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“I have to start working in two days, and my first shift begins at six in the morning. Carlotta has courses, so I can’t ask her to watch him.”
“I’ll sleep over tomorrow, then I can watch him for you,” I said, even if I doubted it was a good idea. I’d never had a calming effect on kids, and it seemed to extend to my own son too.
Aurora nodded slowly, but she didn’t seem too happy about that either.
“I’m heading to bed now. I have to get up early,” Carlotta said from the doorway to the kitchen. She was in a fluffy bathrobe.
“Sleep tight,” Aurora said with a tight smile. After a scathing look at me, Carlotta left.
“She’s pissed at you.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed,” I said dryly.
“Do you want to hold him a bit? Maybe he’ll fall asleep in your arms.”
I stared at the kid who looked perfectly comfortable pressed to Aurora’s breasts. I would have been too. “If you want him to have nightmares, sure.” I glanced down at my black tee. “I can’t promise that there isn’t blood on my shirt.”
Aurora pressed out air. “Fine. Then don’t. I’m heading to my room to get him to sleep. You know where the front door is.”
“Rory!”
She stalked away, turned off the light in the kitchen, and locked herself in her bedroom.
I sank down at the kitchen table and unpacked the takeout boxes. I opened the first box, chow mein, and started eating it with the plastic chopsticks in the dim light streaming through the window.
I still heard Battista’s cries for a while, but then silence fell over the apartment. A few minutes later, a lock turned, and soft footfalls sounded.
“I told you to leave,” Aurora murmured as she settled on the chair across from me.
“You said I know where the front door is.”
“Do you have General Tso chicken?” she asked. Even in the dim light, I could tell how exhausted she looked.
“I do.” I pushed one of the boxes and chopsticks over to her. “I know it’s your favorite.”
She nodded and silently began to eat with a plastic spoon that had also been inside the bag.
“There are sticks and even a fork inside. Spoon-feeding the kid seems to have rubbed off on you.”
She pushed another spoonful of chicken into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully as she regarded me. Since our messed-up night at the party, her demeanor toward me had changed. She could look at me without blushing or making a fool of herself. She twisted the spoon around and, after swallowing, said, “I don’t trust myself with pointy objects around you tonight. I’ve fantasized about stabbing you with chopsticks while I lie beside Battista in the dark.”
I grinned. “You could kill me with a spoon too.”
“Have you ever killed someone with a spoon?”
I leaned back in the chair. “Not yet. I never thought about it. I’ll put it on the list.”
Aurora ate another spoonful of chicken. “I shouldn’t be helping you. You haven’t given me any reason yet to believe you’ll change anytime soon.”
“I told you I’ll watch him tomorrow.”
Aurora got up and grabbed a glass of water. She leaned against the kitchen counter with a look of worry. “He’s your son. Watching him once won’t suffice. Sometimes I wonder if you’re just not telling anyone, so you can bind me to you. I can’t avoid you as long as I’m taking care of your son.”
I pushed to my feet and walked over to her. She tensed but didn’t otherwise move. “I told you before that you’re in my head, and there’s no escaping from there. With or without Battista, I’d make it very hard for you to avoid me.”
“I can’t even put into words how furious you make me,” she whispered as I stopped right in front of her.
I cupped her cheeks and pushed my fingers into her hair as I gazed down upon her. “I can see the fury in your eyes, and it’s fucking sexy.”
