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Abbie sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “It’s been a long afternoon.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” My gaze darted to Steph and away again as I weighed my options. “I’ll ask Steph to stay a few extra hours so I can help you with Seb’s bath and bedtime routine.”
“That sounds good. Thank you.”
“Are you hungry?” I asked, gently rocking Seb in an absent way that had become second nature. “Thirsty? Did you want to sit down?”
“I want to lay down,” she muttered, but before I could reply, my phone rang.
I awkwardly pulled it from my pocket and saw Jason’s name flashing on the screen. I showed Abbie, who looked as confused as me. We moved away from the bar and into the private hallway outside, and with a sinking feeling in my gut. I answered the call and put it on speaker so Abbie could follow the conversation.
“Jason?” I said, clearing the hitch in my voice as Abbie took the phone, and I shifted Seb to a more comfortable position. “Hi. Did you forget something?”
“I just wanted to ask if you were free tomorrow? I’ve got a contact in Sydney who might be able to help with the supply and installation of the brewery equipment, and he’s got time to meet with us and step us through the options.”
Fuck, I wanted to say yes. Ihadto say yes, didn’t I? It wouldn’t be a good look to knock back an offer like this from the man who wanted to invest in me and my business. But Abbie was obviously having a hard time managing Seb without my support, and there was still work to do for the tournament. I couldn’t afford a day away from the Bay.
I looked to Abbie for advice, and she nodded almost violently.Yes, she mouthed.Do it.
“Sure,” I agreed before I could second guess myself. “Sounds awesome. Thanks for setting it up.”
“No problem. I’m heading back to the city now, so I’ll have to meet you there first thing in the morning. Is nine a.m. all right?”
“Perfect.”
“Good. I’ll text you the address and the details. See you then.”
Abbie ended the call and handed me the phone. I stuffed it away and met her eyes, taken aback by how overwhelming it was to see the admiration shining so brightly in them.
“I’m so proud of you, babe,” she said. “You’re fucking killing it. Just like I knew you would.”
“Language,” I admonished, but I couldn’t stop the smile. I was fucking killing it. And I had to keep killing it, so Abbie kept looking at me like that.
Abbie scrunched her nose and leaned in for a kiss. “Required.”
I pressed my lips to hers, then glanced down at Seb. He’d fallen asleep.
“Why don’t you take him up to bed, and I’ll arrange the schedule with Steph? It’ll only take a minute. I’ll be up soon.”
“Good idea.”
As I carefully transferred the baby to Abbie’s outstretched arms, my phone pinged again. Before I could retrieve it, it pinged another half a dozen times, and when I checked the screen, it was lit up with a bunch of social media notifications. Curious, I swiped and opened the first of a bunch of posts from people I didn’t know, but my handle tagged in the captions.
“Oh, Jesus,” I muttered, swiping through to another post and another, and one more. They were appearing quicker than I could open them.
“What?” Abbie craned her neck to peer at the screen, shuffling around to get a better view. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I opened another post, one with “Hot Daddy Will” stamped across a pic of me with Seb in my arms. I was pressing a kiss to his curls while standing at the bar not ten minutes ago. The pic had been cropped to exclude Abbie.
“Rude,” she joked.
“You’re not upset?” I asked, a little surprised—and disappointed. It’s not like Abbie had any reason to be insecure, but a little jealousy might be nice.
She snorted. “Ah, no. You are a hot daddy, and I’m not looking my best today. Whoever posted that pic did me a solid.”
“You’re not serious.” I ran my eyes up and down her body, appreciating the subtle swell of her hips beneath the tight fabric of her yoga pants and the midriff tee that revealed a smooth expanse of her flat stomach. “You’re fucking gorgeous, babe.”
Her small smile was pleased. “Language,” she chastised.
