I put the rag down and face her, crossing my arms. “I don’t know, Pen. Why is Asher not going public about his relationship with a smart, kind, and beautiful woman like you?”
She looks down. I put my hand on her chin to make her look at me.
“He’ll do it, Levi. We’re just waiting for the right time.”
I pull her into a hug because I don’t want to tell her there will never be a right time. That just like me, she’s being strung along by a selfish son-of-a-bitch. But I can’t tell her that because she won’t listen, just like I didn’t when she told me the same words all those years ago. And about Asher’s brother, nonetheless.
I look over at my dick-plant cutie to reset my eyes and brain and find him engrossed in conversation with a tall blond guy in a Henley shirt.
Fletcher Crawford.
With long, straight, blond hair and big blue eyes, Fletcher looks as angelic as ever. Although the muscles straining the shirt across his chest don’t match my memory of the slender, almost-too-tall high school kid.
Ah, well, I’m not here to meet cute guys that are easy to flirt with.
And as if some higher being wants to remind me of my place in the world, my phone rings.
This time itismy sister, so I walk over to the small corridor between the bar and the kitchen to answer.
“Hey, Liv. Is everything okay with Ava?”
“Yeah, she’s running a high temperature. I’ve given her that stuff you told me to, but she’s refusing to settle down and keeps asking for you. I know you’re at work. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s okay. Let me talk to my boss and see if I can get off earlier. In the meantime, give her a small scoop of the vanilla ice cream I got the other day. It’ll calm her down until I get home.”
I run my hands through my hair. I can’t afford to not finish the shift, but I hate when Ava is sick and I’m not with her.
Fuck it, I’ll do an extra shift next week.
I head up to my boss’s office on the second floor, and thankfully, he’s a parent, so he doesn’t bat an eyelid when I explain the situation. Besides, it looks like it’s going to be a quiet night, and we already have another bartender on shift.
When I get home, Ava is on the sofa, curled up under a blanket against Liv.
“Daddy!”
“Hey, Jellybean.” I kneel on the floor in front of her and run my hand over her damp skin.
“Looks like she’s sweated it all out,” Liv says. “Thanks for the tip. I was going to call you when she calmed down, but I figured you were already on the way.”
“I’m here, you know?” Ava says with an attitude she totally gets from me. “I know when you’re talking about me.”
“Okay, Miss Bossy. Let’s get you in the shower and into clean pajamas. If you’re good, we can watch a movie in my bedroom until you fall asleep, okay?”
She nods and throws the blanket onto Liv, who’s shaking her head knowing she was totally played tonight. It’s fifty percent true. I can see in the way Ava’s eyes are a little droopy that she’s not well.
Hopefully, it’s just a little bug she caught at school.
I carry my girl over to the bathroom while she runs through the list of her favorite movies trying to pick the one she wants to watch.
At least I get to spend a rare evening with her.
As she settles against me, watchingFrozen 2for the hundredth time, I let my mind wander back to the guy in the bar. I didn’t even get his name.
Probably for the best. Especially if he’s hooking up with Fletcher.
6
ARLO
