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After studying me for a few additional seconds she took the roses from me, at least managing to take a deep whiff. I was almost surprised she didn’t toss them in my face.
“Yes. We have for some time. I moved in after my father’s cancer diagnosis. He needs someone to watch out for him and my sister is too busy as a nurse.”
“You have a sister.” I knew that of course, just using the information to move away from the anger and venom.
She smiled and grabbed the bottle of wine. “She’s a spitfire herself. Sometimes I think more so than I am. She’d give you a raft of shit for what you said to me at the construction site.”
“Somehow, I doubt she’s feistier than you are. You’re hell on wheels. And I’m not certain I could handle the two of you.”
“No, you couldn’t.” She opened the box and laughed as she stared down at the pizza. “Where did you get this? This doesn’t look like any pizza I’ve had before.”
“A place across town. I had to describe the pizza to the guy before he made it.”
“I guess you did. New York style?”
Just watching her face light up meant the world to me and I wasn’t certain why. “Yep. The only kind in my book.”
“Yum. Thank you for bringing everything, Foxx. Aiden hasn’t had a pizza in a long time.” She seemed embarrassed telling me.
Another awkward moment of tension kicked in between us.
“I’m sorry. Doesn’t your husband work, provide some support?”
“If you want to know what happened with Aiden’s father, just ask. Don’t assume.” She pulled down two wineglasses, which I guess meant I was allowed to stay. Maybe I was making some small headway.
“Okay. You’re right. What happened to him?”
A moment of utter sadness crossed her lovely face.
“He died. He had a terminal disease but that’s not what killed him.”
“What did?”
She opened the bottle before answering. “He was hit by a car.”
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s still raw and fresh.” She threw me a look as if embarrassed she was still aching from the loss. The girl wore thick armor for several reasons.
“Mommy. Mommy. All clean. Pizza!” Aiden roared back into the room and the beautiful woman giggled like I hadn’t heard her do before, the light in her eyes shining brightly. She was in love with her kid, the apple of her eye.
“My sweet little boy. Help me set the table for dinner.” As she pulled out plates, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off their interaction. I’d meant what I’d said. I’d always wanted to be a father, no matter how grumpy mine had been for as long as I could remember.
“Gwampa coming?”
“He’s out and about,” she said with an entirely different tone than she had for me.
“Superman staying?”
She laughed. “Yeah, baby. Superman is staying.”
The pup was right there by Aiden’s side, Xena’s eyes staring up at me, her tail continuously thumping against one of the cabinet doors. I wasn’t normally the kind of man to feel much of anything, especially empathy. There was a strange series of emotions that I couldn’t seem to control around her. It didn’t make any sense to me. Or how I reacted around her. None of it.
However, it was becoming painfully clear that she’d not only slithered under my skin. She’d grabbed a hold of the most uncomfortable part of me.
My pitch-black heart.
CHAPTER 16
