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“I didn’t know that.”
If Yvonne wasn’t feeling so crappy, she might have laughed at Padraig’s tone. It was very rare that anyone ever pulled the wool over his eyes.
She shrugged. “I kept it a secret for the most part. Riley’s right. I’m not getting any smarter when it comes to Leo. He said all he has to offer me is friendship. And I know I should be okay with that, Pop Pop…that it should be enough for me, but—”
“Enough for you?” Riley interjected. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Friendship is just as important as love. They’re both gifts, both things to be treasured. It’s better to have Leo as a friend than not at all.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” Riley asked.
“Language,” Pop Pop murmured.
Riley ignored her father. “You’re being a coward, Vonnie.”
Yvonne looked at Pop Pop, who shifted uncomfortably on his stool, clearing his throat but not speaking.
“Wait,” Riley said. “Did you say all that stuff to her, Pop? I’ve never heard you tell someone not to take a chance when it comes to love.”
“In my defense,” Pop Pop said, “Yvonne was fourteen when I offered that advice, and Leo had just asked someone else to the homecoming dance.”
Riley rolled her eyes and scoffed when Padraig laughed. He turned briefly and glanced down the bar. Yvonne followed his gaze to a pretty brunette sitting at the end, who was typing fast and furious on her laptop. Then the other woman looked up as if feeling Padraig’s gaze and gave him an amused grin, letting Yvonne know they had an eavesdropper.
Great.
“Well, you made this mess, Pop, so fix it. Give her the good advice this time. I gotta finish up a couple things in the kitchen. We’ll leave for home once you’ve fixed your mistake. The poor girl has wasted years on this crush.” And with that, Riley rose and returned to the kitchen.
Padraig gave her a quick wink, then meandered down the bar toward the woman with the laptop.
Pop Pop grimaced. “I am sorry, lass, for guiding you wrong.”
Yvonne shook her head. “You weren’t wrong. It’s the timing on me and Leo that’s always been wrong. Still is, apparently.”
“Is that what your young man thinks?”
She nodded. “He said his life is constant chaos, and he’s trying to spare me from having to deal with all that.”
Pop Pop gave her an astonished look. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Why, Sunday and I raised seven kids in an apartment above a pub. If that’s not chaos, I don’t know what is. What’s more, I wouldn’t trade a single one of those insane lost-homework, boys-fighting, broken-lamp days for the quietest, most relaxing, sleepy-eyed day on a fishing boat. Chaos is what makes life worth living.”
“I’ve tried to tell him that, but he’s one of those chivalrous types, trying to save me from what he considers his own disasters.”
“Sounds like he needs you.”
Yvonne closed her eyes against the tears forming again. She wished he did need her. The problem was…Leo had been making it pretty much on his own since the beginning.
“And you need him.”
“I want him,” Yvonne clarified.
“No, from the look on your face, I’d say you need him as much as he needs you. You’re lonely, aren’t you, my graceful girl?”
Yvonne started to shake her head. It was impossible to live in the Collins Dorm, to work in the pub, and still be lonely. Then she realized he was right. “I look at Leo and see a future that…” She stopped, uncertain how to explain.
She should have known Pop Pop would get it without the words. “I know the last few years have been hard on you, even if you haven’t thought so. Watching Caitlyn, Lochlan and Sunnie find their paths, their loves. Your future isn’t settled, though I think you’d desperately like for it to be. This young man, he’s the one who’s won your heart?”
“He’s so honest and trustworthy and kind. Leo is a good man, who puts his family and friends first. And he’s the most incredible father. You should see him with Vince, Pop Pop. The way he’s raised his son is just…I think he’s probably a lot like you were with your sons when they were younger.”
Pop Pop smiled, and she got a sense he was recalling those years. “There is no greater thing on Earth than being a father…unless it’s being a grandfather.”
