any of that in just as long, especially not with the baby in my life now. Matter of fact, I was kind of worried some of that crap might come back to haunt me when they were doing all the checking on me to see if I was fit to be a dad. But it’s been that long that it prolonged the wait in getting him, but in the end, it wasn’t enough of an issue that they’d take away my right to get him back.”
Shaking her head, Danica touched his scar again. “Doesn’t matter to me. You don’t even have to tell me about it. I know it’s who you are now that matters. I should know.”
Orlando chuckled, burying his face in her neck. “You said you’re a bad driver, baby. I haven’t witnessed it yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s why you got pinched, not because you were too drunk to drive. Trust me. You’re an angel compared to some of the girls I hung out with back in the day.” Those piercing eyes bore into her again, and as usual, she was toast.
There was no way she could risk him finding out about this, especially after this. “I was pinched for prostitution before my DUI, Orlando. It’s why they went so hard on me.” He pulled back to look at her, so she went on quickly. “It wasn’t me. I was with my friends who lied about just stopping by to pick up some weed, but it turned out Juanita was getting hard drugs from a guy in exchange for sex, and my dumb ass went with her. I went in to look for her when she took too long and heard the struggle. I’m the one who called the cops when I heard her screaming inside the apartment. In the end, we were all hauled in on prostitution and dealing charges.” She shook her head. “I don’t want you to find this out later. I made some stupid mistakes because I loved my friends and trusted that they were good people, but I didn’t take into account how much addiction plays a part in people’s lives.”
“Dani, don’t get me started,” he said, pecking her lips. “I know all about this shit, and I was arrested a few times for trying to cover up for my brother. I get it, baby. You don’t need to explain yourself.” Danica turned when the baby moving in his crib made some noise but appeared to fall back asleep. She smiled when she saw Orlando was looking in the same direction, his expression as lovesick as hers felt when he took in his son.
He chuckled then stopped and sat up suddenly. Lifting the sheet, he glanced down at her leg. Danica watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Peering at him curiously and then down at her leg, she had to ask. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m almost afraid to ask. It’s why I didn’t last night.”
“Ask what?” When she glanced down again, she saw what he meant, and her heart instantly spiked. Swallowing hard, she tried not to panic. She could explain this without having to tell him the whole truth and still not be entirely lying. Because lying felt a hundred times worse now that things had changed so drastically overnight. She just prayed he didn’t pick up on what felt like such irony. “It’s from one of my favorite poems,” she said, trying to smile normally.
Orlando stared at her then bent down to get a better look. She knew it was hard to read because it was so small. But as soon as he got close enough, he’d be able to, and she braced herself. “O, remember in your narrowing dark hours,” he read out loud, “that more things move than blood in the heart.” He glanced up at her blankly. “What’s it mean?”
“People tend to forget about the importance of the bigger picture in life. So basically, this is a very poetic reminder that during the hardest times in life is when most people tend to reflect on the larger more important things they should focus on versus sweating the small stuff.”
“O?”
With her heart thudding, she nodded as indifferently as she could. Of course, he’d ask about that. While even this, she could answer truthfully, the tiny blue heart she’d since gone back and added to the three-year-old tattoo—right next to that O—made her nervous. “Old English.” She smiled. “Louise Bogan was an American poet, but