day and smiled proudly.
“What kind of noise is it making?” the guy behind the counter had asked Ted.
Ted turned to her as her eyes had widened. “Uh, it’s like a zooming sort of sound in the engine. It’s not always there, but I’ve heard it several times now.” She nodded, glancing from Ted to the guy behind the counter. “Like Zzzzuuurrr rrr rrr.”
The guy had smirked and glanced at Ted for a moment before looking back down at the paperwork and made a note. “Sounds serious. I’ll have them take a look.”
She’d had one chance to sneak outside and find out what was going on with the moving truck. When they’d been given the paperwork to fill out for the car, she said she had to take a call from her work outside. Ted was so busy filling out the paperwork he hadn’t even questioned what her work wanted when she got back. It wasn’t an entire relief to hear Orlando was moving but not the shop. She knew he was part owner of the shop. So, she’d been fairly certain he’d still be working there despite moving out. But she also knew how successful and driven he was. It’s why she’d wondered that day if maybe they were opening a second shop and he was moving there instead. Since all she could find on their website was a mention of a possible expansion of the shop right there at the same location, Danica crossed her fingers and just hoped Orlando’s move had something to do with the baby.
For once Ted’s insane insecurity had paid off. He’d been more pissed about the smug asshole trying to smooth talk her than anything else. “That dick probably throws the moves on every woman that goes in there with his ‘I can get you VIP treatment’ bullshit.” Ted hadn’t even noticed her nearly breaking down after overhearing Orlando’s conversation but especially the part about wanting his boy home. She’d since parked up the street from the shop several times in hopes of catching at least a glimpse of the baby. But each time she’d gotten nothing. She knew the baby was in his custody now because they finally updated the story with the heartwarming happy ending. Though there was no footage or even photos of the baby or Orlando in the short article. Just a statement Orlando’s attorney had given the media. “The baby has been reunited with his father and the rest of his extended family now, where he belongs.”
Danica had cried buckets that night. She took an extra-long shower with the excuse that she thought she was coming down with something, so it would explain the inevitable swollen red eyes and nose when she finally walked out of the bathroom. But Ted knew what a mess she’d been since she’d given the baby up. There was no hiding how utterly miserable she’d been that whole time, and many times she didn’t bother to hide it. The only bad thing about making the bold move to stop in at the shop was Ted’s ridiculous accusations about Orlando throwing the moves on her. As if. The guy was a tatted-up, hard-as-rock god. She’d nearly choked on her gum when he walked back into the shop in the tiny tank. Of course, the first words Ted had said as soon as they’d walked out were, “Well, we’re never coming back here again.”
Danica hadn’t bothered to argue. She figured she’d already taken a big enough risk. The last thing she needed was for Ted to suspect there was more to her insisting they stop in that day. If she wanted the second part of her insane new plan to work, she needed Ted to forget about the place entirely. Lying to Ted had always come easy, and she was hoping to use those same lying skills to her advantage to make this work. Gasping when she saw Orlando’s truck drive by her, she brought her hands to her face when she spotted the car seat in the back row. “Oh my God.”
For weeks, she’d been praying to catch even the tiniest glimpse of the baby. Her shoulders dropped in frustration when she saw the truck turn into the back alley of the shop and out of sight. “Of course, he’d park in the back,” she muttered.
All this time she’d had visions of him parking right there in the front, watching him pull the baby out, maybe even hold him up in the air and make