Orlando (Boyle Heights #4) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,80
talking about this. But damn it if he couldn’t keep from pushing for more. He hadn’t even realized it, but his heart was racing now. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on anything else? This would be on his mind all day. The girl he had no choice but to admit he was falling hard for so embarrassingly fast, was now single and available.
Orlando’s head was saying, “Enough with the fucking questions.” It was true she didn’t seem broken up about it, but she could just be putting up a front. It’d make sense she might not want to get all emotional on his ass. What if he pushed and she got upset? He’d be witness to her crying and might have to console her again. Only this time he’d be consoling his crush about another dude. As much as his head was protesting him pushing, he did allow himself to offer one more thing on the subject. “Well, I know not all breakups are as easy as mine was with Felicia. If you can even call it a breakup since, technically, we were never really an official couple. But if you need a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen, I told you before, I’m here for you, Dani.”
She turned to him again, and he could see her breathe in deeply. Orlando stared at her, wondering what to make of that. Was this her way of admitting she was hurting over this? “Thank you.” She smiled so beautifully it had him inhaling deeply now too. “No crying here. I really am more relieved than anything. Things between him and me just moved along way too fast. The whole talk of marriage was one he’d brought up almost from the beginning.” She turned back to Oreo, who was demanding her attention again and repeating his first word again and again. Dani smiled big, kissing him on the nose, but went on. “My sister had warned me from the moment she met him that he seemed controlling. I didn’t see it at first, but as the time went by, he got worse. So, I figure this is probably for the best.”
Probably? Out of that entire explanation, it’s the only thing Orlando got hung up on. Would she actually reconsider getting back with the guy, not if but when he came crawling back to her? Because if he hadn’t already, he was bound to. No way would the idiot be stupid enough to just let her walk away. “Probably?” The lingering question slipped out before Orlando could squelch it. She turned to him now, looking a little surprised by the question. “I . . . I mean you’d consider the possibility of reuniting if he asked for it?”
Enough! Jesus H. Christ, he was going to blow this! He started to stand in a gesture that yes, this interrogation was over. He’d be leaving shortly, and not a moment too soon, damn it. Before his prying ass could ask anything else that wasn’t any of his business.
She stared at him as their eyes locked, and there was no way he could look away now. “I just . . . it’s a figure of speech.” Clearing her throat, she went on, but didn’t look away, not even when the baby tugged at her hand. “Like when you said you’d likely not be answering Felicia’s calls anymore.”
Orlando smiled, feeling the enormous relief seep in along with a strange alarm. She finally turned to give Oreo her full attention. He wanted to assure her that he most definitely wouldn’t be answering Felicia’s calls, if that’s why she’d used that particular statement as in example of her explanation, but he didn’t. He was certain something significant had just happened, but he didn’t want to jinx it or, worse, jump the gun. More so, if something had happened here, he needed time to think this through. What would he—should he—do about this? This felt huge. Even with her not having a significant other anymore, he could stand to lose so much if he did or said the wrong thing. “I guess I should be getting out of here now.” Despite the temptation to hang out longer, Orlando leaned over and kissed the baby on the forehead. He needed to get out of there before he said anything he might regret later. Dani glanced up at him, and it was everything he could do to keep himself from leaning over and kissing her good-bye