The physical pleasure she’d gotten from Orlando’s lovemaking skills was right up there with the very best she’d ever had. But there was so much more to it. The raw emotion accompanied with every kiss he’d indulged her with, was something she hadn’t expected. That he’d easily turned her on, was a hands-down given. He’d been doing that from day one just by the way he looked at her.
Quivering from just the thought, Danica smiled as she came to stop. Her heart hadn’t stopped pounding since his lips first touched hers. Only there was something troubling behind all the bliss she was feeling. Despite her efforts to drown it out, Danica had begun to hear the slow two-note utterances of the Jaws theme song in the back of her head. It’s what always happened when something was happening in her life or she was getting involved in a situation she knew had the potential to go very wrong. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Danica considered her options. She could come clean about the whole thing before things got any heavier between her and Orlando and pray he’d understand and forgive her. But he’d already been adamant about how he felt about whoever robbed him of his time with Oreo—he wouldn’t go easy on them. What if he didn’t understand? He could banish her from both their lives. “God no,” she muttered under her breath as the light turned green and she was on the move again. Her only other option was to continue as is and pray that she could keep the only poker face she’d been able to so far when it came to any talk of the baby’s mother. Thankfully, not since he first told her about it had the subject been brought up again. No matter how much she tried to relax, by the time she arrived home, her head was spinning with all kinds of worrisome thoughts. Despite the turn her life had suddenly taken being one she should be walking on air about, it only made her worries about this whole thing blowing up in her face that much more frantic. If in fact, Orlando was feeling for her what she was already feeling so deeply for him, she stood to lose even more now than when she first concocted this plan.
“Spill it,” Delia said as soon as Danica walked in the front door. Her sister motioned for Danica to follow her as she made her way toward the backyard. “You have perfect timing. It’s play time for the three I have here today, so we can chat while they run around.”
Dani glanced around the backyard, deciding how much she should share with her sister about this. “Dominic?”
“Garden club,” Delia said, taking a seat on the back-porch stairs and patting the area next to her for Dani to sit down. “He’ll be there all day today.”
Smiling, Dani nodded as she eyed Dominic’s makeshift greenhouse. He had a real green thumb, that guy. And just as she told Orlando, he was also an excellent baker. It’s why she didn’t care what the doctors said. No way could a four-year-old have the capacity to bake the cakes and breads he often did, which put her attempts to cook to shame, or be able to grow and care for all the plants the way Dominic did. “So, tell me.” Her sister peered at her as Danica took the seat next to her. “’Cause I ain’t buying you spending the night at this single daddy’s house just because it was late. Since when does Don’t-Dare-Danica have issues being out late?”
Tired of all the lying, Danica decided she’d come clean at least about this. She’d already been honest about this more full-time babysitting gig being for the same baby her sister had once helped her watch. She knew, if she ever had to bring the baby around Delia, she’d recognize him from before. Even being months older now, he still had that same adorable smile and those unforgettable sweet yet piercing eyes like his daddy. But Danica did shrug in an attempt to make less of this than she knew it was. “He’s a very attractive guy, and being around each other so much, I guess it was inevitable that sparks would fly. They finally did last night, and he asked me to stay.”
“And this is that same baby you were watching earlier this year, right?” Danica nodded, but before she could comment further, her sister went on with her next question. “How old is this guy?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Oh wow,” her sister smiled wide-eyed. “Guess you like them older, but at least he’s not an old goat this time.”
Smiling softly, Danica lifted and dropped a shoulder, staring at her shoes. She’d considered telling her sister the truth about the baby more than once now, but she knew her sister would be worried, if not livid about it. If Orlando wanted to, he could press charges since she’d basically kidnapped Oreo those several weeks after Angie passed, knowing full well he had a father. She’d been afraid he might not be up to taking on the responsibility, but still it wasn’t her decision to make on behalf of his son. “In a lot of ways, he’s far more mature than Ted,” Danica said, “even if he is a lot younger than him. He’s owned and run his own highly successful business for several years now.”
“Well, we both know Ted’s a perfect example of older not meaning more mature. Speaking of . . . Delia sat back against the porch’s railing, turning to Danica. “I saw him on TV yesterday.”
Danica rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I did too or rather on my phone. He sent me the clip to the interview.”
“I can’t get over how well-spoken he is for such an asshole.”
Laughing, Danica nodded in agreement, feeling better about having ever gotten sucked into the man. “Yep, he’s a natural when it comes to saying all the things people wanna hear. It’s why I fell for his charm hook, line, and sinker. I’m only glad I was able to see through his bullshit sooner rather than later. But I’ll give him that. He’ll make a hell of a politician.”
“You said he’s forty-seven, right?”
Danica chuckled, remembering how many times Ted had emphasized the irrelevance of age in correlation to a relationship between two adults. Of course, he would, since he was twenty-four years her senior. She wondered, now, if the inference would still stand if he knew about her dating a guy six years older. Her sister yelled out for the kids playing in the yard to be careful then turned back to Danica. “Well, it’s a good thing for Ted he doesn’t look a day past forty. What about this twenty-nine-year-old. He must look like a kid in comparison. But Ted seems so obsessed with everything. I’m sure he was obsessed about staying in shape and trying to look young enough to have a girlfriend your age.”
“Oh, don’t get me started on Ted staying in shape. It was just another thing he was completely fixated on.” Danica smiled, her heart going all aflutter as she brought up the photo of Orlando looking good enough to eat—literally. “This is from his shop’s website.”
Her sister glanced down at Danica’s phone, started to look away when one of the kids squealed, but jerked her head back immediately and took the phone from Danica.
“Oh. My. God. You’re sleeping with this guy?” Danica nodded, smiling softly. “Holy shit, Dani. Like Tia Yesi used to say, Dios mio! Tremendo Mango!” Danica watched as Delia continued to ogle her phone screen.
“I know. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.”
“I’ll bet.” Her sister made a roaring sound that had Danica giggling nervously. “Regardless of Ted’s age, I still thought the guy was good-looking, but he don’t hold a candle to this eye candy. No wonder you got over him so quickly.”