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I clenched my jaw, feeling Tash’s horror bubble up in me as quiet rage. “Pretty much. She left me a contact number but asked me not to use it for anything other than legal reasons.”
Moisture welled in Tash’s eyes, and Luca wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Abbie slipped out of the booth. She took Tash’s hand, gently coaxing her out beside her.
“Are you good here?” Abbie asked me quietly.
Tash’s tears were a little overwhelming, and some of that must have shown on my face because Abbie added, “How about I take Tash and the girls upstairs while you guys talk some more?”
My next exhalation escaped as a sigh. “Okay. Thanks.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Luca asked Tash.
“No, you stay.” Tash dropped a kiss on Luca’s cheek. “I might go lie down.”
It was another moment before I remembered that Tash was pregnant. Luca had told us that she was extra sensitive thesedays, as well as suffering from all-day morning sickness. I guess that explained why she was so affected by Seb’s story and why Luca was a little more protective.
When Abbie, Birdie, Emily, and Tash had disappeared, Luca got to his feet and held out his hands towards me.
I raised my eyebrows. “You want to hold him?”
He shrugged with one suited shoulder, though it seemed to me he was feigning his indifference. “I’m going to have one of my own soon enough. I should probably learn how to do this.”
The realisation I wouldn’t be alone in this parenthood thing forever lifted my spirits, and I grinned as I unclipped the buckles of the baby carrier. “He’s all yours.”
It took a few awkward seconds to settle Seb in the curve of Luca’s arm, and when he looked comfortable and secure, I slipped off the carrier and sank into the seat of the booth. The sensation that something was missing bugged me a little as Luca strolled away to show Seb around the bar, and I told myself to stop being ridiculous.
“Can I get you guys a drink?” I asked.
“In a minute.” Isaac thumbed his earlobe, watching me warily. “Look, the timing couldn’t get much worse, and I’m sorry to add more to your plate, but there’s something you should know.”
Logan groaned and dropped his head back on the seat. “Fuck. He got you pregnant, too.”
Josh flicked a paper coaster at Logan’s head, and they both chuckled, but I couldn’t laugh. Isaac looked too serious for this to be good news.
Shit. Birdie must have changed her mind about the loan. She’d slept on it and decided I was a bad bet. I was going to lose the warehouse, which meant losing the brewery. Losing my dream. Losing a future that I’d be building not just for me but for Seb now, too.
The weight of that responsibility hit me from nowhere, hard enough to take my breath. I was a father now, and fathers provided for their families. Good fathers did, anyway. Not loser fathers. Not fathers like mine.
“Oh, yeah?” I smoothed the edginess from my face and prepared to add a point to the Loser Dad column on my mental tally card. “What’s that?”
“It’s about the poker tournament.”
I knew it. But better to fail small now than big later, right? I swallowed the lump in my throat and braced myself.
“Birdie was going to call later today and fill you in, but I may as well tell you now. Bottom line is she met with the local tourism council this morning to let them know about the event. Kidd, they’re frothing at the mouth over it. They want to expand the Valentine’s Day in Valentine Bay Festival so they can market the tournament at the same time.” He grimaced in apology. “She had to tell them where she’s holding it, of course, and that she’s hired you to manage most of the logistics. Sorry, bro. The council’s going to be up your arse from now until it’s done.”
I said nothing at first, staring through Isaac and turning his words over in my head until I understood what that meant. That was… not the news I was expecting.
It was worse.
All eyes would be on me while I tried to pull off the biggest shift in my career. An important tourism campaign hinging on me and my little bar. Oh, and the small matter of proving to everyone in the Bay that I was more than a playboy who couldn’t keep it in his pants—recent developments notwithstanding—and that I was capable of raising a child.
Pfft. No sweat.
I wiped my forehead, and Isaac’s brow furrowed as he shared darting glances with Josh and Logan. “Look, maybe it’s not too late to get out of this. The deal’s less than twenty-four hours old,and you didn’t have a baby to think about when you agreed to it. I’m sure if you explain the situation to Birdie—”
“No.” I forced myself to smile. “It’s fine. I can manage it.”
Isaac looked dubious, which did nothing for my shaky confidence, so I sprang to my feet. “Let me get you something to drink.”
