“Maggie, I don’t have a problem with being a single mother, so I don’t know why you have one.”
Her jaw clenches. “Daddy won’t like?—”
“I don’t care what Daddy likes.”
That shocks her. It shocks me, too. But it also feels good to say it, to mean it.
I stand. “Thanks for lunch.”
A flicker of impatience crosses her face. “Enya, you can’t just?—”
“Watch me,” I say, and then with as much grace as I can muster, which isn’t much, I waddle out of Le Diplomate.
15
NOT LEAVING
DOMINIC
“You okay?” I ask as soon as Enya steps out of the restaurant.
I knew she was there to see Maggie, and I know no one is going to give me credit, but it’s due because I didn't go in and sit at their table to make sure Maggie didn’t upset Enya.
I deserve a fucking medal for that restraint.
Shock ripples through her expression. “What are you doing here?”
I hand her a bottle of water. “Making sure you’re okay.”
She looks at the water and then at me. “Are you stalking me?”
“Stalking is such a negative word, don’t you think? I’m…keeping an eye on you.”
“Nick—”
“Come on, let’s get you back to Lucille’s.”
Since she took an Uber here, I drive her back. She doesn’t talk to me the entire way, but she does empty the whole water bottle.
The past weeks have been a pleasure and a pain. I’ve missed her, and being around her soothes me. It also hurts becausemost of the time she looks at me like I’m the worst person on the planet.
“I think you should take a nap,” I suggest when we get to her shop.
“I think you should mind your own business,” she retorts.
“Enya, baby, come on. I’ll take care of Lucille’s.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Really? And when someone comes in asking for a bouquet of peonies, what will you do?”
I shrug. “I’ll open YouTube. You can learn pretty much anything there.”
The bell chimes as a woman comes in. She’s not a regular. She looks from Enya to me and back to her. “Ah…are you open?”
I say, “No,” at the same time that Enya says, “Yes.”
Enya sighs and gestures toward the counter. “We’re open,” she tells the woman, then shoots me a warning look. “Ignore him.”
The woman approaches, already frowning. “I need a bouquet. Elegant, but not boring. Seasonal, but not obvious. Something that says I’m happy you’re here without gushing.”
