“I am,” he says, getting up and coming over to us. “You guys look nice,” he says, and Aiden sits on the floor and puts on his shoes.
“Ready.” Aiden jumps up and runs over to us. “Look at my shirt,” he says to us, flattening it down. “It’s a dinosaur.”
“That’s cool,” Luca says. “Do you like dinosaurs?”
“Yeah, but I like Batman more,” he says, and I go to turn off the coffee maker.
“Okay,” I say, grabbing my purse and the keys to my mother’s car. “Let’s go.”
“Are we not going to go in one car?” Luca asks, following us out. “It would be silly to go there in two cars. Plus, we have a meeting with your father at noon,” he tells me, and I lock the door and walk down the steps to him and Aiden.
“What do you mean, we have a meeting?” I ask, shocked and surprised, but he just walks ahead with Aiden by his side.
“It means that I called and told him I had to meet with him,” he says over his shoulder. “I wanted to make sure that he was free.”
“Oh my God,” I say under my breath. “I should call my mother,” I tell him. “She is the only one who can talk him down.”
“Do what you need to do,” he says, stopping by his car, not worried in the least. He doesn’t even seem fazed by any of this. “Does he need one of those car seat things?” he asks right before he opens the back door.
“Yes,” I say, slapping my forehead. “It’s in my mother’s car.” Turning around to walk over to the car, I press the button in my hand and hear the car beep.
“Okay,” he says, coming over to me. “I’ll get it.”
“That’s silly. I can get it,” I tell him, and when he tries to walk in front of me, I block him.
“What’s silly is that had you just given me the keys, I could have been halfway back already,” he says with a smile on his face. Moving me to the side, he opens the door and grabs the booster seat. I watch him walk with the booster seat to his own car.
He opens up the back door of his car, putting the booster seat down and then holding out his hand for Aiden to get in. Aiden gets in, and I hear him telling Luca how to fasten his seat belt. I watch Luca maneuver everything and follow Aiden’s direction in making sure the seat is properly secured. When Aiden is finally in, he closes the door and opens the front door for me.
“Oh.” I shake my head and walk toward the door. “Thanks,” I say, stepping in and watching him walk around the car to his side. I look over at Aiden who is looking outside.
“Mom, can I have my iPad?” Aiden asks, and I grab it from his little schoolbag that I always carry with me. The bag usually has the essentials. Change of clothes, snacks, and iPad.
I’m handing Aiden the iPad when Luca gets in, and I’m suddenly consumed with his smell all around me, especially when he leans over and puts his arm on my seat to pull out of the driveway. When he slides on his aviator sunglasses, all this man is missing is a catwalk, and it’d look like he stepped out of GQ magazine.
“Okay, where to?” he asks and looks over at me. I pretend not to be staring at him, but I’m for sure failing miserably. I open my phone, avoiding his stare. After I give him the address, he pulls out of the subdivision. The drive there takes us only ten minutes, and I look around, familiarizing myself with the area. When we pull up to the school, Aiden claps his hands together.
I get out of the car and open the back door to help Aiden down. His hand goes into mine right away. Luca walks around the car, grabbing Aiden’s other hand. Anyone looking at us would think we look just like a family, and I guess we are in our own unconventional way. “Shall we?” he says, and I look up at the two-story brick school. Three steps lead you to the front door, where you have to be buzzed to be let in. “Is this a private school?” Luca asks.
“Yes,” I tell him, and then I wonder if he’s worried about being able to pay for it. “But my father said he will pay for it.”
“Forget it,” he says, putting his glasses in his pocket. “I’m going to cover it. Things have changed now that I’m in the picture.”
“But—” I don’t have a chance to say anything when the buzzer sounds, unlocking the door and allowing us to step into the hallway. We walk down the light gray floor with blue trim. Colorful pictures are up all along the walls. A classroom door is open, and you can hear the teacher inside reading them a story. A couple of kids are in the hallway walking, blue lockers fill one wall. We follow the sign to the main office, walking into the big room. A counter is in the middle, and a woman sits at the desk behind it.
