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“I think he dropped this.” The server laughs.
“Yeah, he’s not much for shoes, socks, hats, or bibs.” I refasten it around him and hand him the cup, hoping to distract him temporarily.
A phone rings in the background, and I notice the server look to the hostess station. “I’ll come back in a moment to take your order, ma’am.”
“Slow down, Tru. If you drink all of your juice, you’ll have to settle for water.”
“Hi.”
My gaze pops over to where Caleb sits before realizing the voice belongs to someone else. He has his eyes trained on someone at the end of the table. Turning my head, I find a boywith dark brown curls and big brown eyes. Where do I— “Oh, hi. We met the other day. What did you say your name was?”
“Mimmo.”
“Nemo? Wow! Can I have a cool name like that, Mama? How about Dory? No, she’s a girl. Wait. How about Simba? No, Scar!”
“Yeah!” Mimmo claps.
Myla smiles over at the adorable little stranger while Truitt tries to hand him a crayon that suspiciously looks as if the end of it is missing.
Leaning forward, I pull down Tru’s lower lip to reveal blue teeth and shake my head. At least it’s better than Ted E. Ruxpin’s dog toy. “His name isn’t Nemo, Caleb. It’s Mimmo. It’s a nickname, right?”
He nods before climbing up into the booth to sit next to Caleb like they’re long-lost friends. “We like funny names.”
“Nicknames?” Caleb asks.
Mimmo covers his mouth with his hand and shrugs his shoulders before looking over toward the opposite side of the restaurant.
“Where’s your mom and dad?” My gaze tracks the trajectory of his until they connect with the blue-green orbs of the man who’s starred in all of my recent dirty dreams.
Luca.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jillian
My heart feelsas if it’s doing summersaults. I can feel my cheeks heat as the gorgeous man strides closer. He must think I have rosacea. Or a permanent sunburn. If he only knew how wet I was thinking of him in the shower. Well, the first shower.Not all four.
“Jillian.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and places a tender kiss on my knuckles, leaving behind a sizzle of electricity similar to that in the emergency room when he reached for my wrist. Our eyes lock, and for a second, it feels like we’re all alone here. I gulp. Luca gives me a genuinely sweet smile.
And now my panties are wet.
My dirty thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of giggling, and I turn to see Myla smiling behind the hands covering her mouth. She looks as smitten as I am. No man has ever greeted me like a Disney Princess before.
This is ridiculous. How am I letting myself get all goo-goo eyed over a guy I barely know? I’m a single woman with threeyoung children. He’s only being polite. ’Cause there’s no way all this right here is bringing all the boys to the yard.
Shaking myself out of my lust-filled trance, I remember how we met. “Oh. How are you feeling?” I nearly slap myself on the forehead for not thinking of this sooner. “I take it the surgery went well.”
“Yes. Very quick. In and out. And I was starving for Luigi’s pasta.” He chuckles and looks down at Caleb. “What are you getting to eat?”
“Spaghetti!”
“Ah, Luigi’s is the best.” He looks over at Myla. “How about you? Spaghetti for you, too?”
My sweet girl nods, smiling up at him like he’s a rockstar.
Oh, I get it, Myla. I get it.
“And for you?” he asks Tru. “You should eat pasta, not wax. Or poor Luigi will be offended.”
