Bucking the Rules(79)

“Should I be back here?” he said, looking around.

“You should because I say you should.” She pushed open the swinging doors to the kitchen, firm grip still on his arm. “Hey, Stu. Bye, Stu.”

The massive man at the cooktop didn’t even turn to look at them as they passed behind. Either the man was really intense about his work, or he just wasn’t easily fazed.

“She’s out there, and she’s had a really shitty morning. So go do something to change it.” Amanda halted at a door that clearly led outside.

“What happened?”

“Cops were back. They dropped off her keys with me and took off, so I have no clue what’s going on now. But you need to go out there and fix it. Whatever it is, fix it.” With that, she planted both hands on his back and shoved until he was out the door and into the alley.

Jo’s head snapped up from her position leaning against the opposite brick wall. “What are you doing out here?”

He looked behind him, but Amanda’s face was already gone from the small window on the door. “Your head server is really pushy.”

Jo smiled a little. “Yeah, she is.” She pushed off the wall and walked toward him. “Sorry I ran out last night.”

“Too much, right?” He rubbed her upper arms with his hands, pulling her into his chest for a hug. “I hadn’t intended … but then he needed me and I couldn’t—”

“It wasn’t that. I mean, I get why you went up to him. I’m not upset by that. It was the right thing to do. I just shouldn’t have gone in there. I wasn’t … ready for it.”

“Ready for it. You need to psych yourself up for meeting a kid?” He dropped his head until his cheek rested on the top of her hair.

“Yes, actually. I told you, kids and I don’t get along. I made Seth cry.”

“Honey,” he said with a chuckle, “he was already in a horrible mood. I made him cry ten minutes later by stepping on his stuffed dragon. He’s teething. Anything and everything ticks him off right now. It’s nothing personal. Five seconds before he adored you.”

“But I scared him. I don’t know what to do with kids. I’ve never really wanted them. You know?” She pulled away so their chests were apart but their legs were still tangled together. “I feel like girls hit this wall in their twenties where they suddenly know they want kids, and it’s time to find the right guy to make them with. They pass by the baby section of Target and they get all gooey over the shoes or they see a commercial for formula and they tear up and whine about how they want one. And I never did that.”

“That’s a good thing. Seth doesn’t need any more shoes.” Her lips twitched, and he knew he had her. “I don’t need someone to play mommy. I’m his father, and although I have help, I think I’ve been doing an okay job by myself. I’m not in this for a stepmom. I’m in it for you. How we fit together, both you and me, and then the three of us, that’ll come later. Or it won’t. But don’t let this one experience stop you trying, please?”

She took a deep breath and let it out, burrowing back into him. “Fine,” she muttered into his neck.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, next to her ponytail. “Thank you.”

She let out a laugh full of sarcasm. “I’d invite you up to have some lunch, but since I’m busy running a bordello upstairs, I don’t think I have room for another man.”

“A what? Run that by me again, please?”

She stepped back and wiped a hand down her face, clearing the lingering emotion from her eyes as she did. Now she was back to Bar Owner Jo, tough as nails and nothing penetrated the shield. She explained about the city council, the mother taking her son’s side, the hints and implications of some makeshift whorehouse upstairs above the bar. The idea that she wasn’t a responsible business owner and shouldn’t have a liquor license.

“That son of a bitch,” he muttered, wanting to put his fist through a wall. But since he was surrounded by brick, he wisely decided not to try. “That slimy, underhanded, lying sack of—”

“Yes, yes. All that and more.” Jo waved it away. “That’s not the point. The point is, I need to figure out what to do to make this as uncomplicated as possible. The charges are false, and I know I won’t lose my license over this. But it could get annoying very fast if I don’t just head this off at the pass. Lock down the rumors once and for all.”

It hurt her, he could see it. Despite the shield she’d put up, he could see the fact that she had to even bother defending herself stung. “I’m sorry, baby.”