Abby swallowed while a calculating glint lit her brown eyes. “Rumor has it, you and Punc go way back. I don’t like rumors though, so how do you know him?”
To give myself a little time to collect my thoughts, I sipped my drink before giving them a condensed version of my history with Punc.
“Your best friend’s brother,” Suzy said almost wistfully. After a moment, she added, “That’s a minefield.”
I gave her a long look. “You sound like you have experience with that.”
Her lips twisted into a small smile. “Not at all, but I’m guessing that’s quite a tightrope.”
I gave her a closed-lip smile. “You guess right, at least in the beginning. Alanis would love it if we were officially related - even if only as in-laws. But, yeah, she made it hard on Punc… and to a degree, she pointed out the difficulties of being in the middle of us.”
Abby set her cocktail glass down. “Speaking of difficulties, I saw you dance, but on our way here, my man said you and Punc broke the rules since you two aren’t supposed to be together. I’m all for breaking the rules, but I have to know, are you going to keep dancing?”
I wobbled my head. “If Punc has his way, I won’t be. And, as long as I can get away from the huge loan shark debt my mom racked up, I’m okay with not dancing.”
Abby tilted her head. “You’re gonna let him tell you what to do?”
I wheezed out a chuckle. “It isn’t that I’m letting him tell me what to do, it’s that I see it from his perspective. He doesn’t want other men seeing me half naked, and I’m with him on that. Unless I have to pay the debt. Then, I really don’t have much choice.”
“That’s a bummer. You’re an amazing dancer, and your body is phenomenal,” Abby paused and semi-glared at me. “Don’t blush, I’m pointing out the obvious.”
The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the corridor interrupted us. Punc sauntered into the common room followed by Turk, Blood, and Yak.
Punc came to me, grabbed my hand, and guided me off the barstool. “It’s nice to see you ladies, but Savannah and I don’t have time to stick around.”
“Why not?” Abby asked.
At the same time, I asked, “We don’t?”
Punc shook his head at me.
“I didn’t even see your room,” I murmured.
His lips twisted into a wry smile. “I’ll show you my room, but we’re not staying.”
As Punc led me away from the bar, I heard Abby mutter, “Those are famous last words.”
We were almost to the back door before Punc veered left, and we went up a narrow staircase. On the second floor, I caught the scent of fabric softener and spied a washer-dryer to my left. Punc wandered down a corridor to the right and unlocked a door on the left.
He pulled me inside a room that was about the same size as a hotel room. I pulled my hand free from his and wandered to a desk near the door to an ensuite bathroom. Multiple stacks of papers sat on top of the desk, and it struck me strange.
“I thought you had an apartment.”
“For the time being, I do. Seeing as it’s on the other side of the river and I’m hardly ever there, I’m probably gonna drop my lease.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
He cocked a brow. “It’s money down the drain since I’m spending so much time with a woman who has a house with two mortgages—”
“Punc—” I started but stopped when he stepped closer to me.
“There’s still another six months on my lease, but seriously, Savannah. I’m not messing around. We’ll take it day by day, but if things keep on like I think they will, there’s no reason for me to keep that apartment.”
I nodded nervously even as the most soothing warmth curled through my belly. It was soon, but it was also right.
After a moment, I asked, “Are you sure we can’t stay here a little longer?”
His expression filled with disappointment. “Sorry, babe. Now that you’ve left your dad a message about the boxes, I’m not sure he won’t try to break into the house to get them. In fact, he might have been the person in the backyard the other night.” He shook his head. “It would make him a massive asshole to scare your sister like that, but from what you’ve said—”
