Page 9 of Mr. Right Now
A smile blossomed on her face and she spread her arms wide. “Ryan. How are you, baby?”
“I’m good,” he said, hugging her. “You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”
She giggled like a schoolgirl and Dante shook his head. His friend hadn’t changed since grade school.
Ryan glanced around. “Where’s Erika? I saw her car in the driveway.”
“She’s on the deck, lounging like she’s Cleopatra,” his mother answered. “Tell her to come in so we can eat.”
“Okay.”
While Ryan handled that task, Dante and his mother brought everything to the dining room table.
“Happy birthday to me,” Erika sang, Stevie Wonder style, when she entered the dining room.
They settled around the table and after his mother blessed the food, filled their plates and dug in. Dante smiled at Erika when she pretended to swoon after eating a bite of the steak. Seeing his baby sister’s happy face as she ate chased away the blues that had grabbed him earlier.
“Mama Daphne, you put your foot in this mac and cheese,” Ryan said. “If I promise to mow your lawn every week and wash dishes, can I get dinner say three times a week?”
His mother’s soft laughter floated across the table. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He grinned at Dante and Dante said, “You really need to learn how to cook and stop begging.”
“Hey, there’s no need when Mama Daphne rules the kitchen.” That brought on more laughter and old stories.
Halfway through the meal, Erika said, “Mom, I think Dante might have a new girlfriend.”
Dante choked on his iced tea and he shot a glare at his sister.
His mother whipped her head in his direction. “Is that right? Why didn’t you tell me when I asked earlier?”
“Because I do not have a new girlfriend. Erika’s just being the same bratty little sister she always been.”
“Her name is Jayana and she’s the center’s new psychologist,” his sister continued as if he hadn’t spoken.
“Hmm, I may have to stop by sometime next week and meet her. Maybe you should invite her to our next family dinner.”
Dante’s heart started pounding in alarm.Invite her to dinner?That’s how it started with his ex and there would not be a repeat.
“She’s a beautiful woman,” Ryan said with a smirk, the same one his sister wore on her face. “And the kids really seem to like her.”
Dante wanted to strangle them both, and toyed with returning his sister’s giftafterhe told her what she would have gotten. But he knew he wouldn’t. He loved her, even if she was a pain in the butt. Deciding to steer the conversation away from him, Dante said, “A few of the girls mentioned the same thing to me.”
“That’s good. I didn’t think Maureen was the right person for the job,” his mother said as she dabbed the napkin against the corners of her mouth. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about her when she worked at the hospital, but it takes someone special to work with children.”
With three pairs of eyes still on him, he said, “I agree. I think she’ll be a good fit for the center.”She might be a good fit for you, too, if you let go of the past.Dante finally admitted to himself that the more he was around Jayana, the more he wanted to get to know her. But doing that meant opening himself up to possibility of falling for her, something he wasn’t ready to do.
* * *
Jayana spent the first half of the week meeting individually with all the students who attended the center on a regular basis. She planned to add a couple of group sessions per week, as well, but wanted to wait until school let out so she’d have an accurate number. Leaning back in her chair, she smiled. So far, this had been the best job she’d had, hands down. Everyone, from the staff to the students, had welcomed her and treated her as if she were family. One of the preschool teachers had even given her a small welcome basket filled with a mug, assortment of teas, cookies and chocolate.
The only person she hadn’t seen was Dante. They’d communicated by email about the festival details and other things pertaining to her job, but he kept his distance. Jayana tried not to let it bother her, but for reasons she didn’t want to analyze it did. Standing, she did a few stretches to relieve some of the kinks from sitting at her desk for the past hour. The center would close in about twenty minutes and only a handful of students remained. Her plans for the evening included dinner, bingeing the last few episodes of S.W.A.T. and taking a long bubble bath.
“Ms. Cole?”
Jayana turned and saw four students congregated in her doorway. “Hey. Come on in. What can I help you with?”
“We keep hearing Mr. Powell and everybody talking about Juneteenth but we don’t know what it is,” Travis said. He tended to be the outspoken one in the group.
