Atonement (The Atonement Series) by Elle Chardou Page A

might not be too different to what we were dealing with now. The only exception would probably be the south of France which we were both looking forward to more than we were letting on.
    I leaned back on the comfortable furniture and swigged from my Newcastle. Within the week I had stayed with him, he was determined to turn me into a beer connoisseur. I’d tried ales, lagers and everything in between. Newcastle wasn’t too bad but it certainly was an acquired taste.
    However he wasn’t asking about the ale, he spoke specifically of the delicious dinner we’d shared together.
    I pretended to contemplate because the last thing this man needed was a huge ego to match his great looks and disarming personality. He not only could make a killer dirty martini but he could cook as well. If he was so against getting a proper job, I wondered why he didn’t open up his own hole in the wall? A place with great alcohol and bar food where people could relax and enjoy themselves in a friendly atmosphere. He would kick ass especially with all the juicy entrepreneurial business he would acquire from Liam.
    “It was delicious. As a matter of fact, it was such a great meal, I think you need to open up your own bar-restaurant,” I responded as my eyes never left his gorgeous crystal blue eyes.
    Colin swigged from his ale. “Oh no, not you too. You’re the second person to suggest a venture like that. The first was Liam and I am going to tell you the same thing I told him—it isn’t gonna happen.”
    “Why not? You work for other people when you don’t have to. Your brother told me about you co-founding uConnect and how you sold off your shares to the other partners’ when you and Serena broke up. I really think it is something you should seriously consider. Just think about it, you could do what you enjoy and be your own boss. What could be better than that?”
    “You don’t give up, do you?” He set his bottle down on the table and took a defensive position with his arms across his chest. “Everyone thinks it’s so easy to run an eatery and it isn’t. The success rate is ridiculously low and even though the economy here is strong, there are more than enough places to enjoy alcohol and food. I don’t need that kind of aggravation.”
    I studied him and titled my head slightly to the right. “All that is just bullshit you’ve been feeding yourself for so long, you actually believe it. For some reason, you’ve decided to take on this role where Liam is the good guy of the family, the successful and enterprising brother while you’re the classic fuck-up and you are doing yourself no favors with that kind of attitude.
    “I think you’re afraid of failure and the fear is so palpable, you’d rather not try at all to try and perhaps fail. There is nothing written in the cards to say you wouldn’t be a success and why you feel this need to make yourself the martyr of the family is beyond me. You are so intelligent and you have so much going for you. I’m going to quote my sister though I don’t do it often: ‘don’t you think it’s time you put that Harvard education to work’? Why go to such a successful and prestigious learning institution to be a barista at a coffee shop and a bartender at some place here in town? Those are usually jobs for college students and those who have decided not to go to college, not people like you,” I explained in a sympathetic voice.
    “See, that’s the problem though. I have everything I want and I have never been that difficult to please. I just wanna live life, have fun and basically look out for myself. I don’t want to have to deal with invoices and employees and all that shit.”
    “So are you telling me your only wish is to live for yourself? You don’t ever want to have to be responsible for anyone else and this way, you won’t have to be? Don’t you want a spouse? Children? It’s kind of hard living in a place like Seattle on a coffee boy and bartender