“Yes. What were you thinking about?”
“School is over, and uh…I was thinking when I go to Chicago this weekend maybe you’d like to come with?”
My heart skipped a beat. I switched off the burner on the eggs, grabbed the pan and moved away. “Why would I want to do that?”
“To meet my family? They’ve been dying to meet you. And last time I told Carmen about you. I think she’s ready to—”
I tossed the eggs on a plate and threw the pan in the sink. “Why the fuck would you do something like that without asking me?”
I felt his hurt gaze on my back through the silence, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn and look at him.
“You’re right. I should have asked you first,” he said.
“She’s a kid. Everything you say or do can impact her in a bad way. You need to be very careful around kids or bad shit will happen. Bad shit you can never fix.”
“I was… You’re right. Please don’t hate me.”
“Eat your eggs before they get cold. I’m going to get dressed.”
CHAPTER44
Fabio
She must have heard me say I love her and panicked. Why else would she ask about the ring now? She had an excellent memory and was very smart. She heard me say I loved her and tied it to the other things I’d said at the party. Then I went and asked her to meet my family and kid.Way to go, Fab. Way to fucking go.
“Zo?”
She lifted her head from the laptop as I leaned over her counter. “Fab?”
“I screwed up.”
“What did you do now?”
“Nothing, but she knows, and she doesn’t like it,” I whispered.
“She knows what exactly?” she whispered back. “The L word?”
I nodded. “And the ring.”
She gasped wildly. “There’s a ring?” She was about to start her weird dance of surprise, but I waved both my index fingers at her in a big no. “Okay. No dance.”
“I’m telling you she hates it. I think she’s gonna break up with me.”
“What? No.”
I glanced at Gabriella’s office. “I mean, look at her.”
Zoey stood and stretched her short figure to sneak a peek at Gabriella’s. “Her frown is back, and she’sbiting her nails. Yeah, that isn’t good.”
“Well, thank you so much for pointing that out because I wasn’t nervous enough.”
“Sorry, Fab. I didn’t mean to. The good news is, Gabi is kind. She’s not gonna break up with you. You can fix this.”
“How? Help me.”
“Okay. What does Gabi like more than anything?”
“Good manuscripts.”
