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“There’s no rush to leave. Take your time to find what you want.”
There were so many variables: my housing situation, whether we’d get enough clients to keep Gia’s business afloat, and how Leo’s family would react when they found out about us. I had enough on my plate. Living in a single-family home was a dream that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
“I don’t want to change schools.”
But the reality was, I couldn’t afford a home in her school district.
“You know, you could use the apartment address to stay in the school district.”
My spirits lifted slightly. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“My parents won’t care.”
“Thank you for offering that,” I said, touching his hand with mine.
Our waitress took our order and talk turned to the restaurant.
“We’re having trouble retaining quality servers. They’re always calling out or not showing up. I think if we paid them more, they’d stay. The tips aren’t as good as other restaurants in town. I relied on your waitressing to cover them, but—”
“I can still cover when you need me to.”
“I don’t want to take advantage of you. You want to spend time with Evie, and my parents need to see that this is a problem.”
“Will they, though?” His parents preferred to run on a shoestring budget rather than have enough qualified and reliable waitstaff. They’d always been lucky with the kitchen staff. They were loyal and hardworking.
“They’re leaving for vacation soon. I don’t see them making any decisions before then.”
“That’s so frustrating. If they’re going to be gone, you should be able to make more decisions. Maybe you should tell them that. Stop waiting for permission and take charge.” I knew the Giovanni boys wouldn’t ever go against their parents’ wishes, but Leo was looking at me with newfound respect.
“I think you might be on to something.”
“You think it could work?”
“It’s worth a shot. We need the ability to make decisions, and if they’re not going to be around, then we should just step up.”
“Yeah, tell him who’s in charge,” Evie said, looking up from her page.
We all laughed because she was so earnest and adorable.
“I’ll just tell them Evie told me to do it.”
“They’ll have to forgive you because who can resist her face?” I said to him with a smile.
“Right?” His gaze on Evie was full of affection and tenderness. Was he falling for us, like we had for him?
Evie smiled at him.
Our date solidified everything I’d always suspected about Leo. He was a great guy, and we had chemistry in spades. I couldn’t wait to spend more time with him, both in the bedroom and outside of it.
“Are you going to be my new daddy?”
I sucked in a breath. Evie knew we were dating, but I wasn’t sure she understood the implications. Before I could figure out how to answer, Leo said, “You have a father. I’d never try to replace him.”
Evie’s lip curled. “He’s not like the other kids’ dads. He doesn’t live with us or spend any time with us. Not like you do.”
“That doesn’t mean Leo’s your dad.”
“If it’s all right with you, Evie, I’d like to be another important person in your life. One you can depend on, count on. I already love you.”
