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“So what’s the deal? You made a face when I said I was talking to a guy named Benito. Does the name remind you of someone you don’t like or something?”
She peeled each banana and let them drop unceremoniously into the bowl. “Are you dating the guy?”
I watched her expression. “No. Well, not yet. But I might. I’m thinking about it, I guess.”
She frowned again. “I thought you thought my uncle was cute.”
I froze. “Why would you think that?”
She started to mash up the bananas with the back of the spoon. “You guys are always looking at each other.”
“Well, he’s my employer, so of course I’m going to look at him.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. You look look at him, and he looks looks at you. You both do it when you think no one is watching. But you’re so obvious.”
There was no point in trying to escape the truth. “Your uncle is a nice-looking guy. It’s hard not to notice, Hailey. But it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Why doesn’t it?”
I sighed. She asked good questions—hard ones, but good. “Well, just because two people are attracted to each other doesn’t mean they’re right for each other in a couple sort of way.”
“Is Benito attractive?”
“Yes.”
“So what does he have that Uncle Hollis doesn’t?”
I shook my head. “It’s not that your uncle is missing anything. We just don’t want the same things, so we’re not compatible as a couple.”
“What does he want?”
Uh…how do I extricate myself from this one? I couldn’t very well say, your uncle just wants to dirty fuck me, like most asshole men. Though—I looked at her—she was a really beautiful girl. It was probably a lesson she should learn to save her some naïve heartbreak. But that was a conversation best had a few years from now.
I poured flour into a measuring cup and emptied it into the bowl, then slid everything to the other side of the counter so I could sit on the stool next to her.
“I told you I was married before. As much as I was sad about the way my marriage turned out, I’m still hopeful that maybe the right guy is out there for me. For a long time, I wasn’t. But that’s changed lately. And I think that a lot of it is because of you, actually.”
“Me?”
I nodded. “I want a family someday. You reminded me of that. So while I’m a little scared to go back out there into the dating world, I think I need to do it now. It’s sort of time.”
I’d thought I’d explained it so well, but one look at Hailey’s face told me I hadn’t. Her shoulders slumped, and she stared down at her hands. “So Uncle Hollis doesn’t want a family?”
“Oh God, no. That’s not what I meant at all. He wants you. I’m certain of that. You heard him the other day when he said he would do everything in his power to keep you or stay in your life. He loves you and wants you to be his family.”
“I don’t understand, then. You want a family. He wants me. Why can’t we just be a family?”
The fear in her voice made my chest hurt. “It’s complicated, sweetheart. And I think I’m muddying things up by explaining stuff wrong. But the bottom line is, I adore you. Your uncle adores you. And my dating someone else will have no bearing on any of that.”
Luckily, that seemed to satisfy her—either that or she’d grown bored of the conversation. Hailey finished mashing the bananas and moved on to asking if we could go ice skating today. It was summer in New York City and going to be in the eighties this afternoon. But I was so anxious to change the subject, I’d say yes to just about anything.
“Sure. Let me see if I can find a place.”***“What’s up, bossman?” After work, I decided to stop by my old job. I walked into Soren’s office and planted my ass on the other side of his desk.
He folded his hands behind his head and leaned back into his chair. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Did Richie Rich figure out you’re nuts and fire your ass already?”
“No. Well, yes.” I shook my head. “I mean, I’m pretty sure he knows I’m nuts, but he didn’t fire me.”
Soren squinted. “He knows you’re nuts and hasn’t fired you? So he’s trying to get in your pants, then?”
I sighed. “I wish.”
His brows jumped. “Hot for the new boss?”
“I think I really need to get laid.”
Soren wrinkled his nose and waved his hands at me. “Don’t tell me shit like that. You’re like my sister.”
“Well, that’s sort of why I’m here. I want my big brother to do a little background check on a man I’m thinking about going out with.”
