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Emma and Walsh pushed their way through a crowd of young girls who had congregated outside the restaurant. Walsh was smiling at them, flirtatiously raising his eyebrow and saying "Hey there, how you doing?" as they squeezed past; mostly being ignored. Emma rolled her eyes and apologised trying not to step on any feet or elbow anyone.

"What the hell is that about?" She asked as soon as they had freed themselves from the crowd.

"I told you babe, chefs are sexy as hell; you can't blame them for lining up to catch a glimpse of us. Just think how lucky you are that you get to go home and have your wicked way with me!" He winked at her and wrapped his arm around her waist. They'd only walked a few feet when the roar of screams and excited chatter hit their ears. Emma spun around to see Killian standing there taking selfies and signing autographs as he tried to make his way around everyone.

"Are you serious? They are acting like he is some sort of rock star!" She said in disbelief, and with a pang of jealousy, watching the man she'd just spent her evening with surrounded by fan girls.

Walsh shrugged. "Well technically he is, or at least was. He was the lead guitarist in some rock band…what were they called again…oh yeah the Lost Boys!"

"I remember them! I had a couple of their albums; I always wondered what happened to them!"

"Basically after a car crash he lost his hand and couldn't play anymore. The band carried on for a little while but it wasn't the same without him and it eventually fizzled out. The manager, who I think he was dating at the time, died in the crash."

"Oh my god!" Emma looked back at Killian; that explained the sadness she saw in his eyes earlier that night.

Walsh took her hand and started pulling her away again. "It was a long time ago, anyway, he's always had a fan following and now the restaurant is so popular it's grown. Rumour is he's in talks for a TV show!"

"wow" That was about all Emma could manage with this onslaught of information, her head was still spinning a bit from her rum cocktails she had with Killian, or was it the looks he was giving her by the end of the night, either way, she was lightheaded and needed to concentrate on walking.

"Anyway, enough about him, it's our anniversary, let's go home and celebrate!"'


Emma tossed and turned all night, unable to get Killian or his tragic story out of her mind. She gave up at 5AM and rolled out of bed, pulled on some yoga pants and a tank top and walked out into their kitchen/living area. She made herself a cup of coffee and walked over to their window, looking out over the city. She wanted to see him again, and that scared the hell out of her! She was attracted to her boyfriend's boss! She rubbed her eyes and groaned. "I am a terrible person!" She whispered to herself feeling riddled with guilt. She made a decision, for the sake of hers and Walsh's relationship she needed to push all thoughts of Killian from her mind, she couldn't see him again! It was probably all in her head anyway, the man was a celebrity after all, and he must have his pick of women! The thought alone made her stomach turn. "Ok Emma that's enough!" She scolded herself then started to get ready for work, her Saturday shift at 'Gold's' started at 7AM and she wanted to be gone before Walsh woke up looking for round two, she couldn't face him right now after a night thinking about Killian. She needed a cold shower and a long shift to clear her head. By tonight things would be back to normal!


Walsh sauntered into Killian's office; they always started the day like this, looking over the menu and order of service. "Morning Captain" He muttered sipping his coffee.

Killian raised his eyebrows at him. "Late night?" Why did he ask that? He didn't want to know…or did he?

Walsh flashed a toothy grin. "She's a lucky lady!"

Killian groaned, "Ok, ok, I shouldn't have asked!" He fought against the urge to punch Walsh and reminded himself Emma was Walsh's girlfriend, he had every right to spend his nights…he quickly shook the image out his head! "I will need you to take a bigger role over the next few weeks, I've bought 'The Rabbit Hole' on the corner and I'm renovating it into our own cocktail bar, I'm going to name it 'Tiger Lily' and hopefully if it kicks off I can turn it into a national chain of bars!"

Walsh's eyes widened. "Wow that's ambitious! I had no idea you wanted to open a bar."

"I've been thinking about it for a while and saw the space open up on the corner, the name…I guess you could say it was a last minute inspiration."

"Sounds great, so what do you need me to do?"

"Just help run things here while I'm overseeing the work on the bar, I'll still be here on the weekends but Monday through Thursday I'll be immersed in Tiger Lily, my hope is to have the grand opening at the end of the month! But I still need to meet with decorators, make sure the licensing is taken care of and all above board, and hire staff. Do you think you can manage things here?"

