He didn’t want her to work that hard for that long. She was already showing signs of tiring easily and she wasn’t even showing yet. Throw in her mother’s history of miscarriages and he wanted her off her feet.
“If she worked in an office or something, maybe. But she doesn’t even get to sit down, except on her break.”
“Has she mentioned not wanting to work?” Joe asked.
“No. Beth doesn’t…she takes care of herself. It wouldn’t even occur to her not to work.”
Evan slapped him on the back again. “You sure got it rough, Kowalski. A woman who had sex with you, but doesn’t want gifts and won’t take your money?”
“Whether she likes it or not, it’s on me to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“You really like her that much?” Joe asked.
“Of course I like her. She’s having my baby.”
Leo shook his head. “That makes the baby yours. Not the mother. If she doesn’t want help from you, that’s her business.”
That didn’t make any sense, even after downing some more beer. Why wouldn’t she let him help her? What was good for her was good for the baby. Being bounced around half of every day while his mother ran around delivering cheeseburgers couldn’t be good for him. Therefore, for the baby’s sake, she should stop waitressing.
“You know what you need to do?” Mike asked.
“If I did, do you think I would have asked you idiots for advice? Well, not you, Pop. These other idiots.”
“Whatever.” Mike leaned forward, as though he was about to give up the key to understanding women. “You need to offer her a job yourself.”
“Waiting tables at Jasper’s every night would be different than what she’s doing, how?”
“Not waiting tables. Office stuff. Inventory shit. She went to college for business management. Didn’t get her degree, but she knows the stuff.”
He didn’t know that. “How the hell do you know what she went to school for?”
“Lisa told me.”
“How did Lisa know?”
“Fucked if I know. I assume Beth told her. Or Beth told Paulie who told Terry who told Ma who told Lisa. You know how it is.”
He considered Mike’s plan for a few minutes, but he didn’t think it would work. “She knows I’ve been managing the place two years with no problems. If she thinks I’m just trying to get her off her feet, she’ll refuse.”
“You need to make her think you need the help. Screw some stuff up. Lose some papers. Run out of something. Shit like that.”
Evan was nodding. “You gotta be sneaky. Trust me, I know. There isn’t a woman on the planet more stubborn than Terry.”
“She gets it from her mother,” Leo said. “They’re right. Nothing makes a woman happier than thinking a man can’t function without her.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Joe asked and they all groaned. As the oldest brother, he usually felt a need to be the voice of reason. Not a quality his younger brothers or brother-in-law appreciated the way they probably should. “You’re already giving her a place to live. Now you want to give her a semi-fake job. Making her totally dependent on you is a pretty big deal.”
It was a big deal and she would absolutely hate hearing Joe sum up the situation like that, but Kevin was convinced it was the best thing to do. For the baby’s sake, of course. Not just because he couldn’t think of anything he’d like more than working side by side with Beth every day.
The waitress brought their steaks, but Joe had to take a final shot at him. “Families aren’t Sea-Monkeys, Kev. You can’t just add water and watch them magically appear. The fact you made a baby together doesn’t mean she’s the one for you. Or that you’re the one for her.”
“I know that.” He shoved a hunk of steak into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to say more.
He did know that. But he also knew how much time he spent thinking about her. Wanting to kiss her when she was with him and counting the minutes until she returned when she wasn’t. The hours he spent tossing and turning at night, imagining what it would be like to wake up every morning to her in his bed. That couldn’t all be just because she was carrying his baby.
He was almost sure of it.
***
Four hours and seven elevator trips later, Paulie collapsed next to Beth on the couch and waved a hand at the mountain of shopping bags. “Did we even remember to get some pants?”
“I think so.” Beth looked as exhausted but happy as she felt. “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into all this. It’s too much.”
She didn’t think so. A few grand was a small price to pay for the afternoon she’d had. “I loved every second of it.”
Uh-oh. Beth’s eyes had that welling-up-again look. Damn pregnancy hormones. “Thank you, Paulie. I…thank you just sounds so lame.”