An Unexpected Partnership

by Teresa Southwick

  “It’s the truth. My parents don’t understand anything.”

  “I’m going to stop you there, Josh. Your mom and dad love you or you wouldn’t be here now to look over this paper with me. And if they hadn’t agreed to this, you could kiss hockey goodbye.”

  “But all they do is lecture. Leo is cool about everything.”

  “He cares, but you are your parents’ baby.” She moved a hand protectively over her belly, where her own baby was growing. “He doesn’t have the same emotional investment as they do. He came up with a solution that works for everyone. A compromise.”

  “He doesn’t tell me what to do all the time.”

  “He actually does,” she said. “It just doesn’t feel that way.”

  “Maybe. He’s just the best.” Josh chewed and swallowed the last of his snack. Then he looked at her, and with all the angst of a fifteen-year-old in his eyes said, “I wish he was my dad.”

  And the hero-worship train kept on rolling, she thought. Maturity would give this teenager a different perspective on his parents and how much they cared. He didn’t know yet how lucky he was to have both a mother and father who were there for him. If not for her grandfather, she didn’t know what would have happened to her. And none of that minimized Leo’s valuable contribution to Josh’s future at a crossroads in his life.

  Tess hadn’t chosen to get pregnant and hadn’t deliberately picked Leo for sex. It just sort of happened that night he’d put his arms around her, just being nice when she was crying. But even if she’d consciously put thought into the decision, she couldn’t have selected a better man to be the father of her baby.

  “Okay, fanboy,” she teased, “let’s dissect this paper and get you a really good grade on it.”

  For the next hour they went over each sentence, one at a time until every paragraph supported the one before it. They talked about more appropriate words and tightening the structure, eliminating content that was deadweight.

  There was a knock on her door just as they reached the end of the paper. She glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

  “It’s Leo,” Josh said, looking through the window. “Oh, man, I’m late.”

  It was definitely Leo, and her heart responded the way it always did when she saw him. There was a painful squeeze and her belly tightened. Before she could make a move, Josh jumped up to open the door.

  “We were working and I didn’t notice the time. I should have been waiting in the parking lot. I’m sorry.”

  “No big deal, kid.” Leo looked at her, then back at Josh. “Tutoring must be going well if you forgot to watch the clock.”

  The teen shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s okay.”

  “I refuse to take that personally,” she teased. “If I say so myself, it was awesome.”

  “Cliché.” Josh pointed at her.

  “I rest my case,” she told Leo. “Now he’s the language police. I think his paper will earn a good grade and raise his overall score in the class. In my humble opinion his hockey career is saved. My work here is done.”

  “Good.” Leo glanced at the ginormous bag by the door. “Hey, kid, why don’t you grab that and meet me at the car.”

  “Okay.” He started to, then turned back to Tess and gave her a spontaneous hug. “Thanks for everything. And the snacks were really good, too.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He scooped up the handles and hefted the bag over his shoulder, then waved and walked out the door.

  Tess was going to miss him. She sighed, then met Leo’s gaze. “I’m sorry you had to come up.”

  “I needed to talk to you anyway.”

  “First, where’s my case of air freshener?”

  He grinned. “It’s on order.”

  “That does me no good. I’ll just have to open windows.” She leaned against the open door. “Okay, your turn. What did you want to talk about?”

  “I can’t right now. There are a bunch of fourteen-and fifteen-year-olds waiting for me at the rink and they need supervision.”

  “Right, so—”

  “I wanted to set up a time to meet. We’re having a grand reopening soon and we need to nail down some things. Are you free in the morning?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be here waiting for the new furniture to be delivered.”

  “How about ten?”

  “Works for me,” she said.

  “Good. I’ll see you then.” He glanced outside. “I have to go.”

  “Right. Have a good practice. See you tomorrow.”

  The thrill of anticipation coursed through her until she checked the feeling. It felt a little like that scene from the movie Oliver! with the titular hungry orphan holding up his empty bowl and asking for more, please. How pathetic was she?

  A short time ago she’d thought about what a great father he would be. And he would. But that was all about the baby. It had nothing to do with her. And wasn’t it unfortunate that the two of them had more personal baggage than would fit in Josh’s hockey bag? Neither of them wanted a relationship. And that was a darn shame because she’d always wanted a traditional family.

  While living with him, she’d begun to think there was chemistry between them. That hope imploded when she saw how happy he was for her to go back home.

  It was for the best. Josh’s study of literature led him to the conclusion that people did stupid things because of love. No way was she going to be dumb again. So, she and Leo and the baby wouldn’t be the traditional family she’d always dreamed of, but there would be a mother and father in the picture. That was more than she’d had. It would just have to be enough.

