This poor man. “Leo, that’s not true at all. Everyone in your family loves you so much. You could have been honest with them. They have to know something is going on.”
“They never ask, so I don’t tell them.”
“You’re holding it against them that they’re respecting your boundaries?” I ask incredulously. I try to unwrap my legs fromLeo’s waist, but he clamps his hands down on my thighs, holding me in place. His fingers flex against me, and I struggle to keep my breathing normal. “You’ve always held things in. Everyone knows this. So they’re waiting for you to come to them. They don’t want to push you away.”
His forehead drops to mine, and I wait for him to respond. It’s been years, but I know how his brain works. He’s working out every available answer before he’ll choose what he thinks is the best one. “Everyone has enough on their plate, Ladybug. I don’t want to add to the stress. I’ve got sixteen nieces and nephews now. Sixteen! I honestly don’t know how my parents keep track of them all. Shit is constantly falling apart at Everlasting, and I’m the one that has to put it back together. Alex and I were talking about getting a woodworking business together —”
“Oh my God,” I interrupt, delighted at that last detail, “you’d be so perfect at that! You always loved messing around with woodcarving. What would you guys focus on?”
A tiny sparkle comes back in his eyes as he lifts his head to look at me, a peaceful smile popping onto his face. “Cabinets and furniture, mostly. But I think we’d be open to some custom projects, depending on the customer.”
“I still have that jewelry box you made me for my twentieth birthday,” I tell him, grinning. “It’s been locked for a few years, because I can’t remember how to open it anymore.”
Leo chuckles. “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Your ability to follow directions leaves a lot to be desired.”
I gasp in mock surprise. “I’ll have you know, I singlehandedly put three of the bookshelves together in Purrfect Books.”
“Aren’t there around fifteen or twenty bookshelves?” he asks.
“That’s beside the point. I did three by myself. I deserve accolades, dammit.”
His grin widens. “Alright. Well done, El. You’re doing an exceptional job at adulting.”
“You know what? I fucking am!” I shout gleefully, getting a barkof laughter from Leo. “I’m keeping two children alive, I haven’t burned any food this week, and I haven’t had to sell my business. I’m peak adulting right now.”
“Burning food?” he asks, letting go of my thighs, and I reluctantly slide my legs from around his waist. The fact that this entire conversation has happened nose-to-nose is surreal, but I’ve always felt more comfortable doing just about anything with Leo than I ever wanted to feel away from him.
“Okay. I’m honestly not the best cook, but my oven is also a bit temperamental.” I look up to find his grin gone, and the intense Leo back in place.
“Define ‘temperamental,’” he says, with air quotes.
“Well, half will be burned, and half will be uncooked.” It’s aggravating to cook something that may work out or may not. I’m thankful Violet is still on mostly formula, and Oliver is in a phase where the only acceptable foods are dinosaur chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and fresh fruit, so I’ve basically stopped using the oven. If it can’t be cooked on the stovetop or in the microwave, I’m not making it.
“The heating element probably went out, or is going out, but it’s an easy fix. If you tell me the model, I can get a new one for you,” Leo offers.
“Oh, is that it? I can probably handle that. Does it just plug in somewhere in the oven?” I ask, frowning when he bursts into laughter.
“No, Ladybug. It doesn’t plug in. I’ll handle it. Just text me the model number.”
I stare at him in disbelief. I assumed Gianna was mistaken. “Do you still have the same number?”
He nods. “Kept it in case you ever tried to reach me.”
LEO
Ican see the wheels turning in her head. She’s confused.
I’m surprised she thought I’d change my number. I’ll admit, I thought about it. It was easy to think about how it might hurt her, if she ever did reach out, to know she couldn’t contact me. But hurting her wouldn’t change a damn thing. So I kept the number. Occasionally, I’d change my voicemail message to be something ridiculous that only she’d understand, like that Blake Shelton song. After a ridiculously drunk night two years after Ella broke up with me, I left a message that said, “leave a message if you love ladybugs.”
The one fucking time Luca decided to actually call me, he hears that, and he’s never let me live it down. Pretty sure he still has me nicknamed as Ladybug in his phone.
In any case, I’m surprised to receive a text from Ella later that night. I left not too long after telling her to text me, even though Gia asked if I wanted to stay for dinner. While Ella didn’t look opposed to that idea, and Oliver was certainly on board, I didn’t want to crash their dinner. I was only there to pick up a takeout order and head back to my house.
Today was nuts. While Dom is the CEO of Everlasting, my dad still likes to go around and tinker with shit when he’s bored. When I received a frantic call from my mother that Dad had messed withthe reservations system, I knew I was in for a rough day. Honestly, the system is outdated, and Dad barely understood it when it was installed years ago. It needs to be updated, and he should be locked out of the computer system altogether. Technology and my father do not mix, but I’m certainly not allowed to tell him that.
The problem with fixing the reservation system is I had to do it at the concierge desk. That meant every guest who came in interacted with me. I’m introverted to a fault, but when I’m forced to make small talk with people I don’t know, I get awkward and overstimulated really quick. It was a very uncomfortable day, which culminated in me having to deal with draining and treating one of the indoor hot tubs because someone thought it would be a good idea to take a diaper-wearing child into it. Regular diapers fill up, then sort of explode. Swim diapers are different. Not only was this a regular diaper, but the child had an accident as well. It was not my idea of a fun time, but the guy who usually maintains the hot tubs and hot springs had already gone home. I’m basically the jack-of-all-trades for Everlasting, so I had to get it cleaned up.
I don’t mind the work. It’s better than doing something monotonous behind a desk. But I certainly never thought I’d be part IT, janitor, groundskeeper, and front desk attendant all in one. This isn’t the future I envisioned for myself when I became an adult. But, frankly, nothing I thought about at eighteen ended up coming true.