Walsh thought it over. "Does it come with a pay rise?"

Killian rolled his eyes. "Yes, your responsibilities will increase so your pay check will reflect that, but only for this month, it's a temporary arrangement, once the bar is up and running I will turn things over to the bar manager and return my attentions back to the Jolly Roger."

"I think I can manage that, thanks Captain!"


Emma looked up at the clock, 10AM, still a couple hours before the lunch rush! For once she wished for a busy day, at least then she wouldn't have time to think about last night, like the way his tongue sinfully swept across his bottom lip, or how smooth his voice was, was that a British accent? Her thoughts were mercifully interrupted by the front door opening, as soon as she saw the man entering her face lit up.

"David!" She ran over and threw her arms around him.

He chuckled, her hug almost knocking the wind right out of him. "Hey Em, miss me much?"

David and his wife Mary Margaret were the last family to foster Emma, they were 25 year old newlyweds and Emma was a feisty, 15 year old who seemed to have a gift at getting into trouble with the law, thanks not least of all to her boyfriend at the time, Neal. Despite her best efforts to push them away David and Mary Margaret never gave up on Emma and their unconditional love saw her through some dark times; they were family, and even though she moved out she still saw them on a weekly basis. They'd just been away on a 4 week cruise and Emma had missed them terribly!

"How's Mary Margaret?"

"She's great! Desperate to see you! In fact that is why I'm here; she wanted me to invite you and Walsh over for dinner tonight!"

"Walsh text me earlier to let me know he is going out with guys from work after his shift but you can count on me!"

"Great! Mary Margaret will be thrilled, see you at seven, oh and I'll also have two cappuccinos to go!"

"Coming right up" She chuckled.

A petite brunette in a matching barista apron came through the kitchen door carrying a tray of muffins. "Oh, hi David!"

"Hey Ruby"

She walked over and gave David a playful nudge with her elbow. "Perhaps you can get this one to spill what's on her mind; she's been distracted all morning…very unlike her!"

"Oh really?" David gave Emma a goofy grin. "Do tell Em!"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Ruby, it's nothing, and you guys are delusional!" Emma protested.

"Hmmm sounding a bit defensive there Emma…" David teased. "Don't worry Ruby; we'll get it out of her tonight!" Emma rolled her eyes and retreated to the kitchen.

Ruby leaned over and whispered. "Tell me everything when you find out!"

David laughed. "Goodbye Ruby!"


"More wine, Emma?" David asked, trying desperately to change the subject. She had been laughing at Mary Margaret's story about David dressing up as Prince Charming for the fancy dress night on their cruise.

"That is so embarrassing!" Emma giggled.

"Hey laugh it up! I looked dashing, and I was inundated with invitations to dance; I didn't sit the whole night!"

"Yes but what he's not telling you is that all his offers were from elderly women!" Mary Margaret squealed with laughter.

After the hilarity died down and David had stopped pouting Mary Margaret turned to Emma. "So how was your anniversary?"

The question caught Emma off guard but of course Mary Margaret would remember! "Um…it was fine."

"So…" David joined in. "What did you do?"

"He cooked for me…at his restaurant."

Mary Margaret caught on before David. "Aw I'm sorry Em, couldn't he get the time off work?"

"He could, I guess he just didn't want to" Emma shrugged.

"Wait until I get my hands on that son of a…"

"David!" His wife scolded him.

"It's ok guys, I actually had a pretty good night, the food was amazing, and I guess the head chef pitied me and invited me to sit at his table and it was really interesting talking with him so it wasn't a complete bust. Look Walsh has never been the grand romantic gesture type of guy and honestly, I don't think I'm that kind of girl either!"

Emma's two friends stared at her.

"Uh huh." Mary Margaret said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

David was too angry at Walsh to be paying attention. "Well when I see that guy we're going to have a little talk about how to treat women."

"Ugh! Please don't, David! You may have been Prince Charming but I'm not some Princess that needs rescuing!"

They all started laughing again.


