Page 30 of Sweet on You
“Why do you need to get your car?” Lana asked.
I avoided glancing up at her as I punched in Ronnie’s address into the app. One look at my face and she’d know I had been on a date. Or sort of a date. Whatever we were calling what happened. “I left it at a friend’s house.”
“Your Fiat?”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s right there,” Lana said, pointing out the window toward the street. “That’s it, parked out front, isn’t it?”
I paused, just short of confirming my Uber, and crossed to the window. Sure enough, my Fiat was there, parked in the street. With my face pressed against the glass, I strained to see down the street for any sign of Ronnie. Was she walking home? Why did she bring my car back?
I grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door and sprinted down the stairs, calling over my shoulder to Lana and Tony that I’d be right back. Phone still clutched in my left hand, I made it to the sidewalk and looked left to right, glancing into the window of my car. Sure enough, my backpack was on the floor of the passenger seat. I opened the door and grabbed it out of there, hearing my keys jingling in the front pocket.
I texted Ronnie.
Me: Did you drop off my car?
Ronnie: No, why?
Me: Seriously? It’s here in front of my apartment.
Ronnie: Huh. Weird. It must have been the car fairy. ;)
I grinned, both relieved and grateful that I didn’t need to wake up even earlier than necessary.
Me: Can I at least give you a ride home? I assume you’re walking right now.
Ronnie: I’m taking Penny for a jog. It’s good for both of us. Thank you, though.
There was a pause as three little dots hovered next to her name.
Ronnie: I hope it’s okay I brought your car back. I know you told me not to, but I wanted to help. And I didn’t ring the bell or anything because I didn’t want to interfere.
I swallowed my guilty feelings about her wording. She wouldn’t be interfering. And she’d never be a bother. I just… I needed to figure out this dad thing before I could put the energy into figuring out whatever this was between Ronnie and me.
Me:Of course it’s okay. It was more than okay. Thank you so much.
I did some quick math in my head. The arraignment was at 9:00. Brady was meeting me at the bakery at 7:15 to leave by 7:30. But if I was being honest, I wanted to hit the road as soon as he arrived.
Me: Come by the bakery in the morning. I have to go out of town for a few hours, but I have something for you as a thank you. I’m leaving around 7:15. Can you join me for a cup of coffee before I go? Say… 6:45?
It didn’t occur to me that that might be too crazy early. As a baker, every morning by six, I’d already been up for hours and was feeling like I needed a lunch break.
I held my breath, still standing there on the sidewalk beneath the dim yellow glow of the street lamp, as rain started misting around me. The three little dots danced next to her name until finally her text came through.
Ronnie: I’ll be there.
And suddenly, it didn’t matter that I had so much to figure out. For a split second, I forgot that I was about to meet my daughter for the first time. And that her mother—my ex—was likely going to prison for theft like some crazy video game that only teenagers play. In that moment, I just felt like a young guy again. A guy with no worries other than impressing a beautiful woman he fancied.
I walked back upstairs with a grin on my face so wide, Lana bombarded me with questions the moment I walked in the door.
“Who is she?” she asked through her own smile.
Tony grunted from the couch, reaching for my remote and flipping on the tv. “Leave him alone. He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
Lana’s brows jumped, disappearing behind her side swept bangs. “Are you going to tell me?”
I crossed into the kitchen, grabbing the almond flour from my pantry. “When there’s something to tell, I will.”
