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“You’re kind of a smartass,” he said, though there was no heat behind the words.
She laughed. “I’m a total smartass, and you know it.”
“You’re right,” he said. “About all of it.”
“The smartass part?”
He shook his head. “The rest.”
“Sorry,” she joked. “I’m not sure I heard that. I’m what? I’m what?”
Leo reached out and tugged her hair playfully. “You’re right. Except about the hate. I don’t…” He searched his feelings to be sure, but he couldn’t find that emotion inside him. “I don’t hate them. I’m mad and I’m hurt and…I don’t hate them,” he said again, the words getting easier with each repetition.
“I know that.”
“So what’s my next move?” he asked.
“I’m going to tell you what Pop Pop always tells me. Love is always easier than hate. If you remember that, you’re golden, and it shouldn’t be too hard for you because you love Vince and you want what’s best for him. Kids are very perceptive. They will feel what you feel, and I can’t think of anything worse than putting a child in the middle of a war and forcing them to choose sides when it comes to their own parents.”
“I would never do that.”
“Not consciously, but…”
But Vince would still pick up on Leo’s vibes. So what was best for Vince was for Leo to put away this anger and resentment so that he could work together with Ryder and Denise to raise their son in two caring, safe, happy homes.
“Okay. I get it.” It would take him a bit of time to figure out how to deal with his feelings, but he had a very good reason to try. An adorable, growing-too-fast, chubby-cheeked reason. “I’m not sure why you keep putting up with me. I haven’t been all that great to hang out with the past couple of years.”
“We’re friends, Leo. That means we’re there for each other. Period.”
The first dance was over and other couples were starting to head to the dance floor.
“Come on,” she said as Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight” started playing. “I love this song, and I have no intention sitting at this table with your grumpy ass all night. Let’s have some fun.”
They were halfway to the dance floor when they encountered Ryder and Denise heading back to their place at the head table. One glance at the anxious look on Denise’s face proved Leo had been a true asshole.
Leo stuck out his hand to Ryder. “Congratulations, man. I hope the two of you will be very happy together. It was a great wedding.”
The couple looked shell-shocked for just a moment, then it was just as Yvonne had said. The whole situation that had felt unbearable a few minutes ago was suddenly easier.
Denise thanked him for coming, and the two of them chatted about how adorable the ring bearer, Vince—who was now spending the night with Leo’s parents—looked in his little tux at the wedding earlier.
Yvonne congratulated and hugged Denise…
* * *
…and everything turned out exactly as Yvonne had predicted. The two of them had danced the rest of that night, laughing and acting like fools, and all the hard feelings he’d harbored toward Denise and Ryder melted away. Somehow she’d managed to take what he’d been certain was going to be the shittiest night of his life and made it fun.
She’d done the same thing tonight, swooping in to save him at a time when he’d never felt lower.
Yvonne had always been there for him, always in the background, helping him, guiding him…all in the name of friendship.
He’d spent so much of his life living on autopilot, letting circumstances and timing decide his path rather than taking hold of the wheel.
Yvonne was right. It was time he stopped overthinking things and started going after what he wanted.
And right now, what he wanted…was her.
Chapter Four
