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Yes, he and Lauren had been lovers, but they’d also been friends. Right now, he felt like he was talking to an old friend again. And there was a lot more he wanted to talk about. More than he might have suspected a few weeks ago.
“Looks like your order’s ready.”
“Yeah…”
He saw the discontent flash across her face. Then she brightened. “Gimme your phone.”
“What?”
“You know, the thing people use to take selfies?” She grinned and purloined the phone from his hand. Going right to the contacts, she added her name and cell number. She handed the phone back and pulled her own out. With a few taps, she added an entry for him.
“Here, give me your number,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll have some breaks from the studio. Maybe we can catch up a little more?”
“That’d be great.”
Danny punched his cell in and handed the phone back to Lauren. The kid from the cash register called his name again. He was reluctant to leave but couldn’t bring cold pizza to the game.
“I gotta run. Subway series tonight.”
“Padovano family tradition,” she said.
“But I would like to catch up more,” he said. “Like for real, not just a five-minute chat.”
“I’d like that.”
Danny grabbed both pizzas and left the shop. As his feet hit the sidewalk, he looked back over his shoulder once and then walked to his car, his emotions even more conflicted than before.
ChapterFifteen
The old dishtowel was stained, and it just got worse as Danny wiped his hands on it. He gave the washer hose a critical look. He was glad Heather had noticed the connection was corroded—a flooded bathroom wasn’t a headache he needed to deal with.
“It should be all set now.” He tossed the rag into the laundry pile.
“Okay.”
Heather started sorting the laundry into three different piles. The silence following her one-word answer lingered long enough that Danny gave up and walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t expecting a tickertape parade for a simple plumbing fix, but something beyond the chilly reception he’d gotten from the moment he woke up would have been nice. Filling a glass at the faucet, he gulped the water down. His wife followed and grabbed the dirty dish towels from the oven handle.
“How was last night?” she asked.
“Fine.” The one-word response was petty, and he knew it.
“Have your usual?”
“Yeah, couple pies from Dom’s.”
“Nothing exciting?”
“Game was a little dull actually.”
Heather turned from the stove and put a hand on her hip. “Were you even going to bother telling me you had dinner with your ex?”
“I had dinner with my dad.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Heather’s cheeks and neck reddened. She pulled out her phone and thrust it in Danny’s face. “Rachel saw the two of you.”
On the screen was a text message that said, followed by four starstruck emojis. Underneath it was a photo. Taken from outside the pizzeria, the glass distorted the image a little, but it was clearly Danny and Lauren. They were smiling and undoubtedly having a good time.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Danny flung his arms up in the air. “She was there having a slice when I came in. We sat and talked for twenty minutes while my pizzas cooked. Then I went to my father’s.”
