Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts Page B

theater he’s planning with Gallagher’s. It was my thought to lease him the land, long term, but he’s holding out to buy it outright. If we do that, we forfeit the land, and some of the control we might have.”
    â€œHow much will he pay?” Darcy asked and bit into a biscuit.
    â€œWe’ve only danced about the terms for the moment, but he’ll meet the price we set, I’m thinking. I’ll need to call Ma and Dad on this, but as the pub is in our hands now, the three of us need to decide what we want to do.”
    â€œIf he pays enough, I say sell it to him. We don’t use it for anything.”
    â€œIt’s land,” Shawn said, sending Darcy a glance as he covered the rectangle of rolled-out pastry with the mixture of suet and butter. “Our land. It’s always been ours.”
    â€œAnd it’ll be money. Our money.”
    â€œI’ve thought on both ends of that.” Aidan pursed his lips while he turned his cup of tea around and around. “If we don’t agree to sell, Magee could find himself another plot for his project. And the theater could be a benefit to the pub, if we keep some sort of handle on it. He strikes me as a sharp one, and one I’d rather deal with face-to-face than over the phone. But he says he can’t come here now, as he’s into some other business and can’t leave it until it’s done.”
    â€œSo send me to New York.” Darcy fluttered her inky lashes. “And I’ll charm him into opening his wallet wide.”
    Aidan let out a quick hoot. “I don’t think charm is what works with this one. It’s a pounds-and-pence matter to him, to my thinking. I’ve a mind to ask Dad to take a trip into New York to meet with this Magee, as Dad’s as sharp as any Yank wheeler-dealer. But before we do that, what do we, we three here, want from this?”
    â€œProfit,” Darcy said immediately and finished off a biscuit.
    â€œThat, yes, but what in the long term?”
    â€œReputation,” Shawn said, and Aidan looked up at him. “We’ve been working around to making Gallagher’s a center for music over the last few years. Have our name in the guidebooks, don’t we, as a place for good food and drink, and for the music we have or bring in? Haven’t you had bands calling you now, or the managers of them, inquiring about bookings?”
    â€œSure and we do well there,” Aidan agreed.
    â€œIf this man Magee has a mind to expand the entertainment, the music in Ardmore, and bring in more tourists, more customers, it’ll add to our reputation.”
    Shawn folded the pastry into three, then sealed the ends before putting it back in the refrigerator to chill. “But it has to be done the Gallagher way, doesn’t it?”
    Aidan leaned back in his chair as Shawn took potatoes from bin to sink and began to scrub them. “You’re a constant surprise to me, Shawn. Aye, the Gallagher way or no way at all. Which means traditional, understated, and Irish. We’ll have nothing flashy and foolish attached to our pub.”
    â€œWhich means you have to convince him we need to work together,” Shawn added. “As we know Ardmore and Old Parish and he doesn’t.”
    â€œAnd for our input,” Aidan decided. “We’ll have a percentage of the theater. That was my thinking—and what I wanted to pass to Dad and have him work the Magee toward.”
    Darcy drummed her fingers on the table. “So, we’ll sell him the land at our price or lease it long term, on the condition that we have a part in the building, the planning, and the profits of the theater.”
    â€œSimply said.” Aidan gave her a wink. She had a cool and sharp brain for business, did Darcy. “It’s the Gallagher way.” Aidan rose from the table. “We’re agreed, then?”
    â€œAgreed.” Darcy chose another biscuit.