Orlando (Boyle Heights #4) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,33
was already clicking over. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly. “I was just gonna feed my chachito, but I noticed you didn’t pack any baby food. Did you decide not to start him on solids after all?”
Frowning because he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to tell her about this because he’d been too damn busy going on and on about other stuff, he said, “Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you. I’m doing the baby cereal thing for now. I packed it for him with his formula. Mix it until it slightly thickens and feed him that. Danica says it’s best to keep it simple. Introduce stuff gradually. This way if he gets the runs or something, it’s easier to pinpoint what might’ve triggered it.”
His mom was quiet for a moment before he heard her reaction. “Hmm okay. Makes sense. Maybe this girl does know what she’s talking about.”
“I’m telling you. She really does.” He stopped before he got too worked up again because he was already smiling like an idiot. In hindsight, before his mom had called him on it that morning, he’d probably been doing it the whole time then too. Biting his tongue about Danica, he let her know he’d just arrived at the shop and had to get to work now but to feel free to call if anything came up or if she had any questions. As if he wasn’t already in a too excitable mood, seeing Danica behind the counter when he walked into the shop had his already smiling lips stretching even further.
“Check it out,” Nine said, coming up from behind her. “She’s been here just over an hour, and already this place looks a hundred times better than it has in weeks.” Orlando didn’t think he could smile any bigger, but just like that it happened when his eyes met Danica’s sweet and somewhat embarrassed looking eyes. “If Dani’s anywhere near as good at watching kids as she is organizing shit, you just scored.” Nine walked off with a very satisfied smile as one of the guys in the shop pulled him away to show him something. It felt almost as if he and Danica had a secret because her knowing gaze said it all. He already knew how amazing she was going to be with the baby. Judging by her gaze he was certain she knew he did too. Just like with his mom, his being so impressed by her had likely been beyond obvious even over the phone.
But his mind hiccupped back to what Nine had called her. Dani? The guy had a nickname for everyone, so it shouldn’t surprise Orlando that, after just an hour of her being there, he’d already dubbed her something other than her full name. But he liked it. It was sweet like her smile and unique like her. The more he looked in those eyes and the more he took in her exotic features—those lips, Jesus Christ—the more he was convinced Dani was anything but typical-looking.
He went back to observing the receptionist area that really did look much better now that Dani had cleaned it up.“I’m labeling drawers and shelves, so you guys will know where I’m putting everything. Once I know what paperwork gets used most often, I’ll probably move things around.”
Orlando smiled, glancing around, then pointed. “Service orders are what we’ll go through fastest.” Dani was quick to pull them from the bottom shelf and switch them with the paperwork on the top. Orlando pointed out the other paperwork they used most often, and within seconds, she had them in the handiest of shelves. Distracted momentarily by her alluring fragrance, he almost said something about it. He’d smelled it the day she’d come in to check her brakes. It’d been distracting as hell then too. But he thought better of mentioning it. It was only her first day, and he didn’t want it to start with him mentioning something that might be interpreted wrong.
“How was the baby this morning?” She sounded as genuinely interested as she looked.
“Much better.” He took in the near sparkle in her eyes as his response seemed to instantly please her. “Yeah.” He nodded, smiling bigger. “That luluing thing really does the trick. Well . . .” He tilted his head with a shrug. “That and the massaging his gums and giving him the cold teething ring to suck on. The whole combination is just spot on. You really know your stuff.”