  * * *

  Leo couldn’t put it off any longer. The grand reopening of the bar was happening soon and they needed to decide on a name. That’s the main thing he’d wanted to talk with Tess about today, and he was on his way over there now. As much as he was looking forward to seeing her, no way he wanted her upset. And he knew this discussion would do that. When he had raised the subject, she had cried and he hadn’t been able to ignore the compulsion to protect and comfort her. The first time it had happened was the reason he was in baby-daddy limbo now.

  He drove into the parking lot and saw a big delivery truck backed up to the door. Tess was talking to two big, burly guys and pointing at something inside. She was wearing black yoga pants and a tank top. The outfit highlighted that her belly was growing rounder every day. The baby was getting bigger and would be here soon. And Tess looked both cute and sexy as hell.

  It was a damn good thing he wasn’t going to be alone with her because if she shed tears, he was going to comfort her. If he put his arms around her, he didn’t think he would be able to resist kissing her. But there was no point in borrowing trouble. Maybe she would be okay with this change.

  He got out of the car and walked over to her. “Morning.”

  “Hi, Leo.” She looked up at him and used her hand to shade her eyes from the sun. “The new furniture is here.”

  “I noticed, what with the big delivery truck and all,” he said wryly.

  Side by side they watched barstools, love seats, club chairs, end tables and dining sets being taken off the truck.

  “How was practice?” she asked.

  “Good. I see improvement.”

  “That’s great. Josh was singing your coaching praises yesterday. He talked about changing up lines and knowing when someone’s head wasn’t in the game.”

  He met her gaze. “There are a lot of factors that go into pulling a team together. This one has a lot of potential. No offense to the last coach, but it helps to have played the game.”

  “Probably, but you also have to be a leader, one the kids respect, or there’s no way you’re going to pull them together.” She smiled. “According to Josh, you have wings, a halo and you walk on water.”
/>   “Fortunately it’s frozen or I’d sink like a stone.”

  She laughed. “FYI, some of Nate’s guys are here tying up loose ends. They’re putting up all the flat-screen TVs.”

  “Yeah, he called me.”

  After a few moments of silence she said, “Enough small talk. What’s so important that you had to make an appointment to talk about it?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Yesterday, when you picked up Josh, you said we needed to discuss something.”

  He actually remembered and was merely stalling. “Right. It’s just last-minute details. It can wait until this is done.” He angled his head toward the growing array of eclectic furniture accumulating on the sidewalk.

  Nervously, she caught her top lip between her teeth. “I hope everything looks okay when they get it inside. Now that I see it, I’m not sure the furnishings all go together. Maybe blending new with what was already here was not the best way to go. I don’t want to let my grandfather down.”

  “You won’t,” he reassured her.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I won’t let that happen. He knew that when he asked me to invest. This is going to be the ‘in spot.’ The happening place for all occasions.”

  “Date night and bachelor parties? Seems like sort of a conflict of interest to me.”

  “We’ve opened the window wider to appeal to a more diverse clientele. Birthday parties, family reunions, bachelorette parties, too.”

  “Baby showers?” She looked ruefully at her tummy.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not sure we can handle the food for those types of events. I know I gave you a hard time about a chef, but you might be onto something.”

  “We can cater at first, if necessary,” he said. “One of our first new hires should be a chef. Someone creative with food, who can turn pub cuisine into something special.”

  “What do you mean ‘first hires’?” she asked. “You kept everyone on the payroll during renovations. And I promised Brandon he had a job when we reopened. He needs it until he gets his business degree from UCLA.”

  “I’m counting on him,” Leo assured her. “But he is going to graduate next year and will probably leave. We need to train someone now to take over. And then there’s replacing you.”

  “Hey, I’m a partner.” She stared at him. “Not going anywhere.”

  “But you’re having a baby.” He indicated the bump of her tummy that proved his point. “You won’t be able to fill in. At least not at a moment’s notice anyway.”

  Leo remembered the turmoil of having a new baby in the house. Sleepless nights. Colic and crying. Teething and crying. The needs were varied, immediate and required attention. When he had to be out of town for games or other professional commitments, guilt and worry became his new best friends. His ex-wife wasn’t a bad mother, but her parenting philosophy allowed for more crying and less cuddling. His way of thinking was just the opposite.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Tess’s opinion until he reminded himself he didn’t have to. Not yet. Not until the baby was born and he had proof that he was the biological father. The only privileges he had now were what she allowed. He wasn’t going to get sucked in and care until a test said he had as much right to the child as she did.

  All the furniture was finally out of the truck, and one of the delivery guys asked her a question about where to put it.

  “Let’s start with the barstools. The new ones will be intermingled. Take away half of the existing ones and place them old, new, old, new.”

  “You got it,” number one big guy said. “You want us to take away the old ones?”

  There was regret in her eyes when she nodded. “But save two. I’m going to put them upstairs in my apartment. Keepsakes.”

  “Will do,” he said. “I’ll have Vince carry them up for you.”

  “That’s all right. I can do it.”

