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She laughed gleefully at my horror and snapped her fingers. “The second you hold your baby, none of it matters anymore. It’s all worth it when you look into their eyes.”
As soon as she said it, she looked truly upset, and we lapsed into an awkward moment of silence before I rallied.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not going to hold the baby,” I said. “It’s not going to be mine, after all.” Her eyes glistened with tears I felt in my soul, but I shrugged and shook my head. “I bet Leo will be thrilled at that moment, though. He’s so serious and excited about it.”
Reina glanced over at her husband and Leo, then leaned closer to me. “I hope I’m not being too forward,” she said. “But is this really just a business relationship?”
“I’m happy to help someone fulfill their dream of becoming a parent,” I said. It was the line I’d been giving, and I meant every word, but this time it came out sounding stiff and forced. “I have no interest in being one myself,” I continued, those words not sounding at all believable, even to me. “Yes, to answer your question, Leo and I definitely only have a business relationship.”
I wanted to say that we were friends, but we wouldn’t remain that way after the baby was born, so I let it hang there. I glanced over at Leo at that moment as if to reassure myself that I would be able to walk away without a mark after this was all over. He was looking back at me with dismay all over his face. He must have overheard me, but I didn’t understand why my words would cause him any kind of bad feeling when he felt the same way.
I turned back to see Reina still looking skeptical, probably because we’d been shacked up in her vacation house for the last few weeks. “He’s only protecting the baby until whatever’s going on in New York settles down,” I said, more defensively than I meant to sound. “We’ll go our separate ways when it’s all over.”
She snorted and leaned closer, dropping her voice. “I’m sorry, but I think that’s bullshit. Not with how he’s been looking at you all evening like a lovestruck teenager.”
I turned again, seeing nothing but annoyance as he resolutely ignored us from the table. I cracked up. “Lovestruck teenager? Oh my gosh, you’re so, so wrong.” But was she, though? She had known Leo for far longer than I had, so she must know him a lot better than I did.
She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Whatever you say.”
Arguing with her was only going to make it seem like I was protesting too much, and at that time, Leo and Ivan got up, telling us they were going for a walk. Reina only nodded and waved them away, but I got overwhelming anxiety that Leo would either be in danger or do something I didn’t want to imagine. Maybe both. I mean, what really happened when we were in the safe room? What became of the men who drove the truck?
When they were out of sight, I hugged my arms around my middle, eyeing Reina and wondering if I dared get too personal.
“Ask me anything, sweetie,” she said in a kind, motherly tone. Even though she was probably only a few years older than me, it was clear she was much wiser regarding what I wanted to know.
“Were you also born into their life?” I asked. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” she said. “And no. I used to be a modeling agent. It was all completely new to me when I met Ivan.” She smiled dreamily as if remembering their early days together.
“How do you feel about it? The things they do?”
“The things they have to do,” she amended. “I’m used to it now. I get that my husband does what’s necessary to protect what’s his, me and our daughter included. In the beginning, I was just as freaked out as you probably are, so I understand how you feel.”
I nodded vigorously. “I’m pretty freaked out. What happened yesterday, all the guys around here with guns….”
Reaching over to pat my arm, she nodded. “What happened to you yesterday sounds awful, but that’s why Leo has so many armed guards around. Imagine how things might have gone if he didn’t.”
I shuddered, not wanting to imagine it. Was this the first time I was grateful to be surrounded by armed guards?
She smiled over at me. “You’ll get used to it, too.”
“I guess I won’t need to,” I said. “I was just curious.”
“Mmhmm.”
I hid my scowl that she continued to think the wrong way and that I kept getting tripped up into leading her into those ideas in the first place. We got onto different subjects, and another hour flew by when the guys finally returned.
“Woman, I want to sleep in my own bed tonight,” Ivan said, his voice booming. “Are you up to the trip home?”
“Of course,” she said, hopping up.
As much as I liked them and as fun as the evening with some new people to talk to was, I was relieved they weren’t going to spend the night. I followed them to the front to say goodbye, wondering if I’d see them again. With the time constraints of all my jobs, I didn’t have many friends I could spend a leisurely evening chatting and laughing with. It would have been nice if we could have kept in contact after everything was over, but she was a sophisticated, rich, mafia wife. I doubted she’d want to meet me at the coffee shop during my fifteen-minute break to catch up.
Once their tail lights were out of sight, we went inside. As soon as Leo was in the bright light of the foyer, I surreptitiously looked him over for any bruises, my imagination back in overdrive about what he might have been up to during the time he and Ivan disappeared toward the beach.
I opened my mouth to ask him what happened to the men who attacked the place but quickly closed it again. Did I really want to know? I was fairly certain they didn’t all agree to disagree, shake hands, and go home.
Leo gave me a strained smile before heading to the office, where he spent most of the time he wasn’t with me. Probably all of his time now that he was determined to keep me at arm’s length.
