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“You coming in then? I need some consoling of my own.”
“What’s happening?”
“School starts again in a week. I need margaritas to help me forget that fact.” Kelli was an incredible kindergarten teacher who loved her students like they were her own, but like most teachers, she considered the summer months the most coveted and sacred time of the year. While Yvonne looked forward to August and her birthday, Kelli dreaded it like the plague, boycotting Target the second they put the Back to School displays out until they were replaced with the Halloween shit, which was how long it took her to get back into the swing of things.
Yvonne laughed. “Come on. Let’s go order a pitcher. I’ll help you drown away that pain.”
Kelli walked into the pub and straight over to the bar to place their order and chat with Padraig for a few minutes as Yvonne grabbed a table and tried to sort out her thoughts.
She considered Pop Pop’s advice from when she was younger. He’d said friendship and love were both important, both valuable, and she’d abided by his advice, shutting down her fourteen-year-old girl’s hopes and dreams for capturing Leo’s heart.
But for the first time in her life, she thought maybe Pop Pop had been wrong about something.
Friendship with Leo would never be enough.
Chapter Five
Leo sat at the bar at Pat’s Pub and silently chastised himself for being a fool. It had been a week since he’d taken Yvonne out to dinner. He’d seen her twice since then during his weekly deliveries, forcing himself to act natural, friendly. He had promised her after all.
Yvonne, good friend that she was, had respected his wishes and they’d returned to their normal status quo.
Just friends.
Unfortunately, none of his feelings for her these days were friendly.
Instead, they were primal, obsessive, possessive.
She’d tempted the beast from his lair and that fucker was not going back into hibernation.
The more she acted like “a friend,” the crazier he got, and the more he wanted to drag her into the back storeroom of the pub and do dirty, dirty things to her.
Tonight, he’d hit the wall. Ryder was working late—again—so Leo and the boys had settled in, intent on watching the ball game and chilling. That had lasted about twenty minutes before Leo called Darcy and asked if she could watch the kids for a couple hours, then he’d headed here.
He wasn’t sure what Yvonne had told Darcy about them, but the way his babysitter’s face lit up when he told her he’d be at the pub let him know she knew enough. Darcy’s last words as he’d left the house had been, “Have a good time and don’t rush back. Stay all night if you need to.”
Yep. Darcy definitely knew too much.
He had been equal parts relieved and frustrated when he’d arrived at the pub and realized Yvonne wasn’t working tonight.
Relieved because that gave him time to have a drink at the bar and talk himself out of what he was planning to do. Without her knowing he was here.
Frustrated because if she’d been working, it would have interfered with his plans to ravish her and made it a lot easier for him to resist.
“Leo?”
Leo turned at the sound of Lochlan’s voice and smiled. “Hey, man. Long time no see.”
The two of them shook hands, then Leo’s gaze drifted to the pretty blonde standing next to his friend. Lochlan had married his secretary, May, the two of them not only raising their newborn son but May’s elementary-aged nieces as well. Leo got a kick out of seeing his “confirmed bachelor” buddy knee-deep in the family scene.
“Hi, Leo,” May said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too.” Leo took a peek at the baby in her arms and smiled, trying to remember when his grumpy tween, Vince, was that tiny.
May excused herself to chase down her nieces, who’d headed straight for the kitchen to see Riley upon arrival. “I better go grab the girls before Riley stuffs them with bread and cookies, or they won’t eat their dinner.”
“We were just about to head over to Sunday’s Side. Meeting up with Pop Pop for dinner. Want to join us?” Lochlan asked. “The more, the merrier.”
Leo shook his head. “No thanks. Ate with the boys before heading over here for a quick drink. I can’t hang out too long. Ryder’s working tonight, so Darcy’s watching the kids.”
