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“Not sure. I just don’t want to go to bed. The energy around town is tense, and then there’s Anya. I understand why, but I wish we could’ve stayed in the clinic.”
He shows me his phone. “They’ll text you as soon as she wakes up.”
“Why do I feel like they won’t do it?”
“You like to control your environment, and they aren’t letting you. If possible, you would’ve been in the operating room.”
I chuckle. “Can you imagine?”
“Yes, I can.”
I glance at him. “Maybe you know me a little better than I give you credit for.”
He stops, cupping my face. “I might not know at what age you lost your first tooth, the name of the first bastard who broke your heart, or if your mom sang lullabies to you at night. However, I know that when you’re stressed, you need extra sugar and a good run. Also, that sometimes you don’t want to order something off a menu, but you want a bite, or that at night you pretend you like your space, but when you’re fast asleep, you snuggle closer to me.”
“There’s a book somewhere in the house with my first milestones if you ever want to read it. Hugo Ellis and Mom didn’t sing, but she loved to play eighties ballads,” I answer, impressed at how well he knows me.
“Do you want to change clothes? We can go for a run since I doubt you’ll want to have sex.”
“You’re funny, Cantú.” I scrunch my nose. “Let’s go for a run. Sex with you is off the table.”
“Unless you ask nicely.” He winks and pulls me close to him.
ChapterThirty-Four
Iskander
“Business as usual,”Siobhan complains. “How can that be when Anya hasn’t woken up, and I’m here…”
“Watching her daughter,” I add, as I walk around the office bouncing Rumi.
Her frustration and anxiety are making the little toddler uneasy. This morning, we waited until seven before we went to the clinic to check on Anya. The doctors repeated the same as last night, “They’ll call us when she’s awake.”
Siobhan understands how the human body works, however, she also experienced the death of her mother and is afraid the same will happen to her sister.
“You want us to go home and wait there?”
Her nostrils flare but she doesn’t look at me. “No. I’m busy trying to figure out how to supply our customers in Seattle, even when we can’t ship anything for the next few weeks,” she groans in frustration. “Remember when I said we should open a brewery in Seattle?”
I shrug and look at Rumi. “This is exactly why I do consulting. When you grow up, remember, provide services, not products.”
The office door opens, and Abuelo waltzes inside, smiling at me. Well, at least that’s what I think until he says, “Look at you, hermosa. I heard we had a special guest, but you’re more like a princess, aren’t you.”
He stretches his arms. “Ven princesa, dime ¿Cómo te llamas?”
She’s such a happy, trusting baby that she goes willingly with any member of my family. “Her name is Rumi, and she doesn’t speak Spanish, Abuelo.”
I flinch as his disapproving gaze makes me feel like a five-year-old who broke a valuable vase.
“Well, maybe this generation should learn our language, don’t you think? In Europe, some children speak five different languages. This is why I sent your father to Mexico every summer, and what did he do with you and your siblings?”
I shrug.
“Exactly. Nothing. Desconsiderado.”
Then he turns to Siobhan. “The next time you try to quit, at least come to me. I’m displeased by the way you left, but I understand you did it because of this ingrato.”
“My sister needed me, sir.” She grins. “It had nothing to do with your ungrateful grandchild.”
