Page 14 of Just a Heartbeat Away

He pulled his eyes away from the pleasantly pink Miss Via DeRosa and looked down at his son, who was grinning like he did when he wanted an extra half hour of TV.

“Ah...” He glanced back at Via.

“Oh, I can’t tonight, Matty.”

Matty’s face fell as he looked up to his dad for the assist.

“You really are invited, Via, if you wanted. And I know Matty wants you to come. He only pulls out the ‘Daddy’ big guns when he really wants something.”

She smiled but her eyes skittered away. “I’ve got plans with Evan. You remember? My boyfriend.”

“Okay. Maybe another time then.”

Another time? The poor woman had already said no twice. Why the hell was he setting himself up for her to say no a third? AND she’d just taken the opportunity to remind him that she had a boyfriend.

She nodded in a noncommittal way.

They walked in silence for three sidewalk squares before Seb broke the silence again. “You and Evan live together?”

What? Abort! Seb, you dumbass. Quit asking personal questions about her boyfriend!

She shook her head but didn’t say more.

He knew when it was time for a quick exit. “All right, well, this is where the Dorner family turns off. We’ve got lima bean soup and broccoli pie waiting for us at home.”

Matty looked up at him with exactly the horrified and disgusted expression that Seb had expected. It made Via laugh. Just like Seb had been hoping it would.

“Well, you fellas have a good night.”

“Bye, Miss DeRosa.”

“Bye, Matty. You can come see me in my office whenever you want. It’s next to the art room.”

“On the third floor?”

She nodded.

“Okay! I will.”

She waved and walked on, and Seb tugged Matty on down the block.

“Dad, we’re not actually eating that for dinner, are we?”

CHAPTER FIVE

“AREYOUSURE?” Via asked for the fourth time. She knew that what she was doing could probably be classified as nagging, but she couldn’t stop herself. This was a really big decision that Evan was making. And considering how serious they were about one another, it was going to inevitably affect her as well. The thought had her fingers trembling where she pressed them into her lap.

“I’m sure, babe. One hundred percent. I hate my boss. I can’t stand to look at him for another fucking second. I gotta get out of there.”

They sat at Via’s small breakfast table. They spent most of their time at her place these days. He shared with two roommates, and none of them ever did the dishes. It turned Via off.

She leaned over and fiddled with the small bouquet of purple flowers at one end of the table. Evan had brought them as a way to soften the news he’d also brought.

“Okay, I get that you hate your job. And they definitely haven’t treated you very well recently.” It seemed like every day Evan had some story about how unfair his job as a paralegal was. “But quitting is a really extreme way of dealing with it.”

She couldn’t believe thatanyonewould prefer the potential drama of an unexpected quitting to the infinitely more respectful two weeks’ notice.

Though he’d still been doing a lot of visual art when they’d first met, Evan’s job as a paralegal was one of the first things that had attracted Via to him. Still a student at the time, she had admired the nine-to-five dependability of his schedule and his paycheck. She’d thrilled at what she’d seen as his work ethic. It had seemed so grown-up to her. So reliable.

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