Page 16 of Always You
“Okay, I count you hide.”
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.”
I hear giggles hiding under the table in his Spiderman suit. Pretending I can’t see him.
“I wonder where he went?”
“Mommy, right here, silly.”
Crawling under the table, I tickle him. He giggles.
“All right, time for bed brush those teeth. I’ll be up to read you a story.” He marches up the stairs groaning as he stomps into the bathroom. I pour a good amount of wine into my glass. What a shitty day. For the past five years, I have raised my son while going to college. Taking him to the park, teaching him how to play baseball, and how to ride a bike. I longed for love every time I tried to take that step. My thoughts linger on the man I gave my soul to. I hand Sophie, a glass of wine. She takes a sip and looks up at me.
“You know that woman is an airhead,” Sophie says, sneering.
“And he’s a handsome asshole,” I add, sighing.
“You know he kept staring at you. Just watching you.” She swishes the wine in her mouth. “He doesn’t look like he’s really in love with her,” she protests.
An airy laugh escapes my lips. “You heard what he said. Dominic loves her, and he loved no one else. He never loved me like I thought he did. I spent years talking to him, thinking he was listening from heaven, sent balloons with a message for his birthday and the anniversary of his passing.” Glaring at my best friend with a grimacing smile. I shrug my shoulder.
“I just don’t get what happened. He loved me. We were so in love. Well, I thought he was. It’s been five years, Sophie, long enough for him to move on and fall in love.”
“I think you need to be the big person and go talk to him, find out what happened, and see how it goes. Depending on how things go, you can tell him about Dante.”
She’s not wrong. We need to talk like adults. He’s been acting juvenile. She tosses me the card his fiancé handed her. Fetching the card, a small smile creeps onto my lips. He owns a restaurant, Delgado Steak House.
“He owns a restaurant, Sophie. Before he had gotten sick when my father passed, he said, ‘let’s open a restaurant together in memory of your parents’.” I scratch my head in confusion.
“Do you think he opened this up because of us? I guess that’s silly. Of course not.” We sip our wine in unison.
“Men are so confusing. He looked at you as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to fuck you or strangle you.”
I cough up a laugh. Shaking my head definitely not fucking me.
* * *
I sit in my Range Rover in the parking lot of Dominic’s restaurant. My nerves are spiraling, rubbing my sweaty palms on my jeans. Hell, I’m so nervous.
“Keep it together, Mila,” I tell myself. Taking a deep, long breath, I get out of my car and walk through the double doors and ask the host for Dominic Delgado.
“He’s in his office toward the kitchen in the back.” She looks at me up and down—sizing me up.
Okay, I don’t know what this is all about.
“Can I help you with something?” A flicker of irritation and impatience shines in her eyes.
I give her a fake smile. “No, I’m a friend. I want to speak to him in his office.”
She points back toward the kitchen. His restaurant is very exquisite. I pass a jukebox as I walk to the back. There’s a waterfall and beautiful décor around it. Dominic’s voice booms as I get closer. I hear a woman’s voice, speaking to him, the high-pitched voice sounds familiar. Her sharp, high-pitched voice has me cringing; it is his fiancée.
“Baby, I picked the date for our wedding. I was thinking of a March wedding. Are you okay with that?” she questions him.
“Can’t wait, baby, whatever you want.”
My heart is pounding. I plant my hands on my chest, feeling my heart racing. Damnit, why did I come? I scoot a little closer without getting noticed. I peek in, hopefully, they can’t see. He sits in a chair. She’s on his lap, straddling him. Kissing his neck, then running her hands up and down his chest. He presses his lips on hers and devours her mouth. She moans. He retrieves from their kiss. He will be married in five months. What does he see in her that I don’t have? Money of course, and his mother must love her. It was supposed to beusgetting married. I take a steady breath. Fucking hell this hurts.
“Dominic, once we get married, I want to start a family,” she purrs into his neck.
