Page 66 of Under Pressure

“You’re obligated to be friends with her. I’m talking aboutconversing with someone who you didn’t grow up with. A stranger turned friend.”

“And I suppose that you have a million friends, then?”

My shoulders are rising as I pathetically try to shield myself from her spot-on accusations. She’s been working for me for too long, clearly. There’s no hiding anything from her.

“Matter of fact, I have two handfuls of them. My evenings are booked and busy, honey.”

The nickname melts me just enough to soften my reply. “Been winning at bingo much?”

“You do pay attention,” she muses, winking. “Yes, I have. And the invitation is still open for you to join me sometime. I know kids your age think bingo is only for grannies, but I’d bet all my winnings at the casino last night that you’d enjoy yourself.”

“I’ll take the offer under advisement.”

“Actually!” My stomach sinks when she spins around and claps her hands. “You and Beck can come join me tomorrow night. Introduce me properly to your boyfriend, Quinn. I promise not to scare him off.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’d be?—”

“I’ve done my research, so if you’re going to say he’ll be playing, he will not be. His last home game is at eleven, so he’ll be done in time to come. Both of you can be at the hall at seven sharp.”

“Ruthie, I can’t force him to go play bingo with a bunch of seniors after pitching in a baseball game.”

Her beaming smile droops, and I instantly regret speaking. The sad look in her eyes cuts at me.

“Callie is your family by blood, Quinn, but I’ve long since stepped in as a member by choice. You’re going to let me talk to this boy the way your nan would have, alright? I won’t have any more arguments about it.”

That shuts me up. Any and all arguments evaporate off mytongue as I nod just once. There’s a hot sensation in my throat that I swallow down.

“Good. I’m not here for today, then.” She walks the few steps between us and lays a calloused palm to my cheek. The touch makes my nose burn, the annoying prickle of tears appearing behind my eyes. “Letting people love you isn’t a weakness, honeybee.”

It feels like one.

She pats my cheek a final time before dropping her hand and passing me on her way to the door. I stare at the space where she was just standing and blink furiously enough to force the tears back before they can fall. The door swings open and then closed, leaving me alone.

Reaching behind my head to tighten the elastic in my hair, I rush to the office. The familiar scent of the old leather couch and oatmeal that Eli microwaves himself every morning steadies me a bit. I listen to the heavy footsteps and male voices from upstairs and nod to myself. With a sniff, I straighten my posture and take the stairs two at a time until I reach my apartment door.

It’s open, allowing me an unrestricted view of the current mess. Someone rolled up the carpet from the hallway and placed it in the living room. Dust from boots covers the cardboard they laid out on the rest of the floor. I inhale and crinkle my nose at the particles floating in the air.

Beck’s uncle, Rick, runs the company, and when I spoke to him yesterday, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. His experience helped put me at ease, but really, it was Beck’s confidence in him that had me stepping back to allow them to get to work. It would have been too easy for me to hover up here all day to watch them work, and I’m also well aware that it would have slowed everything down.

This is easier, even if I hate not being able to see what they’re doing every step of the way.

“What’s up, Quinn? How did the stairs feel on the way up?Stable, I hope. They were pretty rotted, so I’m glad Beck mentioned checking them out.”

I blink, noticing Rick standing right in front of me. His goofy smile makes him look young, though I’d guess he’s at least fifty. Because I know he’s related to Beck, I can see the similarities between them. Beck’s always looked like a spitting image of his father, and this guy has the same dark hair and green eyes and even near-identical bushy brows with their sharp arch. This is clearly his father’s brother.

“The stairs?” Staring over my shoulder, I blink at the ones with a slightly lighter stain. They’re a close match, but different. New. I didn’t hear a single creak on my way up. My stomach swoops. “I just wanted to steal a look at the place. But they’re great. Thank you. I wasn’t expecting you to touch them.”

He nods at me and ignores the two beeps from his phone. “Easy peasy, honey. We’ve got the carpet rolled up now, and we’re working on the subfloor while one of my guys goes out to grab the replacement material. You want a look in the bathroom?”

“No, that’s okay. The tile I chose is alright, though?”

“Oh, yeah. My tiler’s getting it ready to lay this afternoon. The shower was in good condition, so we didn’t touch it. Honestly, this is one of the easier jobs we’ve had with water leaks. We should be fully out of here in two days.”

I release a breath, smiling slightly. “Thank you. I appreciate you guys coming so last minute.”

“Anything for Beck’s girl. I’m sure he’ll bust my balls for this later and warn me off like a true Rourke man, but once we’re finished here, I’ll leave my personal number with ya so you can call me whenever something like this pops up. I’m usually working around the area, but on the odd chance I’m out of town, I’ll send one of my guys over to help. You’re family now, yeah?”

“Uh, great. Yeah, that would be nice.” I stumble over my words, unsure how to respond to that offer.