"Another round for the table, love!" Killian called to the waitress, giving her a wink. He returned his attention to his employees. Wendy, Tink, Walsh, along with two other waiters and the other chefs had come out to celebrate their new venture. "The paperwork was signed this afternoon, we now own The Rabbit Hole, here's to new adventures and the start of Tiger Lily!" There was a loud cheer following by the clinking of glasses. Killian was happy, he'd wanted to open a bar for a long time but was just waiting for the right venue, when The Rabbit Hole became available it was perfect and all he needed was the right name, he'd gone through countless Peter Pan inspired ones; Skull Rock, Pixie Hollow, Neverland, but they all sounded childish and just didn't fit. It was Emma's mention of Tiger Lily, as soon as the words left her lips he could picture it, a sexy and stylish cocktail bar, a totally different feel to The Jolly Roger, more elegant and sophisticated, like his muse. Once the place was open he would have to send her something by means of thanks. It wasn't the worst excuse to see her again! He'd managed to talk himself out of visiting her coffee shop this morning 'by chance', she was dating Walsh after all, and if she was happy he had no right to interfere. Then again, she didn't seem very happy last night, what man doesn't want to celebrate his anniversary? He'd only shared one meal with her and was completely captivated, Walsh was a fool! She was sweet, smart, and wildly attractive, but more than that, she was kind and genuine, a rare treasure. Anyone could see Walsh took her for granted; maybe he should try and pursue her; after all a man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets. In that moment Killian made up his mind to go speak to Emma tomorrow, he didn't imagine she'd be the type of girl to stray from a committed relationship but he was a patient man, he could be friends and bide his time until Walsh screwed it up which, let's be honest, probably wouldn't take that long.

It was then he noticed Walsh sitting at the bar talking to a curvy redhead. He was slowly trailing his finger up and down the woman's arm and her hand rested on his thigh. They were talking back and forth in each other's ears and giggling. Killian saw red, he should have been happy, here was his opportunity to prove to Emma the rat that Walsh was but instead he just felt sick that this son of a bitch would be so careless with her heart. He clenched his fist and started walking towards them.

"Hey, Captain, where are you going? Wendy and I are just about to start karaoke; you guys need to be our groupies!" Tink gave him a pouting look, bottom lip protruding.

"I'll be right back, wouldn't miss it for the world!" He promised, but when he turned his attention back to the bar Walsh and the redhead were gone. He scoped the room but couldn't see them anywhere, he crossed the room and turned down the hall towards the restrooms and found them, Walsh had her pinned against the wall making out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Killian shouted.

"What's your problem?" The redhead replied angrily. "Can't you see we're busy here?"

Walsh looked down awkwardly. "Um babe you better go, I'll call you!"

The woman huffed angrily then marched past Killian back into the bar.

"Bloody hell Walsh!"

"Hey it didn't mean anything; I'm just having a good time, letting my hair down…" Before he could finish Killain had his first in Walsh's shirt pinning him to the wall in a less enjoyable way. "Whoa man! Who made you the dating police, you're my boss not my father! You don't get to tell me who I can or can't kiss…" He stopped again when he looked into Killian's eyes and saw pure rage.

"How can you treat Emma like this, she deserves so much better!"

"Look, you're right, don't worry" Killian eased his grip and Walsh's shoulders sagged. "I'll sort things out with Emma tonight, do the right thing!" Before Killian could reply Walsh shook himself free and left the bar. The only good Killian could see in the situation was at least after tonight Emma would be free of Walsh, he just wished it could of happened without her heart getting broken.


The next morning Killian made his way to 'Gold's Coffee Shop', he wanted to check on Emma to make sure she was ok, he was prepared to do whatever it took to cheer her up and take her mind off the breakup. The bell chimed above his head as he pushed open the door. He could see a brunette with her arms around Emma, no doubt trying to give her friend some support, except when she pulled away she had a smile on her face. "Congratulations Emma" he could hear her say. "Emma must be taking this better than I expected!" Killian thought "perhaps she was already planning to end things with Walsh". Relief washed over Killian, she was going to be ok!

"Good morning ladies" He interrupted them. When their eyes met Emma had a surprised smile. Good, she was happy to see him!

"Killian Jones! To what do we owe this pleasure?" She beamed.

"Oh I was in the neighbourhood and feeling thirsty…did I overhear that congratulations are in order? What are we celebrating?"

Emma's cheeks flared pink and she held out her hand, a flash of light drew Killian's eyes down to her fingers. "Walsh proposed last night, we're engaged!"


Hope you don't hate me too much!