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 too. Holy crap, the challenge in resistance he thought he’d been experiencing before was nothing compared to the challenge he’d be facing from here on.
Chapter 18
Danica
Ever since Orlando had told Danica he’d broken things off with Felicia, and since she’d come clean about her felony, she had this enormous sense of relief. She was thankful that she didn’t have to worry about getting the boot because of a jealous girlfriend or if her secret about her past ever surfaced. The day Felicia had showed up, Danica and Orlando had been in the apartment alone. She’d been terrified of what their conversation might’ve been about when she walked out. It’s why she’d been waiting and timed her fake conversation with Ted for Felicia’s sake. As bad as she was about lying to Orlando, she’d at least not have to lie about her fake relationship anymore. Though she knew she was still hiding something much more significant. Of course, she’d been close to coming clean about even that as well, more than once now. It was only her desperate fear of being thrown out on her ass and never being able to see the baby again that had kept her from spilling her guts each time. Except now she had a new even bigger fear.
Knowing Orlando wasn’t in a relationship anymore had upped what she’d begun to feel for him. She kept reminding herself of his reason for preferring to not be in one—he didn’t have time. He’d made that perfectly clear to Felicia and then reiterated it to Danica more than once now that it’s why he wasn’t even answering the girl’s calls anymore. More important still, Danica should not, could not, consider even the slightest flirtation with him. It’d be all too easy, especially considering the number of times she’d been caught in those eyes. Technically, he’d have time for Danica since they literally spent so much time together anyway. But he’d also made it clear he hadn’t been looking for anything serious, even when he’d first met Felicia, and that was long before the baby came into his life. Clearly, a guy like Orlando could have his pick of any girl he wanted without having to commit to anything. “Did anyone call from OSHA yet?” Orlando asked as he walked into the lobby of the shop.
“They did.” Danica glanced around for the paper where she’d jotted down what they said. “They’re sending someone today.” She found her notes just as he came around the counter and leaned in to open a drawer. He grabbed a folder out of a drawer as she turned. “Ms. Portillo . . .” She paused when she realized his face was just inches from hers, and he gazed deeply into her eyes. And then it happened, just as it’d happened a few times now. His eyes were on her lips, and her heart thudded in reaction. He was so close she could smell and feel the warmth of his minty breath. His licking his lips had her eyes dropping to them as they inched in closer to each other.
“Of course he’d say that!” Nine’s loud voice as he walked into the lobby interrupted the heart-stopping moment, and Orlando stood up from his bent over position. “That’s bullshit.” Nine pointed at his phone, shaking his head at Orlando as he continued talking into it and walked past them to the computer room.
Clearing her throat, Danica went back to her notes. “They, uh, said Ms. Portillo should be here at one. She glanced at her watch and saw it was just after one. “But he did say she might be running a little late because she has another stop to make across town first.”
“Good.” Orlando glanced around the lobby and toward the shop. “We need to get this thing moving already. It’s gonna be a big job to get this wall down so we can expand into the shop next door. But we need the okay from OSHA to start with the construction. She’s here to go over the plans and make sure they’re up to par and make sure we’ve ensured the safety of all the employees while all the hard hat work will be going on. So, once they okay them, it’s on.”
“You excited?” she asked, smiling and trying to shake off the moment she wasn’t even sure if she’d imagined.
“Yeah, I—”
The shop door opening and the woman who started in interrupted his response. “Hello,” she said as she entered then glanced down at her paperwork. “I’m here to speak to a Leonardo, Orlando, or Nine?”
“I’m Orlando,” he said, walking toward her, and reached out his hand.
“Oh?” She smiled big, and Danica didn’t miss the way her eyes swept over Orlando from top to bottom as they widened in obvious appreciation. “I’m Lisa Portillo.” She reached out and shook his hand, swinging her hair back over her shoulder a bit dramatically. “I’m with OSHA here to do the evaluation for the construction work you’ll be doing.”
“Yeah, we’ve been expecting yo
u,” Orlando said. “They told me they’d get someone out here soon, but that was weeks ago.”
“We’ve been terribly busy. But I’m here now.” The smile was a bit overdone, but the batting lashes were just ridiculous. “I’ll now be at your beck and call, Orlando. You just show me the way.”
