“I’ve got some paperwork for you in my apartment. I set up a college fund for the little munchkin.” The amount she said made Beth gasp.
She opened her mouth to protest, but Paulie shushed her. “I know it’s a lot, but you and Kev? You’re my family. That kid’s my family and I like knowing that, no matter what happens, he or she’s going to get a solid start on life.”
Beth threw her arms around Paulie’s neck and tried not to cry. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” She pulled away and swiped at what might have been a tear of her own. “Enough sappy stuff.”
“Okay. So, how are things with you and Sam?”
“All right, I guess. We’ve been spending a lot of time together. Having fun. He’s practically staying at my place now.”
“That’s really great, Paulie.”
She shrugged. “For now. We’ll see what happens when this job is over and it’s time for him to go back to Boston. He asked me to go back, to a fundraiser thing. I said no. Things have been a little awkward since.”
“But he’s still here.”
“Well, the sex is good.”
Beth groaned. “I need another piece of cake.”
“Don’t tell me you’re substituting sweets for sex when you’ve got a guy like Kevin watching you the way he’s watching you now.”
She didn’t let herself turn around and look for him. “We’re just friends.”
“Uh-huh. Looks like they’re passing out the baby shower bingo cards. Get ready to find out how cutthroat this family is when it comes to games.”
“I know they’re all pretty good at getting their way.”
“Kevin hasn’t yet.”
Beth shrugged and swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Sure he has. He wants a baby. He’s getting one.”
“He wants you.”
“Sure, because it’s a package deal. Instant family.”
Paulie shook her head and put a hand on her arm. “Tell me you don’t really think that.”
She was going to tell her she wasn’t sure what she thought, but Stephanie was there, giving them each a bingo card and then the games started. The moment for conversation was over.
But the thought remained, festering in the back of her mind as usual.
Chapter Seventeen
“It’s dead tonight,” Paulie said. “I’m taking a couple hours off.”
Kevin looked at the clock and shrugged. “Go for it. If we get slammed, I’ll call you, but I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Oh, are you sure you don’t mind covering my shift Wednesday night?”
“Are you kidding me? Working the bar, imagining you sitting through a childbirth class? Gonna be the best night of my life.”
She was gone before he could ask her what was really wrong because she didn’t usually split when it was slow. More often than not, she’d pull up a seat and chat up whatever regulars were in the place.
He figured it out a mere five minutes later when Sam Logan walked in and sat in his usual spot. Paulie was avoiding the guy for some reason, and Kevin wanted to know why. After drawing him a Michelob, he walked over himself instead of handing the brew off to Darcy.
“How’s it going?” Sam asked casually.
“Can’t complain. And nobody’d listen if I did.” He set the beer down, then pulled out a chair for himself.
Sam cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. They’d exchanged some small talk, of course. Sports and the weather and topics along those lines, but they weren’t exactly friends.
May as well skip the song and dance. “What’s going on between you and Paulie?”
“Guessing if it was any of your business, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
Fair enough. “Paulie’s like a sister to me and—”
“And I love her.”
“Oh.” Well, that killed the what are your intentions question. “Is that why she’s avoiding you?”
“I’d guess she’s avoiding me because I asked her to go to some stupid party with me.”
“In Boston?”
“Yeah, a charity event.”
Kevin leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out where the hell he’d go from there. It’s not like the guy was mistreating her by inviting her to a party. And yet, he’d made her unhappy and Paulie was as apt to throw Sam out of her life as try to work through it. He didn’t think that would make her happy, either.
There was a fine line between looking out for a friend and sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. “Did you know her mother started having Paulie’s hair dyed when she was four because it was too red?”
“I know the Athertons personally, so that doesn’t surprise me.” Sam took a sip of his beer, then wrapped both hands around the frosted mug. “I wasn’t asking her to quit her job and go be a Stepford wife. I invited her to the most fun, casual event on the calendar. And I didn’t push when she said no.”
Kevin accepted the water bottle Darcy handed him with thanks, then started picking at the label. “She doesn’t want to go back there.”