Chapter 8
“L ove you too, Mommy .” Luca’s whisper barely carried to her, although they stood less than a foot apart. Already, she missed the days when he didn’t care if she kissed him in public. He was growing up too fast.
Luca pried his lunch kit from her hand and disappeared with a gaggle of children.
The door shut behind them, and Gina sighed. Whichever way she sliced it, she had no choice about him being here since he was on holiday from pre-school and he didn’t have a sitter.
Seya had already taken their parents to the airport early that morning, then rushed off to work. Gina had asked after Mom and Dad, but according to Seya they were fine.
“You can catch up with them later,” she’d said during their earlier telephone conversation. “I didn’t put them in danger of heart failure.”
“Knowing you as I do, I’ll take that with a few grains of salt,” Gina quipped.
Seya believed in defensive driving and maneuvered her Honda as if the hounds of hell were riding her bumper. As a result, Gina avoided the passenger seat whenever she traveled with her sister. Better to drive than dislocate her ankle pressing an imaginary brake pedal.
She straightened her spine and prepared to leave the daycare. The faster she made it to the office, the more time she’d have to organize herself. But she had a niggle from last week and wanted to settle it, so she went to the counter and waited while the staff dealt with two other women. When it was her turn, she asked, “Is Mr. Winters here?”
Emily’s braids swung as she nodded. “I’ll get him for you.”
Uncertain of how long she’d have to wait, Gina took a seat. A few minutes passed, and when she looked at her watch and raised her head, the gate in the counter swung open.
Zack Winters came toward her, larger than life, in black slacks and a polo shirt of the same color. She pulled in a breath and had a challenge releasing it. Zack was already too attractive for his own good, but today the dark clothing did that something extra. He held out one hand. “Good to see you again.”
She hesitated, then stood, put her hand into his, and promptly forgot what she was about to say.
Zack saved her from embarrassing herself by asking, “Emily said you asked for me?”
To restore her equilibrium, she pulled her hand away and slipped it into her pocket. “Um, yes, I wanted to ask you something. I hope you don’t think I’m a fussy parent, but Saturday, as I was leaving, I saw that dog again.”
She wanted to say more, but his concerned brown eyes were disturbingly intense. Her words petered out, and she lost the thread of her thought.
Zack’s hand went to his chest. “Yes, my mother passed through.”
When it came, his grin sucked her breath away. “Don’t worry though, she didn’t bring Champ inside.”
“Oh.” Now, she felt foolish and didn’t know how to wrap up the conversation, which irritated her because she wasn’t used to being awkward around people. She’d been in business long enough to meet all types, but this man kept her off-balance which was unnerving.
“If that’s all you wanted ...”
She pulled her words together with difficulty under his focused gaze. “Uh ... yes, that was it.”
“You’ll find I keep my promises, Ms. Wright.” Zack’s eyes twinkled, and he folded both arms across his chest. “So, there’s no need to worry.”
Her attention shifted to his muscular forearms and back to his face. Now, she felt like a voyeur. She pulled her wits together and returned his smile. “Thanks for the reassurance.”
A thought occurred to Gina, and she frowned.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Not really. Actually ... maybe.”
He leaned in, encouraging her to continue. “It’s only the first day, but I may be a little late picking up Luca. I have two back-to-back functions, but I’ll get here as soon as I can.”
“He’ll be fine. There is an extra cost that kicks in an hour beyond the regular pick-up time.”
“That’s okay. I shouldn’t be later than a half-hour.”
“See you later, and have a good day.”
“You do the same.” She slipped her handbag over her shoulder and walked away from him. It was impossible not to feel his gaze centered on her and the sudden heat that enveloped her body. As she prepared to drive out, she glanced around until she located the matte black sports car that belonged to Zack. Again, she wondered how he folded himself into something that close to the ground.
She soon forgot about him as she battled traffic and arrived at her office. The small building was previously a home the owner had converted into office space for rent. It suited their business because it came outfitted with a large kitchen and was on the edge of the business district.
Nichelle had resisted the idea of putting in an island, but the owner had been gracious and allowed the modification. Now, Gina was grateful for the added space. Yesterday, with Seya’s help, she baked several batches of dark fruit cake—a staple at Christmastime in Jamaica.
Tara, who specialized in pastry making, and their team of four other females, plus a couple of temps, were already engaged in prep work for the luncheon and cocktail party scheduled for the evening. The split with Nichelle meant losing three members of the staff who went with her.
Since they hired waiters, depending on their needs, Gina didn’t have to worry about that end of the business. Their team was like the proverbial well-oiled machine, so Nichelle’s departure hit Gina hard. So far, she’d been coping, and didn’t spend any time moping about her misfortune.
Boyd’s handsome face swam before her eyes, and she blinked to banish the picture. He didn’t deserve any of her brain space. None of them could predict the future and what happened in it, but the decent thing would have been to say he and Nichelle were seeing each other. Of course, they chose to do otherwise.
Gina clamped her jaw shut and pulled herself firmly into the present. She wouldn’t think about what she couldn’t fix.
The afternoon passed in a blur, with Tara overseeing the catering for the luncheon and Gina supervising and assisting the staff at the cocktail party scheduled to start at six. The insurance company used the top floor of the building they occupied to host their Christmas function.
Gina would cater for roughly two hundred people, including clients and staff. It was an easy enough job, until the event got off to a late start and the company liaison asked Gina to hold the food.
Watching the minutes tick by on her watch didn’t help, and she hesitated to call Wintertime, hoping she’d be able to pick up Luca at a decent hour by some miracle. By the time she called, Gina was miserable.
“It happens,” Emily said, sounding as if they weren’t being inconvenienced when Gina knew the opposite.
“I’m so, so sorry. I’ll be there in another half-hour.”
“We’ll be here.”
Gina did a last walk-through and deputized Tara, who’d been working for her the longest, next to Summer. Then she blazed a slow trail to Wintertime, fuming in traffic and despairing she’d arrive before nightfall.
Dusk had settled over the city when she pulled into the driveway at Wintertime and claimed a parking space. She leaned against the seat and closed her eyes. After the fuss she’d made about the dog, here she was being a problem parent on the first day of enrolment.
Absorbed in her thoughts, she nearly dislocated her shoulder pushing the front door, which was locked. She pressed the buzzer, waited for the response that signaled the lock was disengaged, and pulled the handle to let herself in.
Zack stood at the counter, with Luca by his side. Instead of being tired and cranky as she expected, Luca bounced on his heels. “Mommy, Uncle Zack taught me how to make cartoons.”
“He did?” Her focus went to Zack, who watched her. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was creepy. Or, he’s interested in you. Her gaze slid to Luca when he answered.
“Yes, I’m going to get my bag and lunch kit. Then I’ll tell you all about it.”
From the way he stretched the word all, Gina knew he’d talk on the entire the way home.
When he blasted through the door, she cried, “You don’t need to run.”
“I doubt he heard that,” Zack said, chuckling.
“You must be super-annoyed right now, but the function started late and—”
“You’re good.” He put up both hands with the palms facing her. “Trust me.”
“I don’t want you to think this is how I do business.”
“It’s Christmas. Traffic is hellish.” He shrugged. “These things happen.”
“Thanks for understanding, but I—”
“If you insist on apologizing, I can suggest a way for you to make this up to me.”
She frowned, suspecting he’d suggest something inappropriate. Eyes narrowed, she asked, “What could that possibly be?”