Until she focused on him and her expression hardened into ice.
“Tess—”
“Do you want a drink?”
No. He wanted to talk to her but he had a feeling ordering something was the only way to make that happen. “Yeah. Can I get a beer?”
Without a word she moved to get him a frosty glass, then held it beneath the tap and pulled the handle. She tilted the glass to keep the foam to a minimum, then leveled it at just the right moment. She grabbed a napkin and set it on the bar, in front of him, with the glass on top.
“Thanks. How are you?”
“Fine.” She was treating him like a stranger.
That wasn’t actually true. A stranger who came in for a beer would get a warm smile and an enthusiastic welcome to Patrick’s Place. He longed to be a stranger.
“I’m sorry I missed the doctor’s appointment. There was a crisis. Pipe broke in one of my buildings. Is everything all right with you and the baby?”
“I’ll let you know after the birth, when the DNA test results are in. According to our legal agreement, that’s when it will be okay for you to start feeling anything.”
“Come on, Tess. Can’t we talk about this?”
“Call your attorney. Get her to draw up more paperwork. I’ll look at it.”
Before he could come up with a response, she walked away. She stopped to talk to Brandon, who nodded, and then she left the bar and went upstairs to her apartment.
“That went well.” Now he was talking to himself.
He would keep talking if he had any helpful advice to give to himself, but that well was dry. Everything he’d tried so far wasn’t working. So maybe he needed to talk to someone else. Tess’s sarcastic comment was still ringing in his ears. Call your attorney. Annabel did legal work for him but was also a friend. So that was actually a very good idea.
He took out his phone and looked through his contacts. She was probably still in the office. It went straight to voice mail, so he texted her a brief message. 9-1-1. His phone rang moments later.
He answered and said, “Annabel—”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk,” he said.
“Is this a legal matter?”
“Sort of.” It was a result of the document she’d pulled together for him. “Are you with a client?”
“Nope. No more appointments. I’m at the office, catching up on paperwork.”
“Can I come over?” he asked.
There was a brief pause before she said, “Okay.”
He clicked off and headed for the door. There were four guys sitting in a booth and one of them called him over.
The man was balding, in his fifties. “Aren’t you Leo ‘The Wall’ Wallace? The hockey player?”
“Yes, but—”
“Can we get your autograph?” He lifted his beer from the cocktail napkin and pulled a pen from his shirt pocket.
“Sure.” Leo signed his name and handed it back.
“How’s retirement?” one of the other men asked. “Do you miss playing? Games? Glory? Girls?”
He thought about the question and realized he hadn’t missed those days for a long time. Life was filled with work. And Tess. She had brought joy and purpose to him, to his life. And soon there would be a baby. His baby.
“Everything I want is right here.” Except Tess. He glanced at the four men. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have a meeting. Hope you’ll come back in. I’d love to chat with you.”
Everyone smiled and assured him he could count on their business. He waved on his way out the door and twenty minutes later he walked into the building where Annabel’s office was located. He took the elevator to her floor and when it stopped, he headed down the hall. The receptionist was gone so he walked into the inner sanctum, where Annabel sat behind her desk.
“Where’s the fire?” She didn’t bother with pleasantries.
For some reason that irked him. “Hello, Annabel. How are you?”
“Annoyed. That’s how I am. You said this was an emergency. To me that means someone—you—is either bleeding or on fire. If you are, it doesn’t show.”
That’s because it was all happening to him on the inside. “I needed to talk.”
“You could have called the office tomorrow and made an appointment.”
“Since when do friends have to put a date on the calendar to talk?”
“So, we’re friends.”
“Of course we are. You know that.” He felt like a lawyer presenting an argument in court. “I need to talk to you about something. You’re logical and you’re a woman.”
“Oh, boy.” She sighed and put down her pen. “This isn’t going to be quick, is it?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
He counted on his friend’s professional advice and knew she would give him the truth. Always. They never mixed business and pleasure. But he’d crossed that line with Tess. Touching her made his willpower evaporate and he’d kissed her. He was a goner. And then she’d said what she’d said, and he ran for cover. He had to make things better, and not just so they could work together.
“Sorry. I’ll buy you dinner later.”
“Maybe. If I’m still hungry after you’re finished confessing how you’ve been a jackass. After which I will give you outstanding advice on how to make up for your insensitive behavior.”
“Wow. That’s harsh,” he said.
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“After you tell me how you know this.” He sat in one of the club chairs in front of her desk.
“Seriously?” She sighed when he nodded. “I drew up that completely unnecessary agreement for you after you insisted you had to have it.”
“How do you know it’s unnecessary?”
“First of all I’ve met Tess. I like her and I’m an excellent judge of character. She is sweet, honest and oozing integrity.”
Leo could not argue with that assessment. And she was so much more, too. Hot, sexy and smart. Prettiest pregnant lady he’d ever seen. She kept him on his toes. “What else?”
“How do you know there’s more?”
