Page 74 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

The softer, sweeter, more vulnerable side of Nadia was not something she showed to many people. She trusted me enough to let me see her with her guard down, and I always felt honored to be one of the few.

I pulled out a chair as she took her seat. Once she sat down, I started to pour a glass of wine for her, but then I remembered her resolutions. “Wait, I forgot, you’re not drinking. Do you want me to get?—”

“Wine doesn’t count.”

“It doesn’t?” I questioned.

“It’s basically grape juice,” she reasoned.

“Right.” I continued pouring, amused at her logic.

As we filled our plates, she asked, “When did you learn to cook?”

“On the job training.”

Her head tilted as her eyes narrowed in a quizzical gaze.

“Single dad,” I explained.

“Oh, right.”

That was as good a segue as any. “I heard you met Felicity.”

“Yes, I did.” She cut a piece of chicken, lifted the fork to her mouth, and when she took a bite, the sounds she made werethose of a foodgasm. “Oh, my gosh. This is sooo good.” Nadia’s head dropped back, and her eyes rolled up into her head.

“How was she?”

“Mmm.” Nadia made a non-committal sound as she chewed. Once she swallowed, she diplomatically replied, “She was…fine.”

I knew what that fine meant. It meant Felicity was being herself, which was anything but fine. But I didn’t want to spend the night talking about Felicity.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you—” Nadia began to say.

“So I wanted to talk to you,” I spoke at the same time.

“Go ahead,” I encouraged her.

“No. You first. You were the one who said you wanted to talk.”

I wanted to argue so I could hear what she wanted to say, but when it came to being stubborn, I would swear that there was some mule in Nadia’s DNA, so I didn’t see the point.

“Okay,” I agreed.

Nadia took a deep breath, and her lips pursed as her shoulders straightened. It was obvious she was bracing herself for something, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

“Earlier this week, I got a call from my manager, and there’s a fight coming up this summer. If I take it, I could be in a much better place financially for me, Matty, and Chloe long-term, but I don’t know if that’s the best thing for Chloe in the short term. Part of me feels like it’s the right thing to do, and she’ll be okay in the long run. But another part of me feels like taking her away from her friends, from the only place she’s ever known, would be equally if not more damaging. But the money…the money is not something I can just walk away from. And I don’t even know if Chloe wants to live with me, I mean permanently.” I took a deep breath. “What do you think?”

She continued staring at me; her expression hadn’t changed since I started speaking.

“What?” I asked, not able to read her body language.

“Sorry.” She shook her head slightly and blinked. “I just…that wasn’t what I thought you were going to say. It wasn’t what I thought you wanted to talk about.”

“Oh.” My brow furrowed. “What did you think I was going to say?”

“I thought…nothing,” she sighed dismissively. “So, you’re not sure if?—”

“No, wait, what did you think I was going to say?”

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