Winter picked at her food, her paperwork untouched beside her. It was her weekly treat—lunch at Pat’s Pub—but even the plate of delicious food couldn’t tempt her to eat. She hadn’t eaten much since that night. Since Edward.

“Something wrong?” Padraig, asked.

Win looked up and forced a smile. “No, not hungry I guess.”

Padraig swapped out her nearly empty glass of iced tea with a full one. “You’re more qualified to ask this question than I am—” he nodded at her stack of case work “—but do you want to talk about it?”

Now Win’s smile was genuine. “I do very little counseling anymore. Mostly just paperwork.”

Padraig leaned on the bar. “That has to be hard.”

“It is.”

“Is that why you’re not eating?”

Win considered lying and saying yes. She’d been coming to Pat’s for over a year now, but mostly kept to herself. She liked listening to the family that owned the place, liked the way they talked and joked, everything threaded through with love. She liked being a quiet observer, but at the same time, she wanted someone to talk to.

She looked at Padraig. He was handsome—everyone in the family was good looking—but there was a sadness to him that hadn’t been there a few months ago. That sadness she saw in his eyes was what made her start talking.

“No,” she said. “It’s not work.”

“Relationship?”

“I’m not sure if it could be called a relationship.”

His gaze sharpened. “The man who came in, asking about hosting a munch.”

“Oh, you know what that is?”

“You do?”

Winter felt her cheeks heat, and reminded herself that she was a grown woman, and had no need to be ashamed. “I do.”

“You, uh, you two seeing each other?”

She looked down at her papers. “No. We spent one night together. I thought what we had was special, but I guess it wasn’t.”

“He doesn’t feel the same way you do?”

“That’s what’s so hard.” Win absently picked at her fries. “When he left, he looked like he wanted to stay, but if he wanted to stay, why didn’t he?”

“Can I tell you something?”

Win looked up. “Of course.”

“I don’t know if you heard—this place is all about the gossip, after all—but my wife died.”

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize you were—”

She stopped herself before finishing that sentence.

“Didn’t realize I was married? We weren’t married for long. But being with Mia, it taught me something.”

Winter watched the emotions playing across his face. After a moment he continued.

“It taught me that time is precious, and that you have to take a chance, even if you know you’ll end up with your heart broken.”

“It’s better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all?” she said.

“Corny as it may sound, that’s true.”

“So you think I should call him?”

“I think that if you don’t, you’ll spend the rest of your life eating cold fries because you’re too distracted wondering what if.”

Winter laid down the cold fry she held. “Cold fries, even from your kitchen, aren’t great.”

Padraig picked up the plate. “No, they’re not. I’ll get you a fresh lunch. On the house.”

He carried her plate away, and Win took out her phone. She pulled up the text conversation with Edward, remembering how excited she’d been when they’d been texting to arrange their meeting. That had been nearly ten days ago.

Padraig came back, and handed her a white wine spritzer. “Liquid courage.”

She took a sip. “I may need it.”

I’d like to meet again.

She typed the words and then stared at them.

“Send it,” Padraig said. “The worst that could happen is he’s not interested. If he isn’t, he’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve your time.”

“Are you giving out relationship advice?” Yvonne, one of the waitresses, walked up next to Padraig behind the bar.

“Yes, I am, and unlike you, I give out good advice.”

“Right.” Yvonne plucked Winter’s phone from her hand, looked at the text, and started typing. Winter lunged across the bar and Padraig started to grapple with his cousin. She tapped the screen then handed the phone over. “It’s done!” She smiled, winked at Win, and then walked away.

Win looked at her phone, her heart pounding. “She sent the message. And she added to it.”

“I’m sorry. She’s insane.”

“I miss you. She added ‘I miss you’.”

Padraig looked at her. “Do you? Miss him?”

“So much.”

Padraig shook his head. “Then you needed to say that. Missing someone who is still alive is...”

Winter winced. “I’m sorry. My problems must seem so stupid to you.”

“No, not stupid, and I don’t regret loving Mia, even if I lost her. She’d want you to be happy. She’d want me to be happy.”

Win considered him. “I know a woman you might like, if you’re ready to start seeing someone again. Lila’s wonderful—smart, funny.”

Padraig laughed softly. “Lilas are always crazy.”

“Wait, I know. Emmy. You’d love Emmy. Though she’s a bit crazy, too. Just a little, tiny bit.”

“I’m not quite there yet, but when I’m ready, if I need a date I’ll come to you.”

Winter’s phone beeped.

Yvonne hurried over, and she and Padraig both stared at her expectantly. “Well?” Yvonne asked.

“Let’s discuss. He said ‘let’s discuss’.”

“Ugh, men.” Yvonne looked disappointed.

Her phone beeped again.

“I miss you, too,” she read aloud.

“Ah ha! Score for Yvonne.” She patted Padraig on the shoulder.

Win ignored them, staring at her phone, at the simple words, as a smile spread across her face.

Her phone beeped again.

Where are you?

Her fingers trembled slightly as she typed out Pat’s Pub.

I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Win hopped off her stool. “He’s coming. I’m going to move to a table.”

Padraig smiled. “Good. I’ll bring your food there.”

Yvonne must have briefed Aunty Riley, who brought the food out to the table Win had snagged. “If he treats you bad, let me know. We can take care of him.”

“Um, thanks,” Winter said.

Aunt Riley crossed her arms. “Now eat.”

Win put a piping hot fry in her mouth. Aunt Riley nodded then went back to the kitchen.

When the door opened and Edward stepped in, half the bar turned to look at him. Gossip really did run rampant in this place. He frowned at the attention he was receiving, but the frown faded from his face when he saw her.

Winter’s whole body relaxed when he smiled. The tension and headache that she’d carried like a weighted sack disappeared.

She slid out of the booth and took a step towards Edward.

He started walking, each step quicker than the last. She rushed to meet him, throwing herself into his arms.

Edward scooped her up in a hug, burying his face in her hair.

Half the bar started to clap.

“Ah, so that’s why half the bar was watching us. And clapping,” Edward said after Winter explained that the bartender and waitress, both of whom she knew by name, had pushed her to text him.

They slid into the booth. Rather than sit across from her, Edward sat beside her. It had been a miserable week and a half, during which he’d replayed their scene hundreds of times, trying to understand what he’d done wrong.

“I hope you texted me because you wanted to,” he said. “Not because someone else egged you on.”

“I wanted to, I was just…scared.”

“Scared?’

“That you’d reject me.”

“Wait, wait,” Edward held up his hand. “Were you…waiting for me to text you?”

She nodded.

Edward blinked, then groaned. “Shit.”

Winter’s storm-gray eyes widened. “What?”

“I was giving you space.”

“Wait, I was supposed to text you?” Her soft voice was filled with outrage.

“It would have been inappropriate for me to reach out to you.”

“What? How was I supposed to know that? You ran out the door the instant it was ten o’clock. I thought you couldn’t wait to get away from me.”

He could see the hurt there, in the lines of her face, and his heart twisted. He cupped her cheek. “No, no, Winter. I wanted to stay. I wanted to get under that blanket with you and fuck you until you couldn’t walk.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“If I’d done that, broken my word, changed the rules mid-scene, how would you ever be able to trust me as a Dom?”

“I wouldn’t have thought that. That never even occurred to me. I just thought I hadn’t been…enough…for you.”

“No, princess, never that.” He lowered his mouth to hers, whispering against her lips, “Never that.”

They kissed and everyone in the bar cheered again.