“Time to go.”
He groaned and stretched out on his back. “Are you serious?”
“Very.” She pulled at the blanket and tucked it firmly under her arms. “I had a long day at work and I need to sleep.”
The muscles in his jaw flexed, but he kept his tone light as he climbed out of bed. “I can’t believe you’re sending me on the walk of shame.”
“It’s only the walk of shame if you sleep and then go home in the same clothes you were wearing. I’m actually saving you from the walk of shame.”
“Gee, thanks. This is so much better than holding you in that nice comfy bed.”
As inviting as that sounded, she knew falling asleep in his arms and waking up next to him the next morning would make it so much harder, if not impossible, to rein the relationship in. She’d had her chocolate cake and that was bad enough. But waking up with the whole damn dessert cart next to her wasn’t the way to get back on the wagon.
Not that she didn’t feel a few pangs of regret as he put his clothes back on. Or when he looked at the empty spot next to her and heaved a dramatic sigh. But she knew the decision she’d originally made for them to just be friends was the right one, so she didn’t cave.
He offered her one last moment of temptation. “You’re sure? I could be naked again in ten seconds or less.”
No, she wasn’t sure at all. “I’m sure.”
He shrugged as if to say it was her loss, but there was a sadness around his eyes she hated seeing. “Good night, then.”
“Good night. Oh, and Kevin? Make sure you lock the door when you leave.”
He was laughing when he walked out her door, which made her feel a bit better, but as exhausted as she was, it still took her a very long time to fall asleep.
Chapter Fifeen
Nothing like a big Friday-night game to attract a crowd, Kevin thought with satisfaction as he drew another beer off the tap. The place was hopping, the mood was good and the money flowed like liquid gold.
And Sam Logan was back, sitting at his usual table. He wasn’t sure if that fell into the good or the bad column, but it might snap Paulie out of the mood she’d been wallowing in. He was willing to replace a few more broken glasses if it meant she’d stop moping around.
They couldn’t both mope at the same time and Kevin wasn’t done with his turn yet. Beth was firmly back in friends mode. And not friends with benefits, either. No, they were right back to neighbors who just happened to be having a baby together.
When he’d tried to talk to her before she left for work, she’d offered him a very fake smile and a brisk excuse about how she was running late but maybe she’d run into him later. With the conversation put off, he’d had all day to dwell on it.
Now that there was some time and distance between him and the Machiavellian men in his family, he was starting to think concocting an elaborate scheme to trick Beth into working at Jasper’s wasn’t the way to go. He wasn’t a very good liar and, if she saw through it, he’d be in trouble.
Better to respect her intelligence and straight-up tell her about the job. It was a solid offer for a solid reason, so what about it could possibly offend her?
Well, the timing sucked, for one thing. Since she had some kind of hang-up about him suffocating her, trying to become her boss on top of already being her landlord and the father of her child, and on the day after they had sex, probably wasn’t going to be a big hit.
But he wanted her off her feet all day, dammit, so he’d just have to present his case in a rational manner and hope she didn’t jump to all sorts of irrational conclusions.
Darcy picked up the tray of drinks he set up for her. “Heads up on twelve, boss.”
He glanced over at the table in question and raised an eyebrow. A patron was getting grabby with Paulie and she wasn’t taking his head off his shoulders. Odd. Maybe she wasn’t as snapped out of her funk as he thought she was.
Then he looked over at Sam’s table. The guy’s eyes were practically glued to table twelve and his hands were curled into fists. He might have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but Logan had the look of a scrapper.
Not good. Not good at all. He caught Paulie’s attention and gestured her back to the bar.
“Sam’s not a big fan of that guy’s hand on your ass.”
“He can join the not-a-big-fan club, then. That guy may be a big spender, but if he puts his hands on me again, he’s getting a lapful of Budweiser.”
“If he puts his hands on you again, I think we’ll be bailing Sam out of jail tomorrow morning.”
She glanced over at Sam, then back again. It was a quick look, but he saw the way her jaw tightened. “None of Sam’s business whose hand is on my ass.”