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“Dammit, man. I just got my life somewhat settled.”
Padraig grinned. “That’s always the time when life throws you a curveball. Wouldn’t want you to get too comfortable.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ve got a lot more to think about than just getting laid.”
Padraig narrowed his eyes and seemed to grow six inches taller. “Are you going up there for a booty call?”
Leo raised his hands in surrender. “Come on, man. You know me better than that. I would never use Yvonne for sex. It’s just…when Ryder and I decided to do the roommate thing, to raise the kids together, we knew what that entailed.”
“What it entailed?” Padraig asked, confused. Then, understanding dawned. “Are you saying you both swore off women forever?”
Leo shook his head. “Not forever. Well, maybe Ryder did. He’d just lost his wife, and I doubt he thought he would ever find—”
He stopped mid-sentence. Padraig’s beloved wife, Mia, had passed away two years earlier of a brain tumor.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
Padraig nodded, acknowledging Leo’s apology. “I get what you’re saying, and you’re right. I’m sure when you two set up house together, Ryder did so thinking that was good enough for him. He probably couldn’t see himself falling in love again.”
Leo had lived with Ryder for three years, and during that time, they’d become pretty good friends. Despite that, Leo got a sense that Padraig understood the other man even better. “He hasn’t changed his mind on that.”
Padraig considered that information. “He hasn’t changed his mind yet. That doesn’t mean he won’t meet someone who makes him consider giving love another try.”
There was something about the way Padraig said it that made Leo think perhaps the bartender was talking about himself. Leo sincerely hoped so. His friend had been lonely since losing Mia. Padraig wasn’t meant to live life alone. The guy had a heart as big as New York, and if anyone was cut out to be a dad, it was Padraig.
“The first year was rough on all of us—on Ryder and the boys. Your aunt Lauren was great with Clint and Vince. She really helped them come to grips with losing their mom.”
Padraig’s aunt was a psychologist and amazing with kids. Leo was fairly certain that without her doing counseling sessions with the boys, they would have been completely screwed up. Ryder had been dealing with his grief on his own, and he’d gone very, very quiet, working long hours before coming home, only to vanish into his bedroom. Those first months after Denise had passed reminded Leo a lot of the past few weeks, with Leo doing the lion’s share of the work while Ryder was…absent.
“You always sell yourself short, Leo. You’ve been the glue holding your unusual family together since Denise’s death. Taking care of everyone, making sure their lives could continue as normal as possible. You took a lot on your shoulders.”
Leo shrugged, uncomfortable with Padraig’s praise. He did what needed to be done. No more, no less.
“What you didn’t do was swear off relationships. I get that you take your responsibilities seriously, but, man…that load seems to be getting pretty heavy. You keep going the way you have been, and it’s going to crush you.”
Leo realized his friend was right. He did feel weighed down. “That feeling goes away when I’m with Yvonne.”
Padraig grinned. “Then why are you sitting down here with me?”
A soft chuckle drew Leo and Padraig’s attention toward the end of the bar, where Emmy was still sitting. She averted her eyes as soon as they looked in her direction. She’d clearly been listening.
“You agree with that advice, Em?” Padraig asked.
She never looked up as she started typing. “I do.”
Padraig focused on him again. “You should never throw away a chance at finding love, Leo. It’s sort of like spitting right in Karma’s face.”
It occurred to him that Padraig had just given him one of Yvonne’s secrets to happiness. “Well,” Leo said, standing up slowly. “I wouldn’t want to piss off Karma.”
Padraig waved him off when he tried to pay for the beer. “Stop stalling. Get up there.”
Leo walked upstairs. Yvonne wasn’t in the living room, and it occurred to him as he stood at the top of the stairs, this was probably the quietest he’d ever heard the apartment. Typically, the place was full of Collinses, with the TV on or music playing.
“Yvonne?” he called out.
“Bedroom,” she yelled back.
Shit.
