Chapter 31
“Ihave good news.”
Marissa sat in her office with the door closed, waiting for the mortgage lender to continue.
“I got you pre-approved. Check your email,” she said.
Holding the phone to her ear, she logged into her email and saw the letter from the lender stating the mortgage amount and type of loan she was approved for.
She had been saving money, but this was the last step, finding out how much house she could purchase. Having this letter in hand meant she could make an offer on a house with confidence.
Her eyes widened at the dollar amount. “Oh my gosh, it’s happening,” she whispered.
“Congratulations! I don’t know what you were worried about. You have excellent credit, job stability, and zero debt. It’ll be easy to put you in a house.”
“Well, I had to pay off my debt, and since I’ve never owned a house before, I didn’t know how hard or easy the process would be. I’ve been nervous the entire time.”
“We try to make the process easy on our customers, which means moving forward, we’re going to take good care of you. Do you have an agent you’re working with?”
“Not yet.”
“I’ll send you a list of potential agents, and you can interview them to see which one you’d like to work with. Sound good?”
“Thank you. You’re about to make my dream come true.” Her voice sounded thick and wavered, but she couldn’t hide her emotional response.
She was going to give Theo one of the things she never had as a child—a home of their own. A place they could fix up and decorate without anyone limiting their creativity. If they wanted to paint the walls Spiderman red and draw a giant cobweb on the ceiling, they could. She imagined cooking in a nice, big open kitchen, similar to the one at Bruno’s house, and calling Theo to come inside from the yard for dinner.
The loan officer laughed. “I’m glad to hear it. Make sure you keep everything the same between now and when you’re ready to buy. No new debt, keep your credit clean, all that.”
“Not a problem. I didn’t come this far to turn back now.”
“That’s what I like to hear. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.”
“Thank you!” Marissa said again.
They hung up the phone, and she sat back in the chair and let out a happy sigh. She was closer to being a homeowner, to giving Theo the type of stability she never had growing up. All her sacrifices over the years were finally about to pay off.
“Knock, knock.” Lori stood in the doorway.
“Hey.”
The receptionist held up a paper sack by the handles. “Delivery for you.”
“Oh, great. That’s my lunch from Garlique.”
Lori brought over the bag and rested it on her desk. Instead of leaving, she stayed in place and waited for Marissa to remove the contents.
Carefully, Marissa removed the three boxes and a plastic container from the bag, all of which were filled with food. One with roasted chicken, one with a vegetable stir fry, and the third with rice. Inside the plastic container was a hunk of chocolate cake.
Lori’s mouth fell open. “You ordered all this?”
“I might have gone a little overboard, but the food is so good. Would you like some?” She had bought enough to feed herself and have leftovers for her and Theo, but with such large servings she could spare a little bit for Lori.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Lori asked.
“Not at all.”
Lori bit her lip. “I would love some. I’ve never eaten at this restaurant, but I heard the food is great. Be right back.” She scurried out of the room.
She returned with sodas, a spoon, and two plates. She handed a plate to Marissa, and they started transferring food from the containers.
“I’m eating good today.” Lori grabbed one of the restaurant’s plastic forks and dropped into the chair opposite Marissa.
She started with the chicken and moaned low in her throat. Then she tried the rice. “Damn, how do you make rice taste so good?”
Marissa laughed as she popped open her Coke. Lori was right. Every dish ended up being a flavor bomb for the tastebuds.
Lori leaned forward and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial level. “I heard that Arnie is considering you for the head matchmaker position when Leanne leaves.” She put a finger to her lips.
Marissa’s mouth fell open. “Where did you hear that?”
“I overheard him talking to Angela.”
“What about Rick? Or Stephanie in the Beverly Hills office? I thought for sure one of them or one of the more seasoned matchmakers would get the position.”
Lori shook her head as she finished chewing. “I get the feeling they’re not sure about Rick, whether he might stay or leave. He’s always talking about moving back to Miami.”
Marissa nodded. Rick had moved from Florida years ago to be closer to family, but he missed his life and friends in the Sunshine State and went back often. He made no secret about wanting to return permanently.
“Who knows why Arnie and Angela haven’t picked Stephanie or one of the others. You’re the right person for the job anyway.”
Deep in thought, Marissa chewed slowly. “Leanne is in the Beverly Hills office. I wonder if they’d expect me to move to the West Coast.”
“I doubt it, but if it were me, I’d jump at the chance to move to California. Oh, but you have a kid, so your situation is different. You have a lot more to think about than yourself.”
Marissa wasn’t only thinking about herself and Theo. Her relationship with Bruno had become very important to her. They mostly saw each other on the weekends, but they packed a lot into those forty-eight hours, and a couple of times she and Theo had met up with him during the week and had dinner.
Could Arnie really be considering her for the promotion? If she didn’t have to move to California, the position would be perfect. Her heart thumped with the excitement of the additional responsibility and extra pay.
“If I get the promotion, you’ll be able to move up to matchmaker. Have you been studying the guidebook?” she asked Lori.
“I know it backward and forward. I sleep with it under my pillow at night to let the information seep into my brain through osmosis.”
They both laughed.
“I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you.”
“Thanks,” Lori said gratefully. “I appreciate all your help—answering my questions, walking me through the setup of a new account—all that.”
Marissa waved away the thanks. “The whole point is to make it easy for Arnie to slide you in there when the time comes.”
Lori’s face brightened. “I can’t wait!”
“Patience. Good things are coming.”
“For both of us.”
After Lori left, Marissa put in a call to Bruno. He picked up on the first ring.
“Hello, beautiful.”
She melted. She never got tired of hearing him call her that.
“Hi. Guess where I ordered food from today?”
“Where?”
“Garlique. I’m addicted to that place now. Everything is delicious. How in the world did you get rice to taste so good?”
“We cook it in chicken stock we make in house. That’s the secret.”
“My colleague and I enjoyed our meal. There are plenty of leftovers. I guess Theo will be eating chicken and rice with vegetables tonight cause Mommy doesn’t have to cook.”
He chuckled.
She loved the sound of his laughter.
“Did you pay for your order?” Bruno asked.
Silence.
“Marissa,” he said, a hard note coming into his voice.
“Don’t be mad, but I feel weird name dropping to get free food.”
“I don’t know why. I told you it’s fine. None of my family members have a problem eating for free at my restaurants, and you shouldn’t either. Next time, let the manager know who you are. I gave her your name already. If you’re disobedient again, I’ll have to put you over my knee, querida.”
A little thrill shot through her. Marissa bit the corner of her mouth and lowered her voice. “If that’s your idea of a punishment, I might never give them my name.”
“You enjoy having your ass spanked.”
“When you do it.” She’d never been into that before, but with Bruno, everything was better.
“Bueno. I want you to be satisfied, to experience pleasure every time we make love. The next time I see you, I will make sure to give you another good spanking.”
Marissa let out a little moan at the thought of her bottom stinging from the firm blow of his hand.
Bruno groaned. “Every time you make that sound, you drive me crazy, do you know that?”
She loved teasing him.
“By the way, I have more information about the wedding. It’s a formal affair. You should bring Theo. There will be other children there. I’ll have my assistant bring you my credit card so you can buy what you need for you and Theo, all right? I have to run into a meeting soon. I better go. I’ll see you this weekend.”
She pouted. She wanted to talk to him longer. “See you this weekend.”
She was about to hang up, when Bruno said, “Marissa.”
She lifted the phone to her ear again. “Yes?”
“In case you’re wondering, I’ve never allowed any other woman to use my card. Hasta luego, querida.”
Marissa bit her bottom lip and hung up. She couldn’t stop smiling.