An Unexpected Partnership. Teresa SouthwickЧитать онлайн книгу.
winced at the dig to his former profession but sympathized with the sentiment. Or maybe the sheen of unshed tears in her eyes and the fierce pride on her face made him go soft.
“So, tell me what you’re proposing.”
She outlined the high points: an infusion of capital to update the place, a percentage of the business and a few other things. She finished up with, “If that’s acceptable, I’ll take you on as a silent partner.”
What she outlined was agreeable to him and at this point in the negotiations it was probably best not to tell her “silent partner” was never going to happen. The thing was he really wanted to buy in. The place was conveniently located and had a lot of potential. Leo also wanted to preserve Pat’s life’s work.
“Do you have any objection to using my lawyer to draw up a contract?” he asked.
“No.”
“Okay, then. I’ll get in touch with her first thing in the morning.”
“Figures your attorney would be a her.”
“I didn’t hire Annabel because of her gender. She’s a damn good lawyer.” And beautiful, too. But it was strictly business and a line he wouldn’t cross even if there was an attraction between them.
“If you say so.”
Tess was starting to get under his skin, and not in a good way. “Clearly you have a low opinion of me. Why is that?”
“The parade of women through your life for one thing. That speaks to being shallow, self-centered and commitment resistant.”
Any guy would run in the face of commitment if he’d been through what Leo had. A guy would have to be an idiot to go through that again. Hockey had given him highs and lows—sanctuary from a lousy home situation, a college education and more than one Stanley Cup championship. The game was physically aggressive and injuries left marks. But they were nothing compared to what losing his career and family at the same time had done to him.
It was best to change the subject and get back to business. “You said The Pub was doing all right until recently. What changed?”
She suddenly looked nervous. “I probably should have led with this, but I wanted to get business details wrapped up first. Although if you have a problem with the fact that I didn’t tell you this up front, feel free to change your mind about investing. You don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”
He’d promised Pat he would look after Tess whether she wanted him to or not. There was no way to know what was going through Pat’s mind when he made Leo swear, but a vow was a vow. If she was trying to scare him away, it wasn’t going to work. “You’re not making any sense.”
“I know. I just want to make it clear that I’ll figure out some other way. I could have worked eighteen hours a day with little pay before and it would have been all right. But things have changed. Now I have to—”
“Tess.” That stopped her babbling but not the tension and nerves still making her twist her fingers together. “What’s going on?”
She blew out a breath and stood a little straighter, as if bracing herself. “You know that thing we’re not talking about that never happened?”
“For the record you can pretend we didn’t have sex on that table over there. You can semantics the hell out of it, but that won’t change anything. The fact is that we did it. You can bury your head in the sand but that leaves your backside exposed.”
“You’re not wrong about that.” She looked everywhere but at him.
This was really starting to get on his nerves. “What’s going on, Tess? Just spit it out.”
“I’m pregnant.”
He blinked at her and couldn’t wrap his mind around the words. “I’m sorry. What?”
“I’m going to have a baby.”
Bingo. That was the scariest thing she could have said to him. He couldn’t believe it. No way this was happening to him. Not again. He wasn’t getting sucked in for a second time by a woman who was lying about having his baby. Leo stood up and walked out of the bar.
The door closed behind Leo, and Tess could almost feel the sting of a slap on her face. She couldn’t decide if she was more shocked or angry that he’d walked out on her. And his child. This was the man her grandfather had wanted as a partner? She’d had her reasons for pushing back on that but none of them were about him not taking responsibility for his actions.
It was about the revolving door of females in and out of his life. Well-publicized, short-term affairs with actresses and models. Glorified one-night stands with glamorous women, rich and famous. Even the not so famous made headlines with him. But in all the publicity surrounding his “over in fifteen minutes” relationships, he’d invariably taken the blame for why things hadn’t worked out. Always a version of “she’s a great girl and I’m not good enough for her.”
As much as she wanted to believe he had no feelings and hurt women from coast to coast when he threw them away, the only one he trashed was himself. One had to conclude he wasn’t mean; he just had a problem with commitment. She wasn’t into it either. That’s what happened when the man you loved cheated repeatedly. He was a cocky college jock and that baggage had affected her opinion of Leo from the moment they were introduced.
In a way, Tess respected the way he characterized the end of his affairs, even if she didn’t condone “quantity over quality” behavior. So yeah, she was more shocked than angry right now. All the scenarios she’d imagined of how this conversation would go down never included him turning his back and walking away.
Tears filled her eyes and she didn’t miss the irony. The last time she’d cried in this room, Leo had been there to comfort her and they’d had sex. Now there was a baby and he left her, taking his investment money with him.
Suddenly the door opened and Leo walked back inside. He stood there, staring at her, eyes narrowed dangerously. “A baby. You’re sure.”
“Peed on a stick and confirmed by a doctor.” She had questions, too. “Why did you walk out just now?”
An angry, intense look pulled his mouth tight and made his eyes narrow on her. “I had to think before saying anything.”
“Okay. So what are you thinking?”
“Is it mine?”
She was sorry she’d asked. The question tweaked her temper, implying that she was an underhanded opportunist. He was questioning her integrity, but she grudgingly admitted that he had a right to ask. “Yes.”
“How do I know it’s mine?”
“Because I said so and I don’t lie.” She glared at him.
He finally closed the door. “Right now, for the sake of argument, let’s assume it’s mine—”
“Stop calling me a liar. Of course this baby is yours. I’ve been pretty busy trying to save this bar, my grandfather’s legacy. When would I have time to date?”
“You don’t have to date,” he said wryly.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I would have to date before doing...” As soon as she realized what was going to come out of her mouth, she stopped talking.
“You and I never went out before we...” He glanced at the booth by the door, where they’d done the deed. Then one corner of his mouth curved up as he looked back at her. “But wait, I forgot. That never happened.”
“Obviously you don’t intend to let me forget I said that.”
“Not likely.” He moved closer, stopping