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“One of my girlfriends from school, Danielle, had decided she wanted to move to Philadelphia, and she convinced me to come with her.”
Tony took a sip of wine. “Where are you from originally?”
“Des Moines.”
His brows rose. “That’s quite the move for two eighteen-year-old girls to make on their own.”
Jess shrugged. “Danielle’s home life had been worse than mine. Her dad was a junkie, always in and out of jail. So we decided we both needed a clean break. We pooled our money, bought that crappy Honda parked outside, and drove halfway across the country to Philadelphia.”
Rhys tossed a throw pillow to her. “Why Philadelphia?”
She placed the pillow against the arm of the couch and leaned against its softness. “Danielle was obsessed withRocky. Like, insanely so. Which is silly, I know, but honestly, it didn’t matter where we went as long as it was far enough away from our parents. So we found a shitty little apartment, got jobs waiting tables at a pizza place, and after Jasper was born, we took care of him together. We didn’t have a lot, but we were making it work, and we had some great times.”
“Where’s Danielle now?”
“About a year ago, she started dating this guy, Ritchie. He was super nice and they fell in love. He got a job in New York in April, and she decided to go with him. It was already hard paying the rent with her salaryandmine, so I found the second job as a housekeeper at Crossings Motel. Rocco is really cool about letting me bring Jasper along so I wouldn’t have to pay for a babysitter.”
Tony frowned, so she went ahead and answered his concern.
“I know the motel is sketchy, but I work there during the daylight hours, cleaning up after the guests have left, and Rocco is great about keeping an eye on me and the other girl who works there.”
Tony merely grunted in reply, and she fought back the urge to laugh and call him a caveman. The description certainly seemed to fit. She’d never seen this protective side to him at the diner, but that made sense, considering the danger level at Paulie’s was nil.
The majority of their customers were retired old men who’d meet up for coffee or the lunch special, while talking sports and politics with whoever else was around at the time. Tony, Rhys, and their friends brought the average age of the diner down to around seventy-three whenever they walked in.
“So Jasper’s father isn’t in the picture at all?” Tony asked.
“Nope. He’s never even seen Jasper, not in person or in a picture. Jasper is a Monroe, and I only put my name on the birth certificate. The guy turned out to be a total dick, so it’s better this way. Can I ask you guys a question?”
“Of course,” Rhys responded.
“How old are you?” She and the girls at the diner had always been curious about their ages.
“Thirty-five,” Tony said before nodding his head toward Rhys. “And that geriatric over there is thirty-eight.”
“Thought I told you to take it easy on the old cracks, Moretti.”
They all shared a laugh.
“How long have you been roommates?” she asked.
Tony leaned back, settling into his recliner, looking completely relaxed and at home, and she realized she felt the same way. Though it had only been about a month, it felt like ages since she’d been able to lower her guard. Tonight, she actually felt peaceful, calm. It was funny how quickly a person could forget those feelings when they lived in constant survival mode.
“Two years,” Tony replied. “Two long, loooong years.”
Rhys chuckled and rolled his eyes at Tony’s jest. “I’m a better roommate than your brother, Joey, and you know it. That guy is a slob.”
Tony didn’t bother to deny it, grinning widely. “You’re not kidding. If it had been him and me living in this apartment, Aunt Berta would have turn tail and run when we offered her the second-floor apartment.”
“How did she come to be here with you?” Jess asked.
“Oh man,” Rhys muttered. “Here we go.” Jess frowned, confused, until Rhys explained, “The Morettis prefer epic tales to simple answers. You might as well settle in, Jess, because I have a feeling we’re going to be here awhile.”
Tony clearly took no offense to Rhys’s joke. If anything, he looked downright flattered.
“I was born in Philadelphia, but when I was in middle school, my dad got a good job offer in Maryland, which he took. We lived there for five years, then my family moved back to Philadelphia from Baltimore after my mother passed away from cancer.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Tony.”
