She turned to him again, and he could see her breathe in deeply. Orlando stared at her, wondering what to make of that. Was this her way of admitting she was hurting over this? “Thank you.” She smiled so beautifully it had him inhaling deeply now too. “No crying here. I really am more relieved than anything. Things between him and me just moved along way too fast. The whole talk of marriage was one he’d brought up almost from the beginning.” She turned back to Oreo, who was demanding her attention again and repeating his first word again and again. Dani smiled big, kissing him on the nose, but went on. “My sister had warned me from the moment she met him that he seemed controlling. I didn’t see it at first, but as the time went by, he got worse. So, I figure this is probably for the best.”
Probably? Out of that entire explanation, it’s the only thing Orlando got hung up on. Would she actually reconsider getting back with the guy, not if but when he came crawling back to her? Because if he hadn’t already, he was bound to. No way would the idiot be stupid enough to just let her walk away. “Probably?” The lingering question slipped out before Orlando could squelch it. She turned to him now, looking a little surprised by the question. “I . . . I mean you’d consider the possibility of reuniting if he asked for it?”
Enough! Jesus H. Christ, he was going to blow this! He started to stand in a gesture that yes, this interrogation was over. He’d be leaving shortly, and not a moment too soon, damn it. Before his prying ass could ask anything else that wasn’t any of his business.
She stared at him as their eyes locked, and there was no way he could look away now. “I just . . . it’s a figure of speech.” Clearing her throat, she went on, but didn’t look away, not even when the baby tugged at her hand. “Like when you said you’d likely not be answering Felicia’s calls anymore.”
Orlando smiled, feeling the enormous relief seep in along with a strange alarm. She finally turned to give Oreo her full attention. He wanted to assure her that he most definitely wouldn’t be answering Felicia’s calls, if that’s why she’d used that particular statement as in example of her explanation, but he didn’t. He was certain something significant had just happened, but he didn’t want to jinx it or, worse, jump the gun. More so, if something had happened here, he needed time to think this through. What would he—should he—do about this? This felt huge. Even with her not having a significant other anymore, he could stand to lose so much if he did or said the wrong thing. “I guess I should be getting out of here now.” Despite the temptation to hang out longer, Orlando leaned over and kissed the baby on the forehead. He needed to get out of there before he said anything he might regret later. Dani glanced up at him, and it was everything he could do to keep himself from leaning over and kissing her good-bye too. Holy crap, the challenge in resistance he thought he’d been experiencing before was nothing compared to the challenge he’d be facing from here on.
Chapter 18
Danica
Ever since Orlando had told Danica he’d broken things off with Felicia, and since she’d come clean about her felony, she had this enormous sense of relief. She was thankful that she didn’t have to worry about getting the boot because of a jealous girlfriend or if her secret about her past ever surfaced. The day Felicia had showed up, Danica and Orlando had been in the apartment alone. She’d been terrified of what their conversation might’ve been about when she walked out. It’s why she’d been waiting and timed her fake conversation with Ted for Felicia’s sake. As bad as she was about lying to Orlando, she’d at least not have to lie about her fake relationship anymore. Though she knew she was still hiding something much more significant. Of course, she’d been close to coming clean about even that as well, more than once now. It was only her desperate fear of being thrown out on her ass and never being able to see the baby again that had kept her from spilling her guts each time. Except now she had a new even bigger fear.
Knowing Orlando wasn’t in a relationship anymore had upped what she’d begun to feel for him. She kept reminding herself of his reason for preferring to not be in one—he didn’t have time. He’d made that perfectly clear to Felicia and then reiterated it to Danica more than once now that it’s why he wasn’t even answering the girl’s calls anymore. More important still, Danica should not, could not, consider even the slightest flirtation with him. It’d be all too easy, especially considering the number of times she’d been caught in those eyes. Technically, he’d have time for Danica since they literally spent so much time together anyway. But he’d also made it clear he hadn’t been looking for anything serious, even when he’d first met Felicia, and that was long before the baby came into his life. Clearly, a guy like Orlando could have his pick of any girl he wanted without having to commit to anything. “Did anyone call from OSHA yet?” Orlando asked as he walked into the lobby of the shop.
“They did.” Danica glanced around for the paper where she’d jotted down what they said. “They’re sending someone today.” She found her notes just as he came around the counter and leaned in to open a drawer. He grabbed a folder out of a drawer as she turned. “Ms. Portillo . . .” She paused when she realized his face was just inches from hers, and he gazed deeply into her eyes. And then it happened, just as it’d happened a few times now. His eyes were on her lips, and her heart thudded in reaction. He was so close she could smell and feel the warmth of his minty breath. His licking his lips had her eyes dropping to them as they inched in closer to each other.
“Of course he’d say that!” Nine’s loud voice as he walked into the lobby interrupted the heart-stopping moment, and Orlando stood up from his bent over position. “That’s bullshit.” Nine pointed at his phone, shaking his head at Orlando as he continued talking into it and walked past them to the computer room.
Clearing her throat, Danica went back to her notes. “They, uh, said Ms. Portillo should be here at one. She glanced at her watch and saw it was just after one. “But he did say she might be running a little late because she has another stop to make across town first.”
“Good.” Orlando glanced around the lobby and toward the shop. “We need to get this thing moving already. It’s gonna be a big job to get this wall down so we can expand into the shop next door. But we need the okay from OSHA to start with the construction. She’s here to go over the plans and make sure they’re up to par and make sure we’ve ensured the safety of all the employees while all the hard hat work will be going on. So, once they okay them, it’s on.”
“You excited?” she asked, smiling and trying to shake off the moment she wasn’t even sure if she’d imagined.
“Yeah, I—”
The shop door opening and the woman who started in interrupted his response. “Hello,” she said as she entered then glanced down at her paperwork. “I’m here to speak to a Leonardo, Orlando, or Nine?”
“I’m Orlando,” he said, walking toward her, and reached out his hand.
“Oh?” She smiled big, and Danica didn’t miss the way her eyes swept over Orlando from top to bottom as they widened in obvious appreciation. “I’m Lisa Portillo.” She reached out and shook his hand, swinging her hair back over her shoulder a bit dramatically. “I’m with OSHA here to do the evaluation for the construction work you’ll be doing.”