Chapter 4
Giada had just finished straightening up her work area and was gathering her sweater and her small purse when she heard the front door open.
Matteo and Leo shouted happily, and jumped up from where they sat waiting for her.
Giada stepped up to the window she was separated from the reception area by to see why her sons were so excited, though she had a pretty good idea before she even looked.
“You’re here!” Matteo cried excitedly.
“I knew you’d come back!” Leo said.
“And I knew that you knew that!” Ronan said, holding his hand up for a high-five.
Leo jumped as high as he could to get a lot of momentum behind himself, then slapped Ronan’s hand as hard as he could.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Ronan said, holding his hand for Matteo next.
Matteo didn’t jump like his brother did, but he wound up his hand a few times before slapping Ronan’s.
“Whooooo! I’m going to tell y’all what! Y’all are some strong young men! I don’t think I’m going to be giving y’all high-fives that much anymore. Y’all hurt!”
Both boys started laughing.
Giada rolled her eyes to herself as she locked the door she used to buzz people through, listening for it to latch as it closed. She stepped out into the reception area and watched quietly as her boys behaved like this Ronan guy was the best thing they’d ever seen.
“What happened to this place?! It looks like somebody threw up pink hearts and glitter!” Ronan said to the kids complete with mimicking gags and clawing at his own throat.
“And white hearts and red hearts, too. It’s kind of girly,” Leo said, grinning at Ronan pretending to be sick because of all the pink hearts.
“Momma did it. There’s hearts everywhere,” Matteo said, shaking his head.
“Want to know a secret” Ronan asked, lowering his voice to a hushed tone but still making sure Giada could hear him.
“Yes!” Leo and Matteo yelled.
“I kind of like the hearts. And the curly ribbons.”
“Why?” Leo asked, making a horrible face.
“Because it means love. And love is a good thing. If you’ve got somebody to share it with.”
“Love is kind of girly,” Matteo said.
“I used to think so, too. But now? I’m kinda liking this love thing.”
Giada walked toward them, making her presence known.
Ronan had been well aware of her location since the moment he’d stepped inside the building.
His Wolf had tracked her from her desk area behind the check-in window, to the door she’d come out of and into the reception area.
He picked up her emotions before he’d even looked her way.
She didn’t trust him — at all! She was suspicious of every word he said, and analyzing every single movement he made.
“You ready boys?” she asked from about ten feet behind Ronan.
“He came back!” Matteo exclaimed, pointing at Ronan.
“I see that,” Giada said, pretending to be excited, too. “But we have to go.”
“But aren’t you going to tell him hi, too, Momma?” Leo asked.
“Of course,” she said, smiling at her son. She looked over at Ronan, and forced herself to smile. “Hello, Ronan.”
“Hello, Giada. How about dinner tonight, on me?” he said, genuinely smiling at her and purposely ignoring the hardness in her eyes.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” both boys began to chant.
“No, thank you. I always have dinner with my boys.”
“That’s not a problem. I actually meant all three of you.”
“Thank you, but we’re on our way to dinner right now. We eat early, then have a small snack before bedtime,” she explained.
“I eat all the time so an early dinner is no problem for me,” he said.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Giada said. “Besides, we’re eating here tonight. There’s no reason to spend extra money when we can just as easily eat here. And the food is better than most restaurants. Thank you, anyway.”
“Eating here sounds great to me. Besides, I gotta eat. You gotta eat. The kids gotta eat. Let’s eat together.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Giada shot him an irritated glare. “Honestly? Because they seem already pretty attached to you, and it’ll just be a few days and you’ll be headed back to school, right? They’ll feel that. They’re just getting adjusted to a new life here and I don’t want anything to taint that for them.”
“I understand that, more than you know. But I’m not going back as soon as you think. In fact, it’s debatable that I go back at all — got a few things in the works. In the meantime, I have a little extra time.”
She looked at him, trying to figure out his game.
“It’s just a meal and a little time, Giada. My intentions are purely honorable — I assure you. I’m just asking to share some food, some company, and few laughs. What’s the harm?”
“A few laughs? Is that what you’re after? It’s not surprising,” Giada said.
“Ronan? I didn’t know you were coming by here today, baby,” Valerie said, walking into the reception area as she dried her hands on a dish towel.
“Mom! I didn’t know you were going to be here today, either. You volunteering today?” Ronan asked, going to her and hugging her.
“Avaleigh was cooking today so I came to help.”
“Oh, if Aunt Avaleigh and my mom cooked, we have to eat here. Doesn’t matter what it is they made,” Ronan said, nodding his head to emphasize his words while grinning at Giada.
“You can choose from catfish couvillion, and shrimp creole, both with rice and garlic bread. We made fried okra and potato salad as sides, and chicken tenders for the kids,” Valerie said proudly.
“Oh, yeah. I’m eating here,” Ronan said.
“With us!” both boys shouted as they jumped around excitedly.
“Well, now hold on,” Ronan said. “It’s up to your mom. She has the final word and you should always listen to your mom.” He turned to Giada. “It’s just sharing a meal. I promise. I have no ulterior motives.”
“Are these the boys you were telling your Dad about this morning?” Valerie asked.
Ronan’s head jerked toward his mother quickly, his eyes wide with an unspoken ask to not say too much.
“They are,” he said carefully.
“Ronan was saying how much he enjoyed playing the video game with them. I think they reminded him of being a kid again. Actually, now that I’m thinking of it, I believe the games they’re playing here might be yours. We donated a lot of toys from you kids.”
