Ma pitches her head to the side. “Tilly needs help at the shop.”
“Wait.” Lucio tilts his head. “She needs what kind of help?”
“Her contractor went MIA. She needs a hand finishing a few projects so she isn’t late for the grand opening next week.”
“I’ll do it.” There’s no way I’m leaving my parents in charge of the bar, and I sure as shit don’t need Lucio to help me give Tilly a hand. “Lucio can stay here.”
“I’ll help, man,” Lucio says immediately.
“No. It’s a one-man job.”
My mother’s smiling for some odd reason. “That’s fine too.”
Lucio shrugs. “I’ll be here if you need me,” he tells me before taking off his jacket.
I place Brax back on the floor, guiding him toward his grandma. “Be good today. Listen to Grandma,” I tell him and Tate.
Tate gives me a little nod. “We always are, Daddy.”
Ma walks over to me and places her hand on my arm. “Thank you,” she says. “I have a good feeling about this girl, and I hate to see her struggle. She’s been through enough.”
“I’ll take care of her, Ma.”
“You’re a good man, baby.” She touches my cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want Lucio’s help?”
I shake my head. “I got it.”
Normally, I’d be more than happy to have Lucio’s help, but in all honesty, I’m being greedy. I want time with Tilly by myself. The more people around, the more awkward the entire thing could be.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there’s a spark between us. Maybe it’s our pasts that draws our souls together. Unless you’ve lived through that kind of loss, you can never fully understand the depth of the possible heartache.
“Take your time,” Ma says to me. “I’ll watch the kids as long as you need. Tilly’s waiting for you.”
I know what she’s doing. I can see her scheme from a mile away. “I won’t be too long.” I kiss her cheek softly. “Thanks.”
I’m thanking her for watching the kids, but I know she already has her eyes set on a possible love affair and future Mrs. Angelo Gallo. She did this with Lucio, pushing him toward Delilah. Of course, he would’ve found his way to her in time, but Ma and I helped make him come to his senses a little quicker than he would have.
When I walk out of the bar, I stop on the sidewalk between the two buildings and take a few deep breaths. Tilly knocks me off-kilter. Maybe it’s the sweet way she talks or the fact that she smells like dessert.
I walk into the cupcake shop, pushing open the front door a little harder than I meant to. I didn’t even see the ladder or Tilly standing at the top, polishing a light fixture, until she screeches in horror and tries to grab on to something. She fails, falling backward, and I catch her.
“Jesus, I’m so sorry.” I hold her tightly, loving the way she feels in my arms.
“Scared the fuck out of me.” She gasps for air. “Thank God you caught me or…”
“I’d never let you fall.” I stare into her beautiful green eyes.
She’s shaking. “Nothing like almost breaking your neck to remind you of how alive you really are,” she says, trying to play off the fact that I could’ve actually killed her.
I take in her body, light and soft against mine. “What the hell were you doing up that high in heels?”
“I always wear heels.” She gives me an innocent smile.
“Always?” I raise an eyebrow, a bit more playful than I normally am.
“Always.”
I can imagine her naked in nothing but a pair of red stilettos, standing at the foot of my bed. My stomach flips, liking the idea just as much as my cock does. “I should probably put you down now,” I say, but in this moment, I don’t really want to. “Ma said you needed help.”
