“I took an extended lunch so I could bring my car in for the oil change. But I gotta get back now. Your fiancé?” Felicia motioned to the phone, smiling, a bit too satisfied.
Dani nodded with a sheepish smile. She turned to Orlando, the smile waning a bit, but held up the bag of chips in her hand. “I just took a quick break when he called. But I’m back to work now.” She dropped the phone in her purse on the counter. “No more phone until I finish my shift.”
The shop phone rang, and Dani got back to business, answering and waving good-bye to Felicia. After walking Felicia out, Orlando thought about walking back into the shop, but there was no way. He needed to get a few more things straight with Dani. She was off the phone now, and he went straight to the counter instead.
“Did something change?” Her brows furrowed in question. “With you and your boyfriend. You said you weren’t engaged.” This was not what he meant by getting things straight with her, but the words had just flown out without thought.
“Oh.” She glanced out in the direction of the parking lot before turning back to Orlando again. “I figured it’s all the same to her. Doesn’t matter how she refers to him. Felt rude to correct her, so . . .” She shrugged then smiled. “Did you two have a nice lunch?”
Orlando started to nod but then shook his head, frustrated. It was bad enough he’d already questioned something that wasn’t any of his damn business. As much as he’d wanted to know more about her relationship before, after hearing her cutesy conversation, the last thing he wanted was to encourage any more talk of her damn boyfriend. Sharing with her about him and Felicia might just elicit that. His reaction to just the snippet of the conversation he’d heard still had him reeling. “Listen. I just wanted to make sure we got something straight about what we discussed up there.” He motioned to the apartment upstairs as he went on quickly because her smile had immediately flattened at the mention. “Unless something in your past or your personal life directly or adversely affects your job here or your ability to care for the baby, you don’t have to feel guilty about keeping it to yourself, Dani. We all have pasts. I mean if you ever need or want to vent about anything, I’m here for you. Just don’t feel obligated to do so.”
She smiled softly and nodded. “Thank you. I’m almost not.” Feeling his brows pinch, he shook his head confused. “A felon,” she said, lowering her voice. “I’m working on getting it reduced to a misdemeanor and then getting the whole thing expunged altogether. I guess I was hoping it would happen sooner than later, so I’d never have to disclose it to anyone I work for. But I guess after getting to know you better, it started to feel wrong not to.”
Orlando smiled. “Well, I appreciate you wanting to be honest, but in this case it wasn’t necessary.” Her phone dinged, reminding Orlando of the infuriating conversation he’d inadvertently overheard.
Dani glanced at her purse but shook her head. “I’m sure it’s nothing that can’t wait until I’m off the clock.”
“You can answer your phone or read your texts, Dani. That’s not a problem. Maybe it’s your sister,” he offered. “Could be about your brother.”
Pressing her lips together, she nodded and reached into her purse. Orlando watched as she pulled out her phone and read the screen then smiled. “No.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing important,” was all she offered, and Orlando could only imagine the kind of message her boyfriend must’ve sent her. A customer walked in, and Dani got busy tending to him. It wasn’t until Orlando walked out to the shop as he attempted to crack the kink he suddenly had in his neck that he realized just how tense his entire body had gotten.
Chapter 17
Orlando
By the third week of being around Dani, the struggle to hide what Orlando was feeling for her now was nearly impossible. Thankfully, she seemed clueless about it. One thing he’d stopped doing was trying to hide the annoyance with anyone trying to get cute with her at the shop. At least from whomever was doing the flirting or trying-to-be-cute shit. So, he’d managed to blame his annoyance or the foul mood it’d put him in on something else to her. But he didn’t