  “Lady, in your condition you shouldn’t be carrying stuff like that at all. Especially up the stairs.”

  “He’s right.” Leo made a mental note to give these guys a nice tip.

  Tess turned on him. “Did you say something to them about the baby?”

  “I just got here. And, no, I didn’t make a phone call. It’s obvious.”

  “On the up side, at least they didn’t assume I was just putting on weight,” she said.

  Not a chance, he thought. She was still curvy in all the right places, all the best ones. He would give almost anything to explore them. Just the fact that idea crossed his mind made him double down on his promise to not go to hell where Tess was concerned.

  He instructed them to work around the two men hanging the flat-screen TV. Then they followed big guy number one and Vince inside, and Tess showed them how she wanted the lounge furniture arranged. She pointed out the dining area, where the tables and chairs would go, and studied the center bar with a critical eye, particularly the blending of chairs. “I wasn’t sure these would work together, but it’s okay.”

  Kind of like the two of them, he thought. “It looks better than okay.”

  They observed as the lounge took shape and there was a smile on her face. It didn’t take long to arrange the tables and chairs in the separate dining area. She walked around the place, nodding her approval.

  “It’s not awful,” she told him.

  “High praise coming from you. I guess that’s a hat trick for me.” He saw her blank expression. “Hockey term. Three goals by one player in a single game.”

  “Okay, then. You get one of those.”

  While Vince took her keepsake barstools up to her apartment, big guy number one came over with a work order that needed a signature. Leo did that and gave him a check and a generous tip. “Great job.”

  “Thanks.”

  They shook hands and the men left the building just as Nate’s construction guys came out of the lounge and left.

  Tess was still strolling around, taking stock of the interior, as if she’d moved into a new house. “The walls are so bare. It looks so different.”

  “Good different or bad?”

  “Not sure yet. But I guess it is what it is.”

  “Yeah, about that—”

  “Now you can talk to me about whatever it is you didn’t want to bring up in front of strangers.” She met his gaze and there was nothing in her expression that hinted at what she was thinking. “It’s about the name change, right?”

  “Yeah. We need to make a decision. It should be on the window when we reopen.”

  “I know.” There was a trace of sadness in her voice.

  “What are your thoughts?”

  “Keep the old one.” Her tone was part teasing, part hopeful. “Just kidding. Mostly.”

  “I know this is difficult.” The last time he brought it up she cried and he hated that.

  “At least you warned me. And your reasoning is sound.” She sighed. “So, I’ve been thinking... Here’s my list, in no particular order and not especially good. The Corner Pub. Pub on the Corner. Cheers. No One Knows Your Name. No Name. Tess’s Tavern. Tess and Leo’s Tavern.”

  “Hmm.” At least she hadn’t left him out, much as she probably wanted to. “I know we’re mixing old and new but I think those are a little too much on the new side.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “I think so.” He hoped she approved, because he had work orders pending with a tentative new name. “What do you think about Patrick’s Place?”

  She didn’t say anything, just let the words hang there in the air, where her grandfather had built his business from the ground up. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and he was about to take it back.

  “You don’t like it. No problem. We can brainstorm some more. I have a list, too—”

  “No.” She put the tips of her fingers
over her mouth for a moment. “It’s absolutely perfect. Granddad would love it.”

  “Okay, then,” he said.

  That was a relief, until it wasn’t. His arms ached to hold her. He’d almost counted on it but didn’t have to after all. What kind of a scumbag was he for wishing she had cried? Now there was no excuse to hold her. Even worse, he wanted to kiss her. Not only was he a scumbag; he was a stupid one. He was on the verge of breaking his rule about getting personally involved.

  The definition of insanity was doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Thank goodness the busywork to get Patrick’s Place open was almost done. As soon as the doors were open again, he could back off and let her run the show.

  He wouldn’t have to see her, and eventually she would be out of his system.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What if no one shows up?” Tess said to Leo. They were standing by the bar, staring at the front door that hadn’t budged, even though they’d only officially reopened thirty seconds ago.

  Patrick’s Place was more than ready and she was primed for action, but panic was setting in. “What if this is an epic fail and we go bankrupt? I’ll be an unemployed single mom. What am I going to do then?”

  “Take a breath.” He put his hands on her upper arms and gave her a reassuring squeeze before letting her go. “One step at a time. We’ve made all the right moves. Advertising in the local paper and TV spots. Coupons. Invitations to friends and former customers. They’ll come. We’ll have at least one spectacular night.”

  “You’re being way too rational,” she said before his words sank in. “One? Oh, God. What if no one comes back ever? Without repeat business, we’ll fall on our faces—”

  “This is just wrong,” he said. “The world has gone mad. Everything is turned upside down.”

  She blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m usually the ‘glass half empty’ guy and you’re Priscilla Perky. What’s up with this reversal of roles?”

  Tess realized he was right. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to let Granddad down.”