I burst out laughing. “How did it taste?”
He shrugged and handed the half-empty container to me. How much coffee had they been drinking?
“Tasted great. I didn’t know it was yours. We thought you’d put it there to use. Sorry about that.”
“You thought I put a container of baby formula out instead of creamer? Don’t you think I would have picked up creamer or milk if I’d known we were out?” I asked, incredulous.
“Who knows how your mind works. You’re still working here after three days, almost four. Nobody sane would last that long.” Landon shrugged.
“Willa has worked here for a lot longer than that,” I pointed out.
He grinned at me, his dimples popping out. “Just proves my point. She is the loopiest of them all. Has to be when dating Jameson.”
I couldn’t hide the smile on my face whenever I thought of my best friend and Jameson. “I think they’re perfect together. And Jameson would do anything for her. They have a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.”
Landon made a gagging noise. “Stop, please, you’re making me nauseous.”
I slapped his arm. “Don’t pretend you’re not hoping to meet ‘the one.’”
More gagging. “Haven’t lost my mind yet, so the answer is no.” He mock shuddered.
“One day you’ll remember this conversation when you find your ‘one’ and think, wow, Stella is such a wise person. And so pretty.” I said the last part with a deep voice.
Landon laughed and put his arm around my shoulders, hugging me to his side. I grinned and sunk into him.
“Don’t you have a clutch to fix?” Mason’s gruff voice interrupted.
Landon let me go and saluted. “Sir, yes, sir. I’m on it.” He disappeared back behind the car, leaving me alone with Mason, who looked as tense and put out by my presence as ever.
“Slacking off already?” he asked, his beautiful eyes sweeping my body. I caught a flicker of interest before he resumed his mask of indifference.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I answered and batted my eyelashes.
He shook his head and left without another word.
I went back to my office and continued to screw up the spreadsheet Willa had started to keep track of all the orders. Her columns were so confusing; half the time I didn’t know where I was. She told me not to worry about it since she could always fix it when she got back. But my pride wouldn’t let me leave her with a long list of things to do, so I trudged on and tried my best to input all the information.
I lost track of time and when my phone rang I squinted at the display in confusion. “Hello?”
“Are you okay? Did you get held up at work?” Nora asked.
“Why? What time is it?”
“Seven.”
I jumped up and grabbed my purse. “I’m so sorry. I lost track of time. I’ll be there in five.”
“No problem. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up, raced out the door, and straight into a willowy blonde.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. We’re closed.” I pulled the door shut behind me and locked it. “Do you mind coming back tomorrow?”
She studied me and raised her brows. “You work here?”
“Yes? Why?”
She ignored my question and waved a hand toward the workshop. “I’m not here for my car. I’m meeting someone.”
“Oh, okay.” There was still a light on inside so someone must be in there. I thought everyone had left, but since the guys didn’t always say good-bye, it was hard to keep track of who was still there. “Do you want me to tell them you’re here?”
“That’s okay. I’ll go and find him myself.”
“Nobody is allowed back in the workshop without one of the guys around.”
She laughed and flicked her long silky hair back. “Since there is still someone there, I should be just fine.”
I guess one of the guys used the workshop as his hook-up spot. Didn’t matter anyway. At least that was what I told myself when the image of Mason and her together popped in my head, causing a whole lot of not so nice feelings. We were nothing to each other and I had to stop my confusing thoughts or risk following her into the workshop just to see who she was meeting. And I wasn’t going to do that. No way. “Right. Well, then, good luck,” I said.
Leaving her to it, I rushed to my car and sped back to the apartment. Nora was already dressed and waiting for me.
“I’m so sorry, Nora, I hope I didn’t make you too late.”
She waved me off and kissed my cheek. “You’re fine. Don’t worry. I shouldn’t be too late tonight. We only have two shows scheduled. But you know how Tito gets if there’s a lot of people.”
“And you know not to worry, since I will most likely crash here anyway. Doesn’t make a difference to me if I sleep on your couch or Willa’s.”
She kissed Luca and Lena good-bye before she hugged me, forcing the air to escape my lungs. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I hugged her back just as tightly. “I love you and the little sticky monsters. You’re my family.”
We separated and she rushed out the door. After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar for what felt like one hundred times, but was probably more like twenty, I put the kids to bed. I fell asleep on the couch and woke with a start when my phone rang.
“Yeah?”
“Is that how you answer your phone?”
I stilled when I heard her voice. She hadn’t called me in two months. Two months that kept me in a land called blissful ignorance and wonderful denial.
“I was asleep.”
“Of course you were. I thought I raised you to be a hard worker, but it appears you take after your father. It’s a shame, really, after all the hard work I put into you.”
Hot anger cursed down my spine at her insinuating my father had been lazy. How dare she insult his memory. My papá had been happy and hardworking when he was still alive. He came
