Chapter 19 #2
I glance up from my phone to meet her eyes.
She holds the contact, unblinking. Then slides her phone back in her pocket.
She doesn’t care what I have to say in response, and I’m not sure I know what to say anyway.
What the hell am I being weird about? She’s my ex, but we’ve already established we’re not crossing any lines.
She’s not in the running to be Teddy’s stepmom.
We’re working together, and last night I told her we might be able to be friends.
The more I think about her idea for a special night at the restaurant, the more I think it could work.
I respect her, and I trust that she’d never hurt Teddy.
But…after a string of women being weird about me having a son, Olivia hasn’t been weird at all, and seeing them smile at each other makes a pit form in my stomach.
I tell myself it’s because Teddy had a hard time when my mom died.
He’s a smart kid, but he gets attached. And I don’t want him getting attached to Olivia when she’s leaving soon.
Still, I know this is more about me getting attached to her being here than him.
I consider apologizing to Olivia over text right when Daniela’s call flashes on my screen.
For a planner, I realize I’ve been living one moment at a time since Olivia arrived.
I definitely didn’t prepare for the conversation I need to have with Daniela now.
Paula gives Teddy random things to take with him including a pack of gum she bought for herself but decides he needs instead, and a gift card someone got her for Dunkin’ Donuts.
Veronica tickles his armpit and tells him she’ll take him to the movies soon, and while Olivia watches the whole thing, I wonder what she’s thinking.
I don’t miss how he stares at her for a second—like he’s trying to figure out which version of a goodbye he should give her.
He decides on a wave, and my heart does a funny flip when a grin splits her face in response.
“Let’s go, Teddy,” I say, and wonder how quickly we can get Olivia’s idea off the ground.
***
Daniela’s looking in the rearview mirror of her car, fixing her hair before she sees us coming up from behind.
When I get to her window, I compliment her on her new suit jacket, and I think she blushes.
She’s always dressed well, but I rarely see her wearing a full face of makeup.
I triple-check that Teddy’s seat belt is secure and help him adjust his headphones while he clicks into YouTube on his iPad.
Daniela apologizes for not being able to get him from school, and I tell her she knows she doesn’t have to.
She smiles like I’ve said something out of the ordinary.
And I note that she seems jittery. Like she just had double shots of espresso. She won’t meet my eyes.
“Before I go,” she says, “I want to tell you something.”
“I need to tell you something too,” I say.
“Really? Okay, you first, please.”
“You sure?” I ask, and she nods. “All right, well, Olivia’s here. At the restaurant.”
Daniela’s brows dip in a moment of confusion. “Your ex-girlfriend?”
“That’s the one,” I say, and finally explain to her the complicated situation I’m in, that we’re still working out the details of the restaurant ownership, and that I didn’t think I’d have to tell her about it because I thought Olivia would be out of town by now.
“So, why are you telling me?” Daniela says, shoulders suddenly straighter. “Are you getting back together? Is that why you broke up with Rachael?”
This conversation feels like it’s going downhill, but I have no idea why.
“No,” I say. “To both questions. And I don’t know what you’ve heard at work, but Rachael and I were never together. I did tell her we won’t be going on any more dates though.”
Daniela releases a breath. “Good. Because I heard some crazy things about her, and I didn’t know how to feel if you wanted to bring her around Teddy.”
I don’t ask what kinds of things because I don’t have time to talk about someone I’ve already cut off and I have enough on my mind. “You don’t have to worry about that,” I say. “I’ll never bring Teddy around anyone I don’t trust. You should already know that.”
“So you trust Olivia, then?” she asks.
“I do,” I say. “But it’s not like that between us.
We’re just doing business together. And I’m only telling you because there is a history there, and if she’s not gone before your trip, Teddy might be around her again.
I didn’t want you to find out and feel uncomfortable or wonder if I was hiding anything.
Maybe it’s weird that I mentioned it, but I guess I wanted to show you some respect because you’re my friend. ”
She considers what I’m saying for a second, but I know something is cooking in her head. She’s tight-lipped when she says, “Okay. I appreciate that.” She taps her steering wheel. “Well, I guess we’ll see you later?”
“Wait,” I say. “What did you want to tell me?”
“It was nothing,” she says.
“Danny,” I say. “What’s wrong?”
She chews her cheek: a tell that she’s nervous. “It’s a coincidence that you told me about your ex,” she says, “because Connor’s now mine too. We broke up last month.”
Damn. I wasn’t expecting that. If anything, I would’ve made a bet that she’d tell me she and Connor were engaged or maybe that she’d be giving Teddy a sibling.
I brought the man around my mom. He celebrated New Year’s with us last year.
And I can tell by the look on Daniela’s face, he was the one who caused the breakup.
I’ve been so stressed with the business, I didn’t even notice something was off with her. “What the hell happened?”
“He cheated on me,” she says, voice thick with the tears she’s holding back. “It’s fine. I’m healing. I just…thought you should know he won’t be around anymore.”
“Get out of the car,” I say.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Teddy doesn’t even look up from his screen when I pull his mom in for a hug.
“Carmello,” she says against my shoulder. “I know you’re busy. I’m okay, really.”
She’s right, it’s busy in the restaurant right now.
But even with a broken heart, she’s still been taking such great care of our child.
I need her to know she has every right to fall apart, and she can rely on me.
When my mom died, I relied on her too. There are so many reasons to feel grief and this is one of them.
So…I hold her close and let her cry. That’s when I notice Teddy watching us with curious eyes.
He smiles before locking back into his show.
When Daniela pulls away, she squeezes my arm. “Thank you, Carmello,” she says. “For this. And for letting me know about Olivia.” She gets back in the car, and I close her door.
Then I wait until their car disappears around the corner before heading back inside.