and stood tall while taking them.
When I glanced up, I caught her quickly swipe away a tear. “I’m going to the restroom.”
I was unable to stand before she slid from her seat and disappeared.
Fran arrived at the table with another smaller sack.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Falsone. It was nice seeing you this evening. It’s been a while since you’ve been in.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Fran. It was nice seeing all of you.”
My father had built this restaurant three years ago when I decided to move to Dallas. My nightly visits had ended last year when I stopped doing anything. Joe stood in the corner, never taking his eyes off of me. With Phoebe still in the restroom, I took advantage of that and motioned him over.
“Mr. Falsone?”
“I do not want her to see you.”
“I understand, sir.”
Joe’s suit may have been nicer than the ones I wore on occasion.
“I haven’t seen you for a while. Why now?” I asked.
“Sir, your father was working on a business deal and he just wants you…”
Joe strolled away from the table and disappeared into the kitchen as Phoebe returned. Her pale complexion seemed splotchy from the tears she’d shed.
“Can we go?”
She only had to ask once with her tear streaked face. She missed the kids way more than I anticipated. Suddenly I was worried this trip might never happen if she struggled this much. My heart hurt for her. I had no siblings and no one to love like she did.
I pulled up the text I’d sent to Hannah earlier and handed Phoebe my phone. She read it out loud.
Kids are great. They are happy and having fun. We just got back from the park they wanted to show me. Enjoy your time.
“You texted her?” she said, sniffing.
“I could tell you were worried. When you asked to leave, I knew you were thinking about them.”
Her neck snapped my way and she stared at me with a befuddled expression.
“What’s wrong,” I asked.
“I didn’t ask to leave because of the kids, Austin. I asked to leave because of you,” she whispered.
Chapter 3
Austin
Multiple Personalities
“BECAUSE OF ME?” I asked, hoping for some sort of clarification. That didn’t make sense.
“I’ve not dated. I mean, I know this isn’t a date. I…” Even with a splotchy complexion, she was breathtaking. “I’m not sure I know how to do what we’re doing. I… Well. I don’t know. Can we please just get in the car?”
With the two doggie bags in tow, we headed out the door. I opened the back door first and slid the sacks behind her seat before opening her door. She held her palms up.
“This. This is what I mean. You can’t open doors and order me dessert. This is business, remember? It’s not personal.” She slid into the front seat, and I closed the door as softly as I could, contradicting everything I felt like doing with the door. As I passed the trunk of the car, I tried to process what she was saying or clarifying. Inhaling a deep breath, I released it before I got in.
“A couple of days ago we started to discuss the boundaries of this arrangement before we seemed to get sidetracked. Maybe we should have that discussion now. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
We rode the distance back to her apartment in silence. Sometimes, not saying anything was better than saying the wrong thing. After I parked, I waited to gauge her response. Her deep breath let me know she had thoughts of her own on the matter.
“Do you have time to go for a walk?” she asked, surprising me. Though the sun was down, it was still warm.
“Of course. Can we run the food in first, so it doesn’t go bad in the car?”
“Yes.”
Outside the car, I grabbed the two heavy sacks from Saldano’s.
“What’s that?” she asked, and instant regret shuddered through me. Had I known what she was feeling I never would have ordered the food.
“It’s five orders of lasagna.” I reluctantly smiled. “I didn’t want yours to be gone when you got home from work tomorrow, so everyone got one.”
Phoebe’s lips parted but her eyes never left me. “Au-stin,” she said so softly.
“Oh, don’t go gettin’ sentimental on me. It’s pasta.” I ducked around her with a full grin.
“The kids are going to love it.”
The apartment wasn’t as cluttered with toys as it was the other night. The kids were sitting on the ground playing a board game.
“Pheebs!” Claire said, running toward her.
“What’s that?” Jake asked