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35
Will
I spent another halfan hour walking Jason around the old warehouse, picking our way through the stacks of tables, chairs, and random paraphernalia stacked against the walls. The building works and repairs were due to be signed off in the next two days, and then we’d be able to get started on setting up in time for the event on Saturday. Now that it was so close, I wanted the party to be over. I was ready for this part of my deal with Birdie to be done and for the next stage to begin.
Jason opened a box containing bright pink ribbons, then another packed with fuchsia balloons and pastel pink streamers, and he hit me with an amused eyebrow. “Interesting colour scheme you’re going for here.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. “Yeah. The tournament’s kind of the opening event for the Valentine’s Day in Valentine Bay Festival. We do it every year, but the poker tournament has taken it to new levels. Our local tourism council took charge of thedecorating committee, so the riot of pink you’re going to get in a few days is kind of out of my hands.”
“Ah.” Jason hid a smile as he dropped the streamer in his hand. “Can’t wait to see it.”
I ran a hand through my hair as we left the warehouse and re-entered The Stop. “At least this place will be safe from their clutches,” I said, gesturing around the room. “The bar’s always been something like a safe house for local cynics at this time of year. The lone protester against all that pink.”
Jason laughed. “Sounds like you might be single, eh?”
“Oh, uh—no, actually. I’ve got a girlfriend and a six-month-old son.”
It was hard not to smile, saying that to a stranger for the first time, but I managed it.
“No kidding?” Jason regarded me with an appraising look. “A girlfriend. A baby. A successful business and plans to keep growing? I’m impressed.”
I hoped he didn’t notice the way the tips of my ears burned. “Thanks, Jason. I appreciate that.”
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Abbie with Seb in her arms, talking to Steph over the bar. Before I could wonder why she was here, I was taken by the impulse to show them off. “In fact, I’d love you to meet them if you can spare another five minutes.”
“I’d like that,” he replied.
I led him over to the bar and touched Abbie lightly on the shoulder.
“Abbie, this is Jason Maloney, the investor I was telling you about. Jason, this is my girl, Abbie. And this is Seb.”
I reached out to take Seb from Abbie’s arms, but he shied away and curled into her neck. It reminded me that Seb had been acting oddly for days, and my briefly forgotten worry returned.
Abbie pressed her cheek against the top of Seb’s head as she offered her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” He ducked his head to get a look at Seb, but my son wasn’t having it. Jason chuckled lightly. “Looks like he’s not feeling social today.”
“No.” I shot Abbie a puzzled look. “It doesn’t seem like it.”
“This might be my cue to leave, eh?” Jason gave me his hand, and I shook it distractedly. “I’ve taken up enough of your time today, but I like what I see so far, Will. You’ve got a beautiful little family here, an exciting business, and you’re clearly a man who cares about his local community, and I appreciate that. It takes guts and commitment to juggle your competing priorities, but you’re doing it pretty darn well as far as I can tell.” He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s make time to catch up after the tournament and see if we can come to some sort of agreement. What do you say?”
I blinked in surprise, wondering if I’d heard him right, but when Abbie grinned at me, a slow smile spread across my face, too. I shook Jason’s hand with more vigour than necessary. “Yes. Absolutely, yes. Thanks, Jason.”
“No problem.” He reached out for Abbie’s hand and shook it as well. “I look forward to doing business with you.”
With a kind of dazed wonder, I watched Jason walk away, following the shape of his back as he manoeuvred his way past tables of people enjoying a late lunch and a booth of twenty-something women giggling over cocktails until he disappeared out the door. Beside me, Abbie murmured quietly to Seb, and when the spell of the moment finally broke, I turned back to her with a mess of apprehension and exhilaration swirling in my middle.
“It sounds like your meeting went well,” she commented.
“Yeah, it did, but we can talk about it after you tell me what brings you down here.” I rubbed Seb’s back and tried to coax himinto my arms again, but he wouldn’t come to me. “Is something wrong with Seb?”
A line popped up between her brows. “He just seems a little off. He didn’t eat much at lunch and only slept for twenty minutes. I thought I’d bring him down for daddy cuddles, see if that would cheer him up.” Her mouth twitched as she glanced up at me. “They always work for me.”
I winked, but my attention was focussed on Seb. “I think he’s happier with you.”
“Impossible.”
She lifted him away from her body and deposited him in my arms, and this time, he tucked himself quietly against my chest. I circled his little body protectively and pressed a kiss to his head. His skin felt warm under my lips, but no more than when he woke up pink-cheeked from a couple of hours under his bed covers.
