Page 102 of The Fix-Up

“Oh, no. Am I interrupting?” said a voice from the doorway. A very amused voice. “Do you want me to close the door? Give you both a little privacy?”

With a gasp, I snatched my hand from his shirt and scrambled to my feet, Gil’s hands on my waist to steady me. I brushed them off and crossed my arms, hoping to appear calm and collected. Judging by Iris’s grin, I looked anything but.

“Nope,” I said. “We were discussing some accounting stuff. Gil is taking it over for now.”

“Exactly, right.” Gil stood. A loud clank filled the room when the mouse fell from under his shirt. We ignored it but Iris rolled her lips together, clearly holding in laughter. “Thank you for your help, Eleanor.”

“No problem, Gil.” I gave my t-shirt a yank. “I’ll get back to work then. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Then I got the heck out of that room.

FORTY-TWO

[Love is…] a beautiful gift.

—NATHAN B., AGE 11

“Outfit check,” I said, doing a spin in the living room. Oliver and Gil were sitting side by side on the couch wearing identical serious expressions.

Oliver tilted his head, a finger on his chin like a mini fashion critic. “I like it.”

“Excellent.” I smoothed a hand down the soft blue sundress with tiny white and yellow flowers on it. I’d paired it with white flats and simple hoop earrings. I hadn’t wanted to get too dressed up for this date arranged by my two matchmakers, Ali and Mae. In fact, I’d tried to weasel out of the whole thing. Mainly because of the other guy on the couch, the one frowning at me.

“It’s showing a lot of skin, don’t you think?” Gil asked, his voice deeper than usual.

I looked down at my dress. It was tea-length with a cinched-in waist and a bell-like skirt. “No.”

Narrowing his eyes, he waved his hand around his shoulders. “This area is very exposed. Maybe you should wear a sweater.”

“It has spaghetti straps. They’re fine. And it’s almost ninety degrees out there. I’m not wearing a sweater.”

Gil pressed his lips together until the edges turned white, but he didn’t say anything else. I grabbed my purse and double-checked I had everything I needed before taking a seat in the living room.

“What time will he be here?” Gil asked.

“Any minute now.” I tucked my phone in my purse. “Thank you for hanging out with Oliver tonight.”

“No problem.” His face said otherwise.

I ducked my head to hide a smile. I had agreed to this date with Ali’s brother, Abe, over a month ago. In my head, I didn’t even think of it as a date. It was Abe. We’d talk about our kids all night and joke around. I’d tried to explain this to Gil, but he’d only gotten grumpier the closer we got to the date.

Almost like he was jealous.

I didn’t think a man had ever shown jealousy on my account. I liked it. I was probably a terrible person for liking it but I did.

“Oliver, come give me a hug.” He scrambled onto my lap. “Remember it’s a school night so bed by seven and nothing to drink after six.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know, Mom.”

Abe arrived right on time, looking sharp in a pair of khakis and a white button-down that had the sleeves rolled up to show off his tattoos. Then again, he had a lot of tattoos. His shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a low ponytail I normally wouldn’t find attractive but on him, it worked. It also showed off the nickel-sized gauges in his ears. His smile was pure mischief and reminded me of Ali. Above all, he was a genuinely nice guy.

I brought him into the living room to introduce him. “You know Oliver, and this is Gilbert Dalton. He’s my…business partner.”

Gil stood, back ramrod straight. No smile to speak of. He held his hand out.

“Nice to meet you,” he said in a way that made it clear there was nothing nice about this experience.

Abe took his hand and shook it, wincing ever so slightly. “Nice to meet you, too.”

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