“No problem,” Anthony cleared his throat and headed back to the garage with Lou, not giving me a second glance. I reared back in my chair, a little stunned and a lot pissed off. I understood backing away until we figured out what was going on between us, but now it just seemed stupid. I thought we were past all of this, and I was done hiding my feelings or sneaking around.
When Dad went into his office, I grabbed my phone and punched out an angry text.
Victoria:What was that all about?
Victoria:Are you ashamed of us or something?
Anthony:God, no. Never. We just need to play this right.
Victoria:I want to be with you. Out in the open. I’m sick of hiding how I feel about you and I thought we were past all of this. My father probably already knows, so playing games and sneaking behind his back is pointless.
Victoria:And I’m not doing it.
I tried to get lost in work, but my rage clouded my view of the computer screen. Thanks to all my extra hours, I was ahead and finished with all the current billing by noon. I worked those extra hours to spend time with Anthony who leaped away from me as if I were on fire.
When I was done, I stalked over to my father’s office and peeked my head into the door.
“Dad, would it be all right if I left early, today? The billing is all done, and any new orders I can take care of tomorrow. Mom is home making cookies with DeDe and Bruce, and since you all are so concerned about me working too much now that the semester is over…” I shrugged when his eyes met mine.
“Of course, Sweets. I know you’re way ahead. You’ve been working almost as many hours here as me. Go now if you want. But, have a seat first.” He jutted his chin to the chair in front of his desk.
He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair when I sat down.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
My stomach twisted at his lifted brow. Anthony and I were the world’s worst kept secret.
“Of course. Nothing is wrong, Dad.”
I really did want to tell him about Anthony but didn’t since Anthony still had issues with him knowing.
He had me sneaking around anyway, and that infuriated me.
“Well, I’m here if there is. I love you. Bring in some cookies tomorrow.”
The corner of his mouth lifted before he winked.
I smiled and made my way over to his desk to kiss his cheek.
“I love you, too. Thanks, Dad.”
He shooed me away as his phone started ringing.
I grabbed my stuff, throwing my cold half latte in the trash because I was too aggravated to drink it, and bolted out the door.
I cooled off on the subway ride back home and laughed when I made my way into my mother’s flour-covered kitchen.
“Tori, look! I made a star!” Bruce lifted the metal stencil filled with dough and the middle bottomed out and fell onto the floor. My mom met my gaze with a chuckle before she snatched it off the tile and threw the dough into the garbage.
“I’ll wash this off and you can try again, bubba.”
“Sit!” DeDe stained my sleeve with her white fingerprints and pulled me into the chair next to her.
“So, hit me with some shapes!” I rolled up my sleeves and my siblings’ eyes lit up brighter than the Christmas lights they made their parents hang in every room in our house, including the kitchen.
“I’m surprised to see you home so early,” my mother said with a crinkled brow as she handed the clean star back to Bruce. “Everything okay at the shop?”
“Oh yeah, fine,” I told her while rolling a blob of dough into a ball and patting it with my hands to flatten it out before I went over it with a rolling pin.
