Page 72 of Worth of Waste

“Take-out is great.”

And so were they.

“No, no, no,” Karen said, laughing as Junior squealed as loudly as his little lungs could. “Not today, little man. I am late—you’re going to make me go broke buying more toys.”

“Toy! Toy!”

Karen was starting to feel betrayed by her love of coffee, considering her favorite coffee shop, where she stopped at every morning before dropping her son off at daycare, was situated directly beside a toy shop. Almost every day, the toy shop changed its front display. Today, the large glass showcased a giant wooden train set that filled up the entire space. It must have been electric or battery operated, because the train was moving over the tracks at a slow speed.

“Toy!” Junior shouted again.

“Coffee,” Karen replied, grabbing the handle of the café’s front door. “Your mom needs coffee to get through the day so I can have more money to buy toys, Junior.”

That didn’t seem to placate the boy.

She didn’t get the chance to open the café door, because someone else came barreling out with their head down, their attention stuck on their phone. She wasn’t able to get out of the way in time, and the man slammed right into her, almost knocking her to the ground.

Somehow, she managed to stay upright on the slippery sidewalk, plus keep her son firmly in her arms.

Ready to bitch the distracted guy out, Karen faced the man, but quickly fell silent.

Familiar features stared back at her.

Light brown, almost blond hair. Strong jaw. Brown eyes with flecks of gold.

“Damn, I’m sorry,” the guy said quickly, stuffing his phone in his pocket. “You okay?”

She recognized him from somewhere, but it took her a minute to draw where exactly her memory was coming from.

Theo.

Theo DeLuca.

Karen had only met him once before—a long time ago, at Dino’s club when she had gone there looking for a job and Theo had been the one to vet the girls. They hadn’t even really had a decent conversation, but his face was unmistakable.

There were differences, sure, but his features were too similar to his brother’s for her not to see them.

Karen’s mouth wouldn’t work, even though she tried.

Theo blinked, taking Karen in again and she saw the recognition light up in his eyes. Then, just as quickly, his gaze darted between her face, and the baby in her arms. Karen’s grasp on her son tightened a bit as Theo’s gaze lingered on the baby boy.

“Toy!” Junior said, still pointing back to the shop window where the train was going around the tracks. “Momma, toy!”

“Not today, J,” Karen said faintly.

“It’s Karen, right?” Theo asked.

Karen straightened a bit, holding her son impossibly closer. She had no reason to be frightened of Theo—he was Dino’s brother, after all. She knew a bit about him, and Dino had explained some of what she didn’t know.

She was also aware that Theo had seen her more than that one time she had met him at the club—like the time when she had come looking for Dino after he had ignored her. Apparently, Theo had been eavesdropping on their conversation that night.

“Karen,” Theo said again.

Her gaze snapped up to his. She decided to feign ignorance, not knowing what else to do. She had the distinct feeling that if Dino meant for her to be around his family, he would have brought her around a long time ago.

“And who are you?” Karen asked.

“Momma!”