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Her features softened when she looked at him. “Since you were in my tummy.”
He cocked his head and stared at her stomach almost as if he couldn’t believe he’d ever been in there. I wondered what was going through his curious mind.
Instead of asking, I tried to piece together a timeline. “Was this your first job out of university?”
“I didn’t go to college,” she snapped. I wanted to curse for very obviously insulting her when I hadn’t meant to. But before I had the chance to apologize, she continued, “I’d just gotten a job at a high-end boutique for the holidays. Miss Jacobs likes things...” She paused as if searching for what to say. “Just so,” she finally settled on. “After an hour of attending to her, she pretty much told me I was her new assistant. I left the store with her and haven’t looked back.”
Damn. “That was a huge leap of faith.”
“It was meant to be.”
We finished dinner, feasted on churros for dessert, then cleared the dishes.
“I want to show you something, Gabriel,” I said, drying my hands on a dish towel. “Do you have a jacket?”
“Yeah—”
“Gabriel,” Holly warned.
“Sorry, Mama. Yes, sir.”
“Thank you,” she said. “It's hanging in the closet by the front door.”
The three ofus put on jackets and went to the elevator lobby. I instructed Gabriel to press the up button. Inside the elevator car, I pushed the top button.
We exited on Daniel and Vivian's floor, and I led them to the stairwell, motioning for Holly to go up first. I held Gabriel’s hand as we ascended the stairs.
My sister had strung vintage lights around the roof’s perimeter, and I'd made sure they were on before going to Holly's for dinner.
She looked at me in disbelief. “Did you do this?”
“I wish I could take credit, but Muriella and Vivian are responsible.”
Gabriel went straight for the big round chair bed and climbed on it. There were chaise lounges, a sectional sofa, and regular chairs. I couldn't wait until it got warmer. I really wasn’t used to this type of cold. But as I looked at Gabriel and saw the joy and innocence in his expression, I wondered what this space was to him. Was he used to this? At dinner, he told me they’d just moved from Houston, which wasn’t cold like this. That was a familiar feeling. Would he want to come up here and play when it was warmer? It made me think of my backyard before Mama died. The fun Camila . . . Muriella and I had on our swing set. Maybe Muriella could get Gabriel a swing set to play on.Maybe I could be here and push him and hear his laughter.
“Amazing, isn't it?” I wanted to wrap my arms around Holly, but I wasn’t sure if she’d allow that.Yet.
“It's fantastic.”
“There's grass,” Gabriel observed, wonder in his voice. “How does it grow?”
“We'll ask Muriella,” I said as he wandered toward us. I picked him up so he could see over the edge of the building.
“There's the Empire State Building, Gabriel.” She pointed at the landmark. “It's the one lit up in red, white, and blue.”
“Miss Muriella said we could go sometime.”
“I'll take you,” I volunteered. “I've never been either.” Holly tensed, but I bumped her hip in reassurance. I wasn't some fucker who was going to disappear once I got what I wanted.
“You don't have to—”
I shushed her with a finger against her lips. I didn't like the uncertainty I saw in her eyes. “You cold, Beauty?” She nodded. “Let's get back inside.”
When we returnedto her apartment, she put a sleepy Gabriel to bed, then joined me in the living room. After sitting on one end of the sectional sofa, I tugged her down beside me. It was too familiar. Too intimate. Too soon. And I didn't give a fuck. It was what I wanted, and damn if I wasn't going to do as I pleased until she told me otherwise.
Holly twisted to face me, folding one leg on the sofa with her shin against my thigh. “You're making a lot of promises.”
“Ones I'm going to keep.”
