“Happy?” he asked.
“Yes. But I still can’t believe how much things have changed in just one day.”
“Or one month,” he said. “A few weeks ago, you couldn’t stand me. I lost track of how many times you told me to go to hell.”
I lifted my chin. “I make no apologies. You can be very exasperating sometimes.”
“Well, I suppose enduring your temper is a fair price to pay to have you for breakfast—I mean, at my breakfast table.”
I brought a forkful of eggs to my mouth. “And I’ll put up with your teasing if you’ll cook for me. I’ve decided I’m not going to learn how.”
“That, my sweet, is a relief to both of us.”
I glared at him, but my gaze softened when he glanced at the clock. It was going on nine, and we’d have to part soon. “So what will you do today?” I set down my fork.
“I need to talk to Angelo first thing, convince him I can pay him off in whisky hauls.”
“Will you tell him the truth?”
“I don’t have a better story, so yeah. I guess so.”
I nodded. “I can help you with the whisky.”
Joey shook his head. “You’re done with the whisky business, doll. You’re going back to school, remember?”
“Telling me what to do already?” I arched a brow at him.
“Sorry. But I’ll be the bootlegger in the family, OK?” He stood and carried his dishes to the sink to rinse them.
“What about…the other thing?”
Without turning around, he said, “What about it?”
“Are you still going to do it?”
He didn’t answer right away. “I don’t know.”
Hope surged within me. “Really?”
He turned off the faucet and stayed where he was. “I’m reconsidering.”
“Oh my God.” I jumped out of my chair and rushed to him, circling his torso with my arms and pressing my entire body to his back. I didn’t say anything else, didn’t want to push further. Just knowing he was having second thoughts was enough.
“I had a dream this morning, after we fell back asleep. After you said yes.”
“You did?”
“About my dad.” He swallowed hard before continuing.
“Tell me about it.”
“We were sitting up on the roof like we used to do, like I did with you that one time.”
“Oh?”
“And he was smoking a cigarette just like he used to, and he gave one to me and told me not to tell my mom. But I was grown, and I knew he was dead, so I told him, ‘You’re not supposed to be here.’ And he said, ‘I have to tell you something.’”
My arms prickled with gooseflesh. “What did he tell you?”