“You said ‘first of all.’ That implies you have more criteria for your conclusion.”
“Okay. Yeah.” Annabel leaned back in her chair. “You had a verbal agreement with Tess to have DNA testing done after the baby is born. So there was no reason to have anything in writing right now.” She met his gaze and frowned. “Unless something happened. Is Tess okay? The baby?”
“Both fine.” At least that’s what she’d said.
“For some reason you felt threatened. Because everything in those papers was about your rights being protected.” Her eyes widened in comprehension. “She told you she has feelings for you, didn’t she?”
Leo considered lying but there was no point. Besides, he’d 9-1-1-ed her and rushed over here to talk. “Yes. She said she loved me.”
“Great.” She looked pleased, then studied his face. “Or not.”
“Come on. You know what happened to me. I fell in love, got lied to and lost my kid. If I hadn’t fallen for her...” He shook his head. “Love is the last thing I want.”
“Tess isn’t your ex.” Leave it to a lawyer to state the obvious.
“That’s what she said.”
“And letting her go because of your personal baggage makes you an idiot.”
“She said that, too. Only she called me a fool.”
“That works.” Annabel glanced away for a moment, then met his gaze. Her own was intense. “A fool who’s taken one too many shots to the head playing hockey.”
“What does that mean?” He held up a hand. “I don’t mean that literally. Why in the world would I take another chance in my personal life after what happened to me?”
“Because by some mir
acle of banked karma, you knocked up a really wonderful woman who is the one for you. God knows why, but she genuinely cares about you. And you made her sign something that proves you don’t trust her.”
It sounded really bad when she put it like that. “I guess I could have handled it better.”
“You think?” Annabel gave him her patented “men are morons” look.
“Okay. Already established. Asked and answered, as you lawyers like to say. What do I do? How do I fix this with her?”
“Did it occur to you to say you’re sorry?”
“Of course. I tried. I’ve been trying ever since I messed up.”
“Not going well.” Again stating the obvious. It sure looked as if she was taking a whole lot of satisfaction from that.
“If it was all sunshine and roses, I wouldn’t have called you. Are you going to keep making fun of me? Or are you actually going to give me some common-sense suggestions to fix this problem?”
“Poor Leo.” She tsked and her expression was a little condescending. “I’m sorry you’re hurting. Truly. I just couldn’t resist.”
“Try harder. Tell me what to do.”
“You, sir, need a very big gesture. Flowers. Jewelry is always nice. Expensive. A conciliatory billboard on Huntington Hills Parkway.”
“That’s the most congested intersection in town,” he said.
“Like I said—very big gesture. Very public, too. Followed by a great deal of sincere groveling,” she added.
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Telling her you were wrong will work wonders. You’ll see. I promise.”
“How can you be so sure I’m going to do this?”
She smiled now, a look without a hint of sarcasm or female satisfaction over a man’s confusion. This was sincere and heartfelt. “I know you will because you’re crazy about her.”
At least she hadn’t used the L word, but it was sounding pretty good to him. And she obviously knew him well. Because he was going back to the bar and this time he was going to make Tess listen.
Chapter Fifteen
When Tess heard the knock on her apartment door her heart jumped. Maybe Leo had followed her. But when she opened up and saw her friend Carla, she realized the word maybe was the cruelest, most painful one in the English language.
She forced herself to smile and hugged the other woman. “Hi.”
“Hi, back.” Carla held her at arm’s length, studying her. “I was going to ask how you are, but you look tired. Are you eating? Sleeping? Taking care of yourself?”
“Of course.” She shut the door. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”
“I haven’t heard from you in an uncharacteristically long time.” She shrugged. “They don’t call. They don’t write. They don’t—”
“You’ve made your point. I’ve been busy with work.”
“Aren’t we all,” Carla said wryly.
“So you came by yourself. Where’s Jamie?”
“Bill is back in town.” Carla had a look on her face, as if she’d eaten bad sushi. “She sends her love and made me promise to give her an update.”
“What’s wrong?” Tess asked. It was a relief to be talking about someone other than herself.
“I don’t know how to tell her, but I think Bill is a two-timing, scum-sucking, cheating bastard.”
“What are you talking about?” Tess asked.
“I’m pretty sure he’s married.”
Tess pointed to the kitchen. “Can I get you a glass of wine?”
“Sure. I could really use one.”
Tess led the way and took a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator that she kept chilled for her friends and opened it. Reaching up into the cupboard, she took down a stemless glass and poured the golden liquid into it, then handed it over. She took out a bottle of water for herself.
“What makes you think he’s married?”
“The signs are classic. He shows up unexpectedly and she has to drop everything to see him. The pub reopened and he’s suddenly called back to the home office. And yes, I do mean that as a double entendre. She suggested the two of them take a romantic getaway to San Diego, but he wouldn’t hear of it.” Carla took a big drink of wine. “I just have a feeling and I don’t want her to get hurt. But I’m afraid if I say something, she’ll be mad at me.”