“That’s how you knew how to play it!” Leo said excitedly.
“It all makes sense now,” Ronan said.
“There was a time I told Ronan that his brain would turn to mush if he kept playing all those video games. But now he’s working on his second degree in Biomedical Engineering. Maybe those games don’t exactly rot your brain.”
“Not mine at least,” Ronan said laughingly.
“Well, you guys have a good dinner. I’ve got to get home and make something for your dad,” Valerie said. She turned her attention to Giada. “Is the door still unlocked so I can get my things out of the office?”
“No, ma’am, but I can unlock it for you.” Giada and Valerie walked over to the door to the offices. Giada unlocked the door and held it open as Valerie went through. “Just make sure that you wait for the click when you come back through it, to be sure it’s locked before you leave the building.”
“Got it! I’ll do exactly that.””
“Thank you. And thank you for helping me decorate today. I really appreciate it,” Giada said.
“You’re very welcome, sweetie! And the dining room looks great, too!”
“I got that one done before anybody else was here except Mrs. Avaleigh,” Giada said.
“You did a great job. And I’ll see you soon. I’m sure I can find some extra time later this week to come help with whatever is needed,” Valerie said.
“I’ll see you then,” Giada said. Giada turned to Ronan and the kids, walking back over to them. “Mrs. Valerie is your mother,” she said as more of a statement than a question.
“She is. And Maverik is my father. Daniel is my uncle, as are Kaid and Bane and Bam. Avaleigh and Delilah and…”
“I get it,” she said, waving off the rest of his comments, “they’re all your family.”
“Yep.”
“You could have just told me that you belonged here.”
“If I’m here, why would you think I didn’t belong?”
“Anyone in need has every right to be here. That doesn’t mean that I’m not suspicious of anyone who shows more than a passing interest in my sons.”
“As you should. But, I’m not one of those you need to worry about.
Honestly, I think they’re good kids and they remind me of a time before I was having to figure out how to make molecular structures and robotics talk to each other.
And I like you, too. I like being around all three of you.
Am I allowed to say that without being ushered out of the door? ”
Giada simply looked at him, considering her answers if she was even going to answer.
She couldn’t deny her attraction to Ronan, he was a nice looking man, but then he was still in college — which made him younger than her — and definitely not someone that she should be even looking at in that way.
Not that she should be looking at anyone in that way, she was done with men.
Men controlled. Men battered. Men forced you into whatever mold or behavior they wanted you to fit in, and if you had kids with them, they used them against you.
No men. At all. Ever. That had been her motto since she ran from her husband almost five years before.
Kids… even her kids liked him, and that wasn’t good.
They were already drawn to him, and he wouldn’t be staying, he was in college, and younger than her, and not at all planning to take on a ready made family — what man was?
She realized he was standing patiently, quietly, waiting for her to answer, which then made her aware of the rambling nature of her thoughts.
She looked at him, trying to figure out which answer to pluck from the jumbled mess of her mind.
The easiest answer, one that was noncommittal on her part was the one she chose. “Are you hungry or not?”
“Yes,” he said, doing his best to hide the subtle smile that curved his lips.
“We are, too! We are, too!” the boys answered jumping up and down again.
“You are?! Then you better eat all your dinners!” Giada said, leaning over to tickle them playfully. When she straightened up, she eyed Ronan, her eyebrows raised in question.
“I would be honored to escort you three to dinner, and share a meal with you.”
“Let’s go eat, then,” she said resignedly.
They walked into the cafeteria, which was hosting about thirty-five people at the moment, and Ronan turned in a circle looking at all the streamers and hearts and butterflies. “Wow. It’s in here, too.”
“Yes, it is. I’m hoping it makes people happy.”
“It makes me happy,” Ronan said, following her to a table near the serving line.
“Alright? What are we having?” Ronan asked.
“Chicken!” Matteo shouted, clapping his little hands.
“What are you going to eat?” Leo asked.
“I think I’m going to have some of the couvillion! It’s one of my favorites,” Ronan said.
“Is it hot?” Leo asked.
“I don’t think so. My mom doesn’t make it too spicy. If it is and you don’t like it, we can get you something else,” Ronan said.
“Okay. I want that stuff. Like you,” Leo said.
“Is that okay with you, Mama?” Ronan asked, grinning at Giada.
“Yes, that’s fine,” Giada said, her heart lurching a little at the display of Leo already trying to be like Ronan.
“What would you like?” Ronan asked.
“I can get it myself.”
“Giada?” Ronan asked, waiting for her to look up at him where he stood beside their table.
She’d been making sure the boys were well seated before going to get their plates. She looked up at Ronan when he said her name.
“Please let me take care of you just a little bit by bringing your food to you. It’s ten feet away. It’s not that big of a deal. Please?”
Giada looked at her boys, both sitting there with smiles on their faces as they waited for her to let Ronan get her food, too. She visibly swallowed before she nodded and sat down between the boys. “I’ll take the shrimp, please.”
“I’ll be right back, with drinks, too!” Ronan said happily.
“Coke!” Leo shouted.
“Me, too!” Matteo said.
“You don’t need any soft drinks! Milk is just fine,” Giada said.
“Don’t have to tell me twice. I’m having a huge glass of milk, with ice in it to make it ice cold. It’s my favorite!” Ronan said. “All I drink is milk or water. Well, I have coffee in the mornings, too,” Ronan said as he walked away.
“I want ice milk!” Leo called out.
“Me, too!” Matteo added.