be doing something you love to do. Three, because it’s a sound business investment. You already know how to run a successful bar. I think you could make this work.”
Everything he said made sense. It was logical.
But she wasn’t going to do it. She shook her head and slid off the stool. “Too risky. Dad would never go for it.”
More important, she would never go for it.
She started out of the room, but he took her hands. “Then make him go for it. You’re the most argumentative woman I’ve ever known. You’re telling me you can’t stand up to your father? Go to him armed with a sound business plan and make him listen. Sing for your parents. Take them to the club we went to and show them how this could work.”
She jerked her hands away. “No. I’m not going to do this. Just because you think it’s a great idea doesn’t mean it’s something I want to do.”
“You’re afraid to take this step, just like you’re afraid to sing in front of your family.”
She glanced down the hall to make sure no one had heard. “I’m tired of having the same conversations with you. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
But Ty obviously wasn’t going to let this go. “At first I thought it was a fear of failure. Now I think you’re afraid to succeed.”
“That’s ridiculous. I just don’t think a second bar is a good idea.”
“Which has nothing to do with singing in front of your family. You’re afraid you’re going to be so good they’re going to want to hear you again. Or maybe they’ll get the idea you should do something with that spectacular voice of yours. And then you’ll be forced to step outside your comfort zone—this cocoon you’ve so carefully wrapped yourself in—and do something about being so unhappy.”
“What? Where is this coming from? I’m not unhappy.”
He stepped in closer. “Yeah, you are.”
She moved back. “No, I’m not, and you have a hell of a lot of nerve presuming to know how I feel. I’m perfectly content with the way things are. I was content before you came into it and I’ll be content after you’re gone.”
He arched a brow. “You trying to get rid of me, Jenna?”
“No. I don’t know. Stop pushing me. I don’t like it.”
“I’m trying to help you.”
“You’re not helping me. This isn’t what I want. And if you think it is, then you haven’t been listening all the times I’ve told you.”
He took a step back and raised his hands. “If that’s what you think, then I’ll back off.”