Changing the subject off of me, I asked, “Are you guys ready for a second baby?I’m guessing that Aiden doesn’t understand.”
He was probably too young and, while I was an only child, I could only imagine that the deeper the age gap between babies, the more likely resentment would occur.But at nine and a half months, I was sure Aiden didn’t know any different.
“Nah, he’s too young,” Conor confirmed.“I think it might change after Ava’s born though.”And unfortunately, Conor wasn’t letting me off the hook that easily.“You’ve only got what, five months until graduation?Take the car, Emily.It’ll make Mia feel better.”
“Just Mia?”
Conor shook his head, chuckling.“Probably Rory too.”
I couldn’t stop the growl that resonated in my chest, which only had Conor barking out a laugh.“You two are fucking great to watch.”Conor stood and pulled on his jeans.“Good luck, Em.”
I took my cue to stand as well and shrugged a shoulder.“There’s nothing to watch.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”Conor walked me to the door, the shit-eating grin on his face still in place.“You’re not on the schedule tomorrow.How about you take the truck, pick up Mia, and go find yourself a car.Mia can take the truck home after.”
Fully realizing this was a battle I wasn’t going to win, I nodded.“Ok.I will.Thank you, Conor.”As much as I hated it, I wasn’t ungrateful.
We walked back to the bar where I resumed my shift, and Conor sat at the bar, talking with Stone.The rest of my shift flowed easily, probably because everything was starting to fall into place.That and I wouldn’t feel terrible if I had their truck and Mia went into labor.
And then there was Rory.
And for the first time since meeting him, his name brought an unwanted smile to my lips.
I’d have to think about that.
Rory
I may have talked Mia into having something to do when she and Emily were supposed to go car shopping.
Just may have.
I mean, I wasn’t the pushy type, so if I admitted to myself that I was finding ways to be in Emily’s presence, I would have to double check the status of my man card.The only action my cock had gotten in the last week, since she and I got together—yes, I was choosing to forget the issue I had that day—was from my hand in the shower.
Yesterday in Conor’s office, seeing Emily’s sass and fire directed at me wasn’t anything new, no, but there was a little more passion in her voice.She was weakening toward me and I was going to take full advantage of that.
Starting by hijacking her car shopping trip with Mia.
After checking my email and corresponding with my clients and team members alike, I checked my online back-office for new orders of protein powders and muscle building e-books.I loved the pub, don’t get me wrong, but this little side business I had was what truly paid the bills, and had been since I joined the company six years ago.
And I only really paid attention to it once, maybe twice a week.
I went from making a pretty penny with fake IDs and doing the occasional DJ-ing at house parties in college, to making a much shinier one by selling my muscle building knowledge.This day and age, all you needed was a good looking body and an Instagram account, and you could pull anyone in who wanted to look better.
After I printed my latest order sheet, I shut down the computer and headed down to the pub.Mia had planned on Emily meeting her here, so it made the whole, “Mwah-ha-ha, I’m coming with you” ordeal easier to accomplish.
It was early yet, so while the doors were open for business, we only had one customer sitting at the bar.His eyes were glued to one of the televisions, which was only airing the local news.I looked around, unsure of who was working today.
Jordan, a new kid we hired a few weeks ago, took that moment to pop up from whatever he was doing under the bar.Probably dropped something.
The kid was clumsy as fuck, which was the exact reason we were keeping him on the opening rotation for a bit.He was great with the customers and could mix a mean drink—he just had to work on his hands and keeping glassesinthem.
“Hey, Jordan.How’s it going?”I asked as I rounded the back of the bar, grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler.
“Good.”The kid was a bit scrawny but in a hipster kind of way, which actually worked well with the early afternoon crowd.He was working on cutting limes when the front door opened.Expecting it to be Emily, I turned in my stool to see.
Nope.
Brenna and Stone.