“How may I help you?” She gets up and comes to the counter.
“We have an appointment with Mrs. Lambert,” I tell her, and she just nods at me when a little boy comes in.
“Mrs. Hope,” the little boy says, “I fell in the gym and hit my head.” She walks around the counter and squats down in front of him while she touches his head.
“Okay, go have a seat. I’ll call your mother in a second,” she tells him, and he walks to the seat propped against the wall. She walks back behind the counter going to the door on the left knocking. “Mr. and Mrs. Coco are here for the visit,” she says, and I see Luca look at me, but I just stare ahead. Mrs. Lambert comes out of her office, and I stop and stare. The woman must be in her early thirties with long blond hair curled to her waist that must be a size zero. Her gray skirt hugs her, matching the fuchsia button-down shirt that shows off her pale skin and blue eyes. She smiles at me and then turns and smiles at Luca.
“Mr. and Mrs. Coco.” She holds out her hand to me to shake.
“I’m Mr. DiMarco,” Luca tells her, and she smiles at him. I swear I can see a little twinkle in her eye, and I almost roll my eyes. I’m standing right here. How does she know I’m not with him romantically?
“Nice to meet you,” she says, shaking Luca’s hand, then looks down at Aiden. “And you must be Aiden.”
“I’m six,” he tells her, and she ruffles his hair, laughing.
“I’m Ms. Coco,” I say, holding out my hand for her, and she smiles at me, not saying anything.
“Let’s begin the tour,” she says, walking out of the office and turning right down the hallway. “The school sits on two floors, grade kindergarten to three is on the first floor and four to six is on the second floor.” We follow her, both holding Aiden’s hand.
“How big are the class sizes?” Luca asks, looking around.
“Each class is with a maximum of fifteen students,” she answers his question.
“Are there any special clubs?” Luca asks again as we follow her down the hallway.
“What do you mean?” She turns to look at Luca.
“Is there a chess club, math club, science club, music club?” I look over at him, and I have to smile. I wouldn’t have even asked these questions.
“Yes, those are all available, depending on what the student wants,” she says and then adds in, “We have a great music option that many students take.” We slowly stop in the cafeteria.
“Is the food cooked here or brought in?” I ask her.
“It’s cooked on site. Every child has the option to either bring in their lunch or buy it,” she tells us.
“How much is technology used?” Luca asks her.
“Each child has their own laptop and iPad,” she says, smiling at him.
“That sounds great,” Luca says, “but I want to know that my son is able to write. How often would you say they actually write?”
Her smile fades a little, and mine perks up. “I would say it’s a good balance. Of course, writing is also our focus as is literacy.”
“What about extra-curricular activities?” I ask. “Or after-school programs?”
“We have a great soccer, football, and even a hockey team,” she says. “As for after school, there is a whole list of activities that you can sign him up for.” The tour remains the same with Luca asking the majority of the questions. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” She smiles,
and Luca nods at her.
“We will discuss this and get back to you about our decision,” Luca says.
She smiles at him, and her handshake lingers a touch longer than it should. “I look forward to it,” she says and then turns and walks away.
“Well, it was nice meeting you also,” I say under my breath and then look at Luca. “She didn’t even acknowledge me.”
He tries not to smile. “She did when you asked her questions.” He puts his hand on the lower part of my back and pushes me toward the door. “What do you think, Aiden? Would you like to come here?”
“Yeah,” he says, “I want to play soccer and hockey.”
“Since when do you want to play hockey?” I ask him, and he shrugs his shoulders.
Luca puts him in the car while I open my own door this time. “Are you guys ready to go and see Grandpa?” he asks us, and Aiden is the only one happy to actually see my father. I, on the other hand, hope the floor opens up and swallows me down.
