Her eyes practically roll to the back of her head as she licks her lips in a dramatic fashion. “Fucking delicious!”
I let out a chuckle and scoop a modest amount of gelato onto my spoon. As I take a bite, I notice Mila watching me intently, and it makes me wonder what’s going through her mind. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
She lifts her shoulders in a casual shrug. “You, Jake, the restaurant. Anything we want, apart fromhim.”
I nod slowly. “Okay, that’s easy. What do you want to know?”
“What really happened between you and Gemma? I always thought you two made a pretty hot couple.”
I bark out a laugh, shaking my head at her bluntness. “Wow, okay. Umm... well, as you know, she and I were never serious to begin with. Our relationship was more casual than anything, so we both knew it wasn’t built to last. We quickly drifted apart once we realised we wanted different things.”
“How so?” she asks, popping another bite of ice cream into her mouth.
“She wanted to date other people, to explore what else was out there, while I was looking for something more serious. I guess I just wasn’t into the whole casual thing anymore.”
She licks the spoon, then points it at me. “Yeah, I can totally see that.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “How?”
“Well, you’re too old to do casual, and you got a kid. It makes sense.” She shrugs again.
I cough and sputter on the ice cream I just put into my mouth. “Excuse me?” I say, my tone mocking as I place a hand on my chest like I’m offended.
She lets out the most adorable laugh, and it makes me want to tickle her just to hear it again and again.
“You are cheeky, Miss Rivera.”
She winks and flashes a playful grin. I can’t help but smile, grateful that despite everything she’s recently been through, she hasn’t lost her sense of humour.
“Speaking of cheekiness, is that girl in Jake’s class still giving him a hard time?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But he thinks she might be in love with him since she’s always following him around the school playground like a lost puppy. His words, not mine.”
We both chuckle at the same time, and it’s the first time since I kicked Dean out of her life that I’ve seen Mila genuinely laugh and smile.
I reach for another scoop of ice cream at the same time Mila does, and we both freeze, our eyes instantly connecting. A beat passes before, almost instinctively, I lift my spoon towards her mouth, offering a bite. She leans in without hesitation, her lips closing around the spoon as she takes it from me.
Another moment stretches between us, our gazes still locked as the air thickens with unspoken words. I wish I could tell her just how beautiful she is, inside and out, and that no matter howmuch Dean tried to break her, it could never diminish her spirit. But like the coward I am when it comes to her, I stay silent.
The sharp ring of my phone on the coffee table slices through the tension, pulling us back to the present. I glance at the device and see Elena’s name flashing on the screen. I frown. “This is probably Jake, calling to say goodnight. I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
She nods, and I stand up, heading to the other room to speak with my son.
Ten minutes later, I walk back into the room to find Mila staring at the blank TV screen, her knees drawn up with her arms wrapped around them, the now empty bowl resting on the coffee table.
“Do you need anything while I’m up?” I ask, making my presence known.
She turns to face me and shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. Thanks.”
I sit back down next to her, sensing the shift in the mood after our little moment. Not wanting things to feel awkward, I decide to speak up first. “Jake says hi and to remind you that next Thursday is bagel day.”
That draws a delicate laugh from her, a sound so sweet it’ll forever be etched in my mind.
“So, catch me up on what else has been going on in your life,” she asks.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Okay, shoot.”
