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I’d dropped a ball, but it was one made of glass when all the others would probably bounce.
The loft was quiet when I finally rushed in the door, and it made me pause. Seb was wondrously asleep in his bed, and Abbie was curled up on the sofa. My mother and Nancy had worked miracles in the place—there were piles of clean clothes folded and stacked neatly on the dining table, the kitchen sink no longer overflowed with dirty dishes, and it was possible towalk from one side of the living room to the other without stepping on something that squeaked.
Never in my life had I been so relieved to be home. Abbie got straight to her feet at the sight of me, falling into my open arms, and I heaved in a calming breath as I held her tight and breathed in her coconut scent.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” I mumbled against her hair. “I’m sorry you had to deal with all this shit by yourself.”
She sighed and relaxed against me. “It’s okay—and I’m okay. I had a couple of hours of sleep this afternoon, so I feel like a new woman. But Will?”
Abbie pulled back to look up at me, and my eyebrows drew down with concern as Abbie blinked back tears.
“Yeah?”
“I think we need to talk about asking our parents to help more often.”
I pressed my lips to her forehead, then sighed and pulled her more tightly against me. “I think you might be right.”
Shewasright, but admitting it felt like admitting failure, or at least defeat. Seb was my responsibility, and he deserved a good father, but he deserved a large, loving family, too. My text messages to Heather continued to go unanswered, and I was still no closer to deciding if I was doing the right thing by trying to lure her back into our lives. I didn’t want him growing up with the sense of abandonment I’d wrestled with all my life.
I was also fucking up on the boyfriend front. Abbie was wilting under the pressure I’d put her under, but it took a day like today for me to realise it. I was a selfish jerk, taking too much from her and giving too little, and I couldn’t expect things to go on as they were. When Abbie and Seb burst into my life and my loft within an hour of each other, things moved too fast to step back and make plans we both felt comfortable with, but all that would change soon. Moving in together had never been in the plan, andshe was only here because she had to be, not because that’s what she wanted. Once the repairs on her place were done, and this tournament and festival were over, Abbie would move back to her apartment, and I’d have to let her go.
On top of that, I had to find a sensitive way to talk to her about the way this hot single dad bullshit was blowing up on socials. There was a freaking bingo card, for Christ’s sake, and the entire mess was my responsibility. Maybe even my karma. Once a playboy, always a playboy, right? It’s not that it bothered me—on some level, I could even see the funny side—but I didn’t want it to upset Abbie. Imagine if the roles were reversed? I could never stand back and say nothing if a bunch of random men showed up in the Bay and started sniffing around.
Fuck. I couldn’t wait until this festival was over and I could announce to the world that Abbie was my girl.
The only consolation was I wasn’t screwing up on all fronts. The Stop was doing better than ever. Everything was on track for the tournament, and I had a real shot at lining up a big-time investor for the brewery. Birdie’s loan was well and good, but if there were deep pockets willing to get more hands-on with business growth and development, there was no limit to what I could do with the place. And as anxious as I was about my relationship with Abbie and my capacity as a parent, I couldn’t stop feeling excited about my career.
I just had to get through the next week, then everything would become easier. I’d have more energy to concentrate on being a better father and boyfriend. One week. That’s all.
How hard could it be?
40
Will
The Valentine’s Day inValentine Bay Festival officially kicked off the Thursday before the tournament, and my nerves were wound so tight I got barely any sleep the night before. My schedule was packed from the moment my alarm went off Thursday morning until I was due to close up The Stop at midnight—in fact, every day until Valentine’s Day looked pretty much the same—but I’d been so focussed on making this week a success that any exhaustion was swept away by adrenaline, and I woke that morning practically buzzing.
Seb, thank God, had only woken once overnight. His temperament had improved now that we understood his teeth made him uncomfortable, and in addition to using medicine when required, Abbie had purchased an amber necklace for its natural analgesic qualities, and I’d picked up a half dozen freezable teething rings.
We packed them all into Seb’s tote bag and handed them over—along with Seb—when Mum and Ray came to collect him earlythat morning. They’d offered to take Seba lotover the festival period, and I couldn’t say no. There was no way Abbie was going to be stuck in the loft when the biggest moments of my career were happening downstairs. She’d worked as hard as I had this month to make the tournament possible, and I wanted her by my side to share in the victory. I couldn’t imagine doing any of it without her.
“Are you sure you can handle him on your own for twenty-four hours?” I asked.
Mum cooed at Seb, and Seb giggled back. “Of course, we can. We’re looking forward to it.”
“I’ll swing by in the morning to see him, and Abbie will take him for a few hours in the afternoon so you can enjoy the festival over the weekend, but—”
“He’s spending the next few nights with us,” Mum finished. “We know, sweetheart, and we’re thrilled about it.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and questioned whether spending so much time working this weekend made me a better dad or a worse one.
Abbie gave Mum a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Seb. “Will is going to be tied up most of the day, but I can make myself available if you need me to pick him up. Anytime, okay? Day or night.”
Mum spared us both a patient glance as Ray hefted the bag over his shoulder and replied, “We will call if there’s anything wrong, but Seb loves spending time with us, and you need to focus on the event. This is a big weekend for everyone.”
Shifting Seb to her other hip, Mum stretched up to give me a kiss. “Let us help,” she whispered.
I nodded slightly as she settled on her heels and offered her a tight smile. “Thank you.”