Chapter Seven
Luca
I pull away from the school, and I can swear my shirt collar is getting tighter, except it’s not even buttoned all the way up. My throat is so dry, like I just swallowed a whole bag of cotton balls. My heart is slowly starting to beat faster and faster; so much that it is echoing in my ear drums. Maybe I’m having a heart attack. Fuck, maybe I’m dying. Aiden grabs his iPad, and Eli gets on her phone, her fingers going a million miles a minute.
I pull up to the office building and park in my reserved parking spot and then check the time. “We have an hour before our meeting,” I tell her, getting out of the car and walking to get Aiden out.
“Yeah, or we can just see if he can see us now,” she says, walking side by side with me. “Aiden is going to start anytime complaining he’s h-u-n-g-r-y.” She spells it out, and I look at her. “If I don’t say it, he won’t hear me.”
“Got it,” I say, holding the door again for them and nodding at the security guard while we walk to the elevator.
We get in and press sixty for our office floor. I lean into Eliahn. “Your father doesn’t, like, have guns and shit, right?” I ask her, and she bends her head down and starts to laugh, shaking her head. “Or any weapons that I should know about?” She doesn’t have time to answer because the elevator pings, and we walk out.
“Hello, Sandy,” I say to the receptionist who is talking on her headset, answering the phones. She just nods her head at me. I turn and walk toward the left, going up the stairs leading to the offices. The glass is everywhere. We get upstairs, and the conference room is filled with people who have books and papers scattered all around them. The floor-to-ceiling window shows you everything. I wave at Harvey and then walk down another corridor.
We walk past a half white wall with four cubicles inside, including Lauren. “Good Morning,” I say, and four eyes come to me as I stretch out my hand, showing Eliahn where my office is. She walks in, and I follow her as Aiden goes to the couch in the corner.
“I’m hungry,” he says, and I look at Eliahn who gives me an “I told you so” look.
I walk to my desk, pulling out the chair, and Eliahn goes to the couch and sits next to Aiden. Lauren walks in and smiles at them and then at me. “Close the door, please,” I tell her. She looks at me confused at first, but she closes the door. She stands there waiting with her hands together in front of her.
“Lauren, this is Eliahn,” I start, and Lauren looks over at her.
Her head goes back a bit, and then I see when it clicks into place. “I’m sorry, are you Mr. Coco’s daughter?” she asks her and then looks at me.
“Yes, that would be me,” Eliahn says, smiling and then sitting up, putting her hands on her legs.
“Well, welcome home. I’m sorry I missed the barbecue yesterday. My little one is under the weather,” she says of her six-month-old baby boy.
“So,” I start saying and then look at Eliahn. I’m not sure if I should tell Lauren before Leonard or not, and she just nods at me. “Eliahn and I go back,” I start saying and think about how stupid it sounds.
Lauren turns to me. “How far back?” she asks and then looks at Aiden. She must see our same eyes because her hand goes to her mouth. “Holy.”
“Yeah,” Eliahn says. “That was our exact reaction when we came face-to-face with each other yesterday.”
I can see on her face she wants to ask all the questions; she wants to know everything, but she just turns and says, “Well, better late than never. Right?” She smiles, and Eliahn laughs.
I pick up my phone and dial Leonard’s office, and he picks up after two rings. “Mr. Coco. It’s Luca. I was wondering if I could pop in now.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he says. “See you soon.” And then he hangs up.
“It’s showtime.” I look at Eliahn and then at Lauren, whose eyes go as big as saucers.
“He doesn’t know?” Lauren asks the same time I shake my head.
Eliahn lets out a big breath and then holds out her hand to Aiden. “Let’s go see Grandpa,” she says, and he turns to get off the couch.
“Godspeed,” Lauren whispers and then walks to her desk. Eliahn walks to the back of the office where her father is. We pass Noah’s office on the way, but his door is closed.
Leonard’s assistant, Norma, sees Eliahn right away and squeals. “Oh my goodness,” she says, getting up and coming around her desk. “Look at what the cat dragged in.” Eliahn smiles and bends down to kiss the woman on her cheek. “And who is this handsome, handsome young man?” she says, looking at Aiden.
“Norma,” Eliahn says, her face filling with pride. “This is my son, Aiden.”
