“O,” Nine called out just before Orlando got to the lobby door. Orlando stopped and turned back to him. “Up to you, man. I can run her through security like I have with some of these crumbs if you want me to.”
Thinking about it for just a second, Orlando shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”
With a quick nod, Nine was back to yapping it up with the guys as if he, too, wouldn’t give it another thought. In all fairness, Orlando would be leaving Little Man in the hands of Felicia as well. Orlando hadn’t known her that long either, and he wasn’t planning on running a background check on her.
Orlando decided he’d go with his gut. Nothing about Dani said dangerous. In fact, if anything, his son was probably in better hands with her than anyone else who’d be helping Orlando with him.
Chapter 9
Danica
Glancing up, Danica’s eyes met Nine’s. He was peering at her a bit strangely just as the lobby door opened and Orlando walked in. Though after being around him just one day, Danica had already picked up on the fact that he was by far the most playful of the three owners. “You’re not a registered sex-offender or felon by any chance, are you?”
Feeling her heart nearly stop, Danica tried desperately not to freak out and give anything away. Nine burst out laughing when Orlando pushed him away from the counter. “Ha, ha.” Orlando shot Nine an annoyed look but quickly turned to Danica and explained. “Before this one says anything stupid, the only reason I asked him yesterday if he’d run a background check on you is because, midway through the day, it dawned on me it’d never even been discussed. We don’t always run one when we hire. Just play it by ear, especially since most of the guys we hire are ones that come recommended by a trusted source. But the circumstances with you were a little different. Everything happened so fast I was just curious. That’s all.” He glanced at Nine with a near glare but then turned back to Danica, instantly softening his expression. “No background check necessary. We’ll go with our gut on this one.”
If Danica hadn’t been so busy trying to breathe normally, she might’ve been able to appreciate the beautiful smile coupled with a heart-stopping wink he indulged her with. Even minutes later when Orlando still stood there talking about the baby, Danica struggled to calm her ongoing pounding heart. As soon as he excused himself to get to work and walked out of the lobby, she rushed to the bathroom.
Once in the stall she let out a trembling breath and proceeded to muffle her crying in her hands. She was afraid someone might walk in and hear her then rush off to report a possible injury or sick person in the ladies’ room. It took her a long while to get her emotions in check. She just couldn’t believe her luck. She was home free. She’d been so sure her bubble would be burst at any moment and she’d be banned from the baby’s life forever. Now she’d be holding the baby in her arms again for sure tomorrow. It felt almost as if her reunion with the baby was meant to be, the way everything kept falling into place as it had. “Thank you, Jesus,” she whispered as she gathered herself, wiping away her tears one last time. Stopping just before she pushed the stall door open, she did a quick sign of the cross and closed her eyes as her mother’s stern reminder came to her. Always ask forgiveness for your shortcomings and weaknesses. God forgives, but you must be genuine about your remorse.
Danica closed her eyes. She knew she hadn’t been able to follow through with all the lying she’d planned to do, but she was still keeping some very significant things from Orlando, and it just felt so wrong. “Please forgive me, God, for any necessary lying I’ll likely have to do. But you know better than anyone how much this means to me and that there is nothing I’d ever do or say to put my Oreo’s life in danger.” Pressing her lips together, she did another quick sign of the cross again as she walked out of the stall. Just because she was asking for forgiveness didn’t make it right, and she knew it, but telling Orlando the whole truth was completely out of the question still.
As expected, her face was a mess when she looked in the mirror, and she washed all her makeup off. What a waste of the extra time she’d taken on her makeup that morning. Thinking fast because there was no way she was getting the swelling around her red eyes down now, she did her best to get her story straight in her head before walking out.
She wasn’t even at the counter yet when Orlando walked back into the lobby from the shop. The smile he wore flattened as soon as he laid eyes on her. “What’s wrong?”
Feeling overwhelmed with the stupid emotions again, she brought her hand over her mouth. She shook her head, as her brows pinched involuntarily but couldn’t come up with even one of the lies she’d armed herself with in case she needed to. “Same ongoing issue I’ve been dealing with for months.” To her surprise, a few seconds later, she was in Orlando’s big strong arms as she sniffled against his gloriously hard chest. The roller coaster of emotions she’d felt in a matter of less than a half hour had her nearly dazed. Before doing her research on the baby’s father, she’d assumed he was in his early twenties. So, she’d been pleasantly surprised when she found out he was almost thirty and likely much more mature than she was expecting. The day she’d gone into the shop with Ted was the first time she’d been that up close to him, and she’d gotten to see firsthand just how much a full-grown man he was rather than the kid she’d been worried about handing the baby over to. Now she stood here in his arms, getting an even bigger dose of just what a grown-ass, strapping man Orlando really was. Danica felt completely overwhelmed by the wild train of emotions. She’d gone from completely panicked to so overjoyed with relief it’d made her emotional, and now . . . She wasn’t even sure what she was feeling, but she was sure tingly insides were not what she should be feeling when she was dealing with such an emotional personal issue.
“You don’t have to share if it’s personal,” he whispered against the top of her head. “Just know you can come to me if there’s anything I can do.” How was it possible that she’d gone from a crying mess to her legs nearly giving out on her and her insides going wild in less than a few seconds? This was insanity. She had to gather herself before she was struck by lightning. “You don’t have to stay here either, Dani,” he said sweetly as he rubbed her back. “Go home and deal with whatever it is that’s going on.”
Just getting a taste of what an embrace from this man was like had her eyes rolling to the back of her head in ecstasy. But hearing him call her Dani had her inadvertently smiling against his chest. You’re so upset you’re crying remember, you idiot!
Snapping out of it, she wiped what she was sure was a ridiculously enamored and completely inappropriate smile off her face. But she couldn’t immediately bring herself to pull away from him just yet. Allowing herself to indulge a little longer, she took another deep breath of his heavenly scent.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
She was forced to pull away after hearing Nine’s concerned voice, and she wiped at the still lingering tears.
“She’s just upset,” Orlando said before she could respond. “But it’s personal,” he added with finality as if Nine might ask what about.