“If he is, she’s going to be hurt anyway. Wouldn’t it be best to gently ask some questions? Maybe lead her in that direction without actually putting it out there?”
Carla nodded. “That’s a good idea. It would help if you’re there when I bring it up.”
“Count on it.” Tess hated to see her friend hurt, especially because she knew how bad it felt. The best thing she could say was that Leo hadn’t lied to her, probably because he’d been lied to so horribly. She wanted to change the subject. “So, what’s new? How’s the matchmaking business?”
“Things are looking up since Gabriel Blackburne is temporarily helping out his eccentric aunt, who owns Make Me a Match.”
“Isn’t he in the tech business?”
“Yes, but the place desperately needed organization. Lillian is emotional and intuitive, super good at pairing people. He’s analytical and brings balance.” Carla took another sip of her wine. “It’s amazing how many people would like to find someone but are too busy to look.”
Tess hadn’t been looking. It had just happened, damn it. Everything led back to Leo. She saw that Carla’s wineglass was empty. “Can I refill that for you?”
“Since you’re pregnant and can’t have alcohol, does that mean I’m drinking for two?”
“Whatever you want. And you don’t have to drive home. You can spend the night here.”
Carla’s eyes widened questioningly. “I suppose that means there’s no chance you’re going to have male companionship this evening.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I saw the way you were looking at him when Patrick’s Place reopened,” Carla said.
“Are you talking about Leo?”
“Is there someone else I don’t know about?”
Tess hadn’t talked to her friends about the agreement he’d had drawn up for her to sign. Was there such a thing as being too heartbroken to even discuss it with the people you trusted most in the world? She’d been trying to pretend things were fine. The “never speak of it again” solution to her pain was working, just barely. And she wanted to keep it that way.
“Honestly, you don’t even know about Leo.”
“What don’t I know?” Carla took the refilled glass.
“There’s not much to know,” she insisted.
“Well, I know you and your eyes are telling me that there’s a lot on your mind. My matchmaking instincts are telling me it’s all about one hunky hockey-player partner of yours.”
“How long have you been working at this new job?” Tess asked.
“That’s irrelevant.” Carla waved a hand in dismissal.
“A couple of months gives you a matchmaking sixth sense?”
“Are you ever going to let me forget that before I hated him for hurting you, I actually liked Alan, the college athlete and first-class jerk?”
“I’m so over that.” But Tess had a bad feeling that getting over Leo was going to be a lifetime struggle.
“We’ve known each other how long?” Carla asked. “Do you seriously think I can’t see that something is up? If the shoe was on the other foot, would you not badger me until I came clean?”
“God, I hate it when you’re right.” Tess sighed. “Leo and I slept together.”
“Old news, sweetie.” Carla’s gaze dropped to Tess’s growing baby bump. “You’re the cutest darn pregnant lady I’ve ever seen.”
That made Tess smile. Thank goodness for her friends. She was being stupid b
y keeping this to herself. They’d helped her through every crisis, and this one would be no exception, because shutting them out wasn’t an option. It would not be allowed.
“Let’s sit,” she said.
“Are you uncomfortable?” Carla looked concerned.
“A little. Feeling some pressure but that happens if I’m on my feet a lot. It goes away when I sit.”
“Okay, then.” Her friend moved to the love seat that separated the living area and kitchen. “Take a load off right now, missy.”
Tess did just that and sighed before meeting the other woman’s gaze. “The thing is, we had sex again, about a week ago, and—”
“I knew it! Like I said, off-the-chart chemistry between you two that night.” There was an “I told you so” gleam in Carla’s eyes. “Jamie and I talked about it on the way home and she saw it, too. My matchmaking mojo was crackling when I saw the way he was looking at you.” She took a breath, then a sip of wine. “How did he propose? Was it romantic? Rose petals and champagne—well, not for you. But knowing you as I do, you’re going to make love complicated because of the past. Please tell me you didn’t turn him down flat.”
“Things are definitely complicated, but not because of me.” Tess held up her left hand and pointed out the bare ring finger. “He didn’t propose.”
“What’s he waiting for? The two of you are clearly nuts about each other.”
Nuts described Tess. She’d been deluded enough to fall for the guy, even though she knew it was a really bad idea. But that implied she’d had a choice. It had just happened. She hadn’t wanted to lose her heart. Tears filled her eyes and that’s why she’d resisted talking about this. But no way would her friend let this pass without hearing details.
“Tell me, Tess. What’s wrong? Was it the sex? Bad?”
“No. It was really, really awesome. And I don’t care if that word is overused.” She sniffled. “And I was so in the moment. And the feeling was so big, it spilled over and—”
“What?” Carla demanded.
“I said it. I told him I love him.”
“But that’s a good thing, right? Tell me it is. For the sake of my career in bringing people together to find happiness. Which isn’t easy, by the way.” Carla looked worried. “Did he say it back?”
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