“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you.” She grabs his face, kissing his cheek. “Your grandpa told me all about you.”
“Is he busy?” Eliahn asks her, and she shakes her head.
“Never for you two,” she says. Eliahn walks to the door, knocking on it and hearing her father yell to come in.
He is seated at his desk, reading something. When he looks up and sees it’s Eliahn, he takes off his glasses and smiles over at her, getting up as Aiden runs in. “Grandpa, Grandpa,” he says, jumping into Leonard’s arms as Leonard leans in and kisses his cheek. “We went to see my new school today,” he says. “They have hockey and soccer and football.”
“Is that right?” Leonard says, smiling while he kisses his cheek. “Did you like it?”
“Yeah,” Aiden says, playing with the knot of his tie. “And I found my daddy,” he says, and I swear you can hear a pin drop. If I didn’t think I was having a heart attack before, I am definitely having one now. The room is semi-spinning, and my throat is closing up so tight I can hardly swallow.
It looks like it happens in slow motion, almost like in the movies when the head turns slowly, ever so fucking slowly, and he finally sees me standing here next to Eliahn.
“What?” he whispers, and I open my mouth to talk, but nothing, and I mean, nothing comes fucking out. Not a sound, not a word, not even a fucking breath.
“Dad,” Eliahn says, stepping forward. “It,” she starts, and her father puts Aiden down, his head turning to look at me.
“Norma!” he yells. She opens the door smiling, but her smile leaves when she takes in the stance that everyone is in. “Can you take Aiden down to the break room and see if you can get him a snack?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Coco.” She turns to Aiden. “How about we go and get you a snack? I think I saw some muffins,” she says, and Aiden hops over to her, grabbing her hand. The door almost closes, but another hand stops it, and Eliahn’s mother enters.
“Sorry I’m late, darling.” She looks around and tries to lighten the situation by going to her daughter and kissing her cheek. “Luca. Nice to see you.” She gets to her husband’s side and grabs his hand. “Honey.”
“Dad,” Eliahn starts, and I walk to her and take her hands in mine; it’s the first time I’ve touched her since all of this happened and she just looks down at our han
ds. But it shows her that she isn’t going to have to do this alone; she doesn’t have to fight alone because I’m here with her, and we will get through this.
“We met,” I start, and he holds up his hand.
“I’m fully aware how you met on that booze cruise shit,” he says, his voice going louder and louder. “Did you not think to wear protection? Did you not respect her enough?”
Eliahn gasps, and I square my shoulders. “With all due respect, Mr. Coco, what we did was our business and not yours.”
“You made it my business when my daughter gave birth to your child by herself.” His voice is so loud now it’s booming.
“Leonard,” Maryse says, and he turns to look at her. She leans in and whispers something in his ear, but I don’t make the break last. I speak up.
“And if I had known, I would have been by her side the entire time. Helping her in any way that I could,” I tell him, my voice never once wavering.
“Dad, he didn’t know,” Eliahn finally says. “He had no idea. And for the record, we did use condoms. They are only ninety-seven percent effective,” she starts to say, and I want to laugh about how crazy this is.
“I feel like I’m in the Friends episode,” I say quietly to her and see that she is blinking away some tears as she stares at me and smiles. “But regardless of how I found out, or of what happened before, I’m here now. I’m going to be in my son’s life with or without your approval. And if I have to go look elsewhere for a job, so be it,” I say, hoping to fuck he doesn’t tell me to get the fuck out because I don’t have a backup plan right now. “I am sorry I wasn’t there for any of it.” I look at Eliahn, and I want to say so much more, but those words are going to be said to her and not with her father there. “Aiden isn’t the only one who missed out. I missed out on a lot of firsts, and I’m not going to let anything stand in my way.”
“You can’t fire him because he got me pregnant and didn’t know, Dad,” Eliahn says. “Plus he’s the best you’ve got. You said it yourself.”
Tempt The Hookup (Tempt Series Book 3) Page 6
