the car seat. Maybe Orlando had dropped him off somewhere and was really here to work today. Then she heard someone upstairs. “Because I don’t want him in daycare all week. A few days maybe but not the whole week.”
There was no response, so she figured he was on the phone. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I got it. I’m interviewing a few nannies this coming week, and I have a very trustworthy friend who said she can help one day out of the week. Between the three of us and a nanny, I should be okay for now. But I’d prefer to eventually just get a full-time nanny.”
Her heart swelled when she saw him start down the stairs with the baby strapped in a holster against his chest. It was an amazing sight. The man was more perfect than she remembered, and she could already see and hear the love in his eyes and his voice when he spoke of the baby. Daycare wasn’t good enough for his boy. Panicked by the huge lump in her throat, Danica fished out her phone from her purse. Stick with the plan. Stick with the plan. Don’t blow this! She tapped a few things on her phone, already sniffling. When she finally felt in control enough, she glanced up. He was behind the counter now, still on his phone. The baby was asleep, which was a good thing. Danica had sorely underestimated how emotional it would be to see him again. It’d only just dawned on her as Orlando was coming down the stairs what might happen if the baby recognized her. What would she do if he cried out for her?
Glancing up from her phone, she took in long glimpses of the hefty bundle on his chest for as long as she could stand it before she felt herself choking up. One of the times she glanced up and met Orlando’s eyes, he seemed to peer at her but then started talking again. And thank God he did because for a moment there she’d been sucked into those mesmerizing eyes and lost all train of thought. “Alright, I’ll let you know. You just take care of Grandma and Grandpa and let me handle this little guy. I got it. Don’t worry.”
Danica took deep breaths. Thank God she’d made the right choice leaving the baby with Orlando. She hadn’t been sure if he’d be daddy material, but so far, her ovaries felt ready to burst. “You been helped?”
She glanced up at the question. “Uh, yeah, I’m just waiting on them to check my brakes.”
He tilted his head, peering at her again as he had earlier. Something about the way those intense eyes seemed to scrutinize her, did things to her she couldn’t even begin to understand. She couldn’t get over how much the baby resembled his father either. Angie had been right. The baby definitely got those beautiful eyes from his daddy. Angie, who’d been known to wear fake lashes because hers were so short and thin, had called it from day one. There was no way the baby had gotten his thick long lashes from her, and now Danica could see exactly where he’d gotten them. Focus, damn it! The door to the shop opened and Nine walked in. “Brakes look fine.”
Danica stood up, holding her phone tightly in her hand. “Really?” She did her best to sound genuinely surprised.
“But your transmission’s another story. Did you know it was leaking?”
“My transmission?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the baby’s back as he walked by Orlando. “Has a crack on the bottom. You’ll probably need to replace it and soon.”
“Replace it?” Her eyes went from him to the baby and then Orlando, who was still peering at her oddly. “How much will that cost?”
Nine stretched his lips in a slow-motion wince then glanced at Orlando. “Two thousand seventeen Kia crossover? What do you think? Two? Three grand?”
“What?” She gasped, pulling out of the trance Orlando’s gaze put her in. “My car’s not that old. I’m the only owner and I take care of it. How can it need a new transmission?”
“You may’ve hit something that cracked it,” he explained as Orlando shushed the baby who’d begun to squirm. “I can get you a quote on getting it fixed, but it’d only be temporary. You’re gonna need it replaced eventually.”
“I . . .” She shook her head, distracted by the baby’s whimpering as the lump in her throat was instantly there. “I can’t afford three grand