“What is it you need from me?” Orlando asked.
“Well, first, is there somewhere we can sit so we can go over the paperwork?”
Ms. Portillo explained what she needed to see: the construction plans, a list of employees, and where they’d be working while the construction was going on.
“Yeah, up there.” He motioned to the apartment door then turned to Danica. “That paperwork we went over the other day. Can you get it together for me and bring it up to us? Oh, and, unless it’s an emergency, I don’t want any interruptions, please.”
“Ooh la la, I feel so important.” Ms. Idiot laughed a little too obnoxiously.
“We get pretty busy around here,” Orlando explained as Danica got the paperwork together and they started up the stairs. “But this is something we’re anxious to get going, so I wanna be sure we get this taken care of so we can get started already.”
“Oh, I’ll take care of you, Orlando,” she practically purred. “Don’t you worry about it.”
Feeling the heat rise up the back of her neck, Danica rolled her eyes as she glanced up at the still smiling too big, flirty wench. They walked into the apartment as Danica hurried to gather up the construction and employee paperwork. Putting it all together in a folder, she grabbed it and headed up the stairs with conviction.
She didn’t even bother knocking, just walked in, immediately irritated by Lisa’s laughter. “Really?” Lisa was asking. “Well, this was convenient, right? You can’t ask for a better commute than walking down the stairs to work. Especially in Los Angeles. How far are you from work now?”
Danica didn’t know much about OSHA and their occupational regulations, but this nosey inquiry didn’t sound like it had anything to do with it. She walked into the kitchen where Lisa was sitting at the table as Orlando handed her a small bottle of Coke. “Can I get a glass or cup, honey? I don’t usually suck from the bottle.” She tossed her hair aside again. “Not very ladylike.”
Orlando smiled at Danica as he reached for a glass to hand Lisa. He explained where he lived now before handing the glass to Lisa, and she set it next to her fancy purse and began pouring the soda in it. “Oh my gosh, what a small world. We’re neighbors, Orlando. I live in that area, too. I’m surprised we’ve never met.”
“I haven’t been there long.” Orlando went on to explain how it’d only been a few months since he moved into that house as he took the papers from Danica and handed them to Lisa.
“This is all of it, right?” Orlando asked Danica. She had just begun nodding when Lisa looked up from the folder.
“I don’t see the employee list here.”
“It’s there,” Danica said, pointing at the folder.
Lisa flipped through the paperwork. “Don’t see it.” Her eyes widened as she flipped through another sheet of paper. “Oh my God, Orlando Cruz. How crazy! That’s one of my sister’s married names, and the other one’s married name is De La Cruz.” She turned up and smirked playfully at Orlando. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if I ended up with a similar last name?”
“I know the list is there,” Danica said before Orlando could even respond to her outrageous comment. Ignoring how Orlando peered at her, Danica leaned into the folder to show Lisa.
“I don’t think so,” Lisa said, noticeably annoyed by Danica’s interruption.
Danica flipped through the paperwork. “Here.” She pulled the sheet out a little too eagerly, knocking over Lisa’s glass of soda.
It spilled onto her fancy purse as Lisa jerked back to avoid it spilling onto her skirt.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Danica said, reaching for the glass and paperwork, but refraining from smirking. She shook off the tiny corner of the paperwork where it got wet but didn’t bother offering to clean off Lisa’s soaked purse. “I’ll make copies so you could have a fresh set.”
“No, that’s fine, Dani,” Orlando said, taking the paperwork and handing Lisa a towel. “They’re barely wet. We can still work with this. Thank you.”
Danica nodded, turning to Lisa. “I’m so sorry about that.” She turned back to Orlando. “Let me know if you need anything else. Remember you have another appointment in a little bit so . . .” She turned to Lisa, looking her in the eyes, but didn’t finish and walked off. So, stop your bullshit lash-batting and get on with it. To Danica’s relief, they weren’t up there for long before they headed back down. Orlando had to show Lisa all the areas that would be worked on. While Danica didn’t have to sit there and stew about him being up there alone with her, she was still forced to listen to the annoying overdone laughter.
