Nadia is sitting on the kitchen island, talking to her best friend Savannah, telling her everything that has happened between us, and she must be supportive because I hear her squealing on the other end of the line. I smile, deciding to give them some privacy. I check on Catalina, who is happily coloring in her room. After ensuring she’s settled, I head upstairs to my office to finish some proposals that must be sent out by tomorrow morning. It’s just a relaxed Sunday morning, and I can’t wait to have more of these quiet moments and more of the laughter we’ve shared these past weeks. To enjoy this simple happiness I feel with the woman who has helped me in more ways than one, not just with my feelings, but with Catalina’s, too.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Catalina invited me to see her last t-ball game, and how could I not after that sweet little thing looked up at me with so much love in her eyes? I almost melted on the spot at my sweet girl asking me to come to her game, as if there was any doubt that I wouldn’t. So here I am, standing next to my man, watching Catalina get up to bat. She glances over to us before she straightens out her little form and focuses all her attention on hitting the ball off the tee, her brow furrows in concentration. She swings with all her might, launching the ball upward toward third base. She doesn’t even hesitate when she makes her first lunge forward.
I scream “Run!” while fist pumping the air as Manny whistles loudly, his fingers in his mouth, as she rounds first,running to second. “Dang, that girl is going to get a scholarship. I can feel it.” I smack him on the arm, and he chuckles.
“Let’s hope she continues. She might like something else.”
I shake my head. “Nope, she’s amazing.” The look he gives me makes me want to hug him, but we focus on Catalina. I can’t help but stifle a laugh at the second baseman who has his hands over his head to protect himself from the ball, not noticing it lands right behind him. Catalina comes running straight for him and he sees her, his eyes widening as he runs away frantically, looking for the ball. When he sees it, it’s too late, and Catalina is safe. She waves her little hand in the air, and I dance around in a circle.
When I stop, Sylvie is there, much like the first day I was here to meet Manny for the nanny interview, but so much has changed. She gives me a look that makes her look like she just sucked on lemons. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, this time, I school my features in indifference because I know that Manny loves me and he won’t let this slide. So, I stand there, watching her try her best to hit on my man, trusting him to take care of it.
“Manny,” she purrs. “Victoria was hoping that Catalina could come over to our house for a little party afterward with the team, and of course, you are invited to stay as long as you want.” She looks over at me, flicking her highlighted hair over her shoulder, then she looks at her nails. “You could bring the nanny over if you need to. That’s not a problem.” She gives me a once-over before focusing her attention on him once again.
I stand there, watching this train wreck happen, feeling sorry for him as she tries once again to throw herself at him. I almost feel sorry for her if she wasn’t such a jerk to me that day at the tavern. I am also silently hoping she over-dyes her hair and it falls out after her next coloring, but I’m not petty. I didn’t say it out loud, so it’s not the same thing if you only think it, right? I’m snapped out of my daydreaming as Manny removes her hand from his chest.
“Look, Sylvie, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but you are not getting the hint that I’m not interested. And Nadia isn’t the nanny anymore. She is my girlfriend.” She whips her head toward me and then back to Manny.
She points her finger at me. “You’re with her? You know shewas dating that other guy behind your back, right?” I look at her likewhat the fuck, then turn toward Manny, shaking my head. He kisses it, reassuring me that he knows it’s not true.
“I know all about Parker, herfriend.I also know what you told her that night at the tavern, Sylvie. I want you to leave Nadia alone and respect that we are together.” He turns away from her while she stands there looking at me with so much hatred, and I have no idea why. “Also,” Manny continues, “we have plans to do something already, so tell Victoria that we are sorry we can’t make it.” He doesn’t look her way again, dismissing her, and I do the same. Damn, that was hard to watch, but I love this man even more, if that’s possible. We watch Catalina make it home, and her team wins the game.
“Let’s go out for some ice cream,” I suggest as we close the doors, ready to drive off to my house for the night. Catalina has a little bag packed, and she loves to say the word “sleepover” all the time, but I hate the word so much because it just reminds me that Manny and I have lived separate lives, and soon, I will be away from them both.
Manny glances in the rearview mirror. “What do you say, Catalina? Want to grab some ice cream?” She vibrates in her booster seat with uncontrolled energy, and I am seriously second-guessing my choice.How about hamburgers or something less sugary? A salad? Oh, boy.
“Yes, I want ice cream!” she exclaims from the back seat. “I want three big scoops of chocolate ice cream, Papá.” She kicks the back of my seat, and I look over to Manny, who is clearly enjoying this. I look over at him, shrugging inward in an attempt to make myself look more invisible and mouth a “Sorry,” his way, but he shrugs and drives in the direction of the seasonal ice cream stand that Parker and I met at the first week I arrived here. Gosh, it seems like so long ago instead of only a couple of months. I am glad to hear that he is back home and things are going well with his girlfriend. During our last phone call, he mentioned that he is considering proposing to her at the end of this term. I couldn’t be happier for him, and before we hung up, I promised to visit and hang out with them soon.
