says, her sweet voice breaking the silence. “Nice to see you again.”
He smiles down at her. “Yes, it’s very nice to see you again, Claire. And you too, Chloe,” he adds as his gaze travels to her. She gives him a little nod — that’s all he’s going to get, I’m sure.
Gwen stands there, motionless, a can of spray whipped cream in her hand.
“Hello,” Weston says. “I’m Weston…a friend of Mirella’s.”
“I’m sorry,” I pipe in. “I should introduce you two.”
“I know who he is…” Gwen trails off, mouth still hanging open.
“The spirited Gwen, I assume,” he says with a smile. “Gwen.”
“Gwen Robbins,” she says as she offers her free hand. “Wow, that web picture did not do you justice. You are breathtaking.”
I laugh a little. This is trademark Gwen. She loves to joke around like this with men, whether it be our waiter, the young guy at Gap, or that police officer who graciously dismissed her speeding ticket.
Weston cocks a brow and shoots me a shy smile. I can tell she’s made him a little uncomfortable.
“I think I want to photograph you and paint you,” she goes on, all smiles, “and make a collage with glitter, and hang it over my bed.”
I laugh. “Yes, I’m sure that would go over well with Greg.”
“Greg? Greg who?” she says.
Weston laughs. His wide smile suddenly does very unexpected things to me.
“Oh, and that smile,” she adds. Apparently she’s not quite done with him. “Now it all makes sense,” she whispers in my ear. “How he managed to strip Mother Teresa’s panties off so fast.”
I glare at her and cover Chloe’s ears. “I told you to stop calling me that, Gwen.”
Yes, Mother Teresa, I am definitely not.
I look up at Weston who is clearly amused. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse Gwen. She likes to kid around.”
He smiles still. “No worries.”
I want him to stop smiling…because God, he’s sexy when he smiles. I glare at Gwen again. “Go to the corner.”
“Yes, Miss Mirella,” she smirks. “C’mon girls, let’s go eat those pancakes.”
“Please come in,” I urge. “How are you?” I ask. I still feel so badly about what Gabe has done to him, and seeing him still bruised up like this makes my heart sink. “You look awful, still.”
He rubs his chin. “Why, thank you, Mirella.”
“I didn’t…I mean you look good as always,” I stammer, kind of making a fool of myself.
And he smiles, still. And he’s standing a little too close to me. And suddenly I feel a heat rush through me.
He shifts from one foot to the other. “It’s not that bad. My nose was broken but fortunately, it was a clean break.”
“You’ve never broken your nose before?’
He cocks a brow, a hint of a smile lifts the corner of his mouth. “No. Why? Have you?”
“No, but Gabe has had his nose broken four times. That’s why it’s a little crooked.”
He nods, hands in pockets.
I gesture him over as I walk to the living room. I take a seat on the sofa. “Come and sit.”
His movements are slow and measured as he sits down next to me on the sofa, at an acceptable distance. He doesn’t quite look at me and his foot bounces on the hardwood floor.
I watch him as his gaze travels across the living room, to the girls’ pictures on the wall and a few colorful paintings. I’ve tried to make the space as beautiful as I could. Thankfully we have quite the selection of high quality furniture, and the cushions, vases and frames were a steal at Target.
“I like your house,” he says and his words seem very genuine. “It’s quite warm.”
“Thank you,” I say, sheepish. “I know it’s not as ultra-cool as your place…places.”
He smiles at me. “It’s great. It’s you.”
“You’re pretty gutsy popping in like this. What if Gabe had been here? Do you have a death wish?”
He doesn’t quite look at me. His gaze falls to the floor. “I knew he wouldn’t be here. I know he’s staying at Bridget’s,” he says, looking up at me. “I’m so sorry for that.”
“So you and Bridget are not together anymore?” I can’t resist asking I’m so curious.
“Yes, we’re separated for the moment. As you can imagine, she hasn’t taken the news well.”
My heart feels heavy. I think about his poor children and I feel so responsible. “But you guys plan to work it out, right?”
He bites his lip, not quite looking at me. “I’m not sure, to be honest.”
He’s still so beautiful despite the reddish-purple nose and