When they were finally wrapping it up and Orlando began walking Lisa to the door, she stopped just before walking out and turned to him. “I know you said you haven’t lived in the area long, but there are a lot of really good restaurants around there. If you’d like, I can—”
“Orlando,” Danica said a bit too loud, so she cleared her throat and toned it down. “A Mr. Almeida is on the phone for you. He says it’s urgent.”
Orlando peered at her. “Really? I didn’t even hear it ring.” He turned back to Lisa. “Let me know if there’s anything else you need. I gotta take this call and get back to work. Told you it gets busy around here.”
The pushy bitch was finally gone, and Danica typed away, smiling, satisfied as Orlando walked back to behind the counter. She continued to look busy as Orlando picked up the phone. “Orlando speaking.” She saw him press another line and then another. “What line is he on? There’s no one there.”
Turning to the phone, feigning surprise, Danica furrowed her brows. “He was on line one. “He sounded all impatient. Probably hung up.” Orlando tilted his head as Danica’s eyes met his all innocent. “I’m sure he’ll call back. So, is everything set?” He set the phone down for a moment, not saying anything, but then explained how it went and the next step and rest of the of the process. Danica took in everything he said, looking straight at him but turned away before asking, “Will she be back?”
“No, she’s done here. She just needs to turn in her report and give the go-ahead and we can get started with the construction.”
“Good,” Danica said as their eyes met again. “I mean I know you’ve been anxious to get this going, right?”
“Right,” he said with a smirk.
“O.” Nine stuck his head into the lobby from the shop. “You done with OSHA?”
“Yeah, just finished. It went good.”
“Fuck yeah,” Nine gave him a thumbs-up. “You can tell me about it while I get your take on something out here.”
Orlando tapped the desk, smiling at Danica. “Back to the grind.”
As Danica sat there continuing to work, she was even more convinced of it now. There was no way she could give into so much as a fling with Orlando. Today had been just a taste of what it’d be like to have to see or know of him with someone else, and she had no right whatsoever to be feeling entitled. She could only imagine if she gave into even a casual romp with him. Her reaction to it would for sure ruin all the effort she’d put into getting Oreo back in her life. Those moments she’d been caught in his eyes and been so close to his lips were absolutely heart-stopping. She could only imagine what a kiss from him would be like. Heaven. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes. This was a sacrifice she’d just have to make, because there was no way she’d be risking losing her time with the baby. No way.
Orlando
They were in the middle of discussing the newest car brought in for restoration when Orlando did a double take. Danica was standing up behind the counter, looking out curiously at the old convertible they’d just pulled into the restoration shop. It was a nice one even before being restored. He smiled at t
he thought of Danica being a classic car buff. Like he needed any more reason to feel even crazier about her than he already did.
His smile went flat when he saw Alonso walk into the lobby and head straight to the counter. She took a seat, but they both turned to look out into the shop as if to address the car she’d been spying. “I’ll be back,” he said to Nine, who barely glanced up from the paperwork he was reading about the convertible they’d just brought in.
He took a deep breath as he watched Alonso lean up against the counter, making himself comfortable. Hurrying his step a bit, he felt his muscles going taut as he opened the door to the lobby and walked through.
“I’ve never seen anything beyond that shop door,” Danica said. “I have no business going over there.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been here over a month and no one’s given you the grand tour yet?” Alonso waved her over with his hand. “C’mon, I’ll give you the tour.”
Yeah, Orlando bet he would. “She can’t right now.” Orlando came around the counter. “I got work I need her to do for me.”
“Slave driver,” Alonso said, shaking his head, then turned to Danica. “I’ll give you a tour when you’re not busy.”
“Nine needs your ass out there, Mr. Tour Guide.” Orlando turned to Dani as Alonso walked away. “Can you bring up the De La Hoya contract and print out the last four pages for me?”
“You know me,” Dani said, turning to face the computer screen. “I’m at your beck and call.”
Orlando couldn’t be sure of it earlier, but he was now. Dani had been as annoyed with Ms. Portillo as he was with Alonso, or anyone who tried to get too chummy with her. He’d silently staked his claim on her even before she was single. But now that she was, he’d be damned if he was letting anyone get any ideas about her. Was it possible she was feeling the same about him?
Orlando: Boyle Heights #4 Page 19