We pull up, and Catalina is already trying to unbuckle herselffrom the seat, much to Manny’s dismay. I look at her wiggling downward into the seat and almost sliding out as Manny opens the door with her half stuck. “¡Dios mío!” He grabs her hand and maneuvers it from the tangled strap she got stuck in as he unbuckles the rest of it, carrying her out of the truck sideways, before placing her on the grass. She looks angry at him, but Manny ignores her little fit, so I grab her hand, leading her to the stand.
“Okay, let’s go pick out our flavors,” I announce as she immediately forgets about the car seat fiasco and follows me hand in hand, talking about the different flavors of chocolate ice cream. Manny orders a butter pecan and one scoop of rocky road for Catalina, much to her multiple protests, and I still look at the menu, trying to decide. “Oh, I think I’ll get the cookie dough scoop with sprinkles, please.”
Immediately, Catalina speaks up, “Me, too! Sprinkles, please!”
I look down at her, laughing. “Okay, make that two with sprinkles.”
Manny moves to the counter to pay as the young teenage girl coats the cup in sprinkles. Catalina is talking to a woman who has the cutest little Pomeranian dog. She has been asking about a puppy, but we thought it would be a difficult time to get one now. Maybe we could pick one up together at the shelter when I finish school. The young girl hands me my cup.
“Let me get your daughter’s, too.” I freeze, not wanting to look at Manny, but also not wanting to bring his attention to it, if he didn’t hear. She dips it into the sprinkles and hands it to me. “She looks so much like you,” the young girl comments. Manny turns to look for Catalina, his eyes crinkling as he looks over at her and then back at the girl. She looks at Manny and laughs. “Well, she obviously has your eyes,” misinterpreting his shock to be one of annoyance. His hands rise up. “Okay, but she does have your wife’s mouth and smile.” We both look back to see her smile, and I notice that same dimple popping out. I never noticed, but it makes me happy for some weird reason. “She’s so pretty,” the young girl says, clearly oblivious to the awkward situation, although she was trying to be nice. I thank her for the compliment as we walk silently to Catalina. Manny doesn’t say anything about the exchange, andneither do I.
Manny’s mother picked up Catalina shortly after, and I almost feel bad about handing her over after all that ice cream, but instead, Catalina is in a post-sugar coma as Manny moves the booster seat out of his truck and puts it into his mom’s car. “See, I told you not to worry too much. She’ll sleep all the way back to Massachusetts.” She laughs, and Manny nods, agreeing with her.
“It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Torres.” She looks me over and I feel a little self-conscious. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me that way. It’s almost like she is looking for something, searching my face, but I have no idea why.
“It was nice to meet you, too, Nadia. I do hope to see you at the house sometime soon.” Her smile is genuine and kind. I give her a quick hug as Manny and I wave as they drive off. Manny made a reservation for dinner, and we are going out on a date. I can’t be more excited. We have early dinner reservations, so I am getting ready in front of the mirror, waiting for Manny to get out of the shower. We have a night to ourselves, but really, all I want to do is selfishly stay home with him, wrapped up in his arms when we don’t have to be quiet or worry about anyone walking in if he bends me over the table and takes me from behind. Just the thought of it has me clenching my thighs, trying to think of something else.
“Hey.” He pops into the bathroom, and I jump, my face red from the dirty thought I was having. It’s almost like he can tell as he arches his brow and looks at my flushed cheeks. I look away as he comes up from behind me in his towel, placing himself behind me as he grabs me by the inner thighs and brings me into his hard length. I gasp at the feel of him. I see a drop of water running down his bare torso, and I track its movement. Manny kisses up my neck, sucking on the skin there, where I am sure it will leave a mark.
“I plan on taking advantage of our time together tonight, where I can worship you without interruption, and I want you to scream my name so loud that the neighbors hear, baby, okay?” he asks, and I nod eagerly.
“Yes, please.” He chuckles and walks away, swatting my ass and leaving me wet from not only his body, but from the heat building at my center.
“Now, hurry up and get ready. I want to take my girlfriend out on a proper date. We can fuck all night when we get back,” he says with a smirk. I am liquid putty as I struggle to finish my makeup and curl my hair. I shudder at the thought of what’s to come and wish we could stay in.
My phone rings, flashing with an unknown caller, and I send it to voicemail. I just want to have a nice rest of my weekend, and any call can wait until Monday. With that, I leave my phone on the counter, and every thought that isn’t about Manny goes silent right along with it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
