“Obviously Jamie will come with. I’ll put her in a good school.”
She shakes her head and laughs bitterly. “You can’t solve everything in life by throwing money at it.”
“Fuck, Della. Can you give me a break? At least I’m trying.”
She still has the gift of pissing me off in a split-second.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. She looks down at her feet.
I glance down and notice that the strap of her one sandal is stapled down. I let my eyes go over her, really taking in the sorry state of her clothes. I’m sure I saw her wearing this exact outfit in college. There are dark circles under her eyes and she’s too thin.
“How bad are things really? I’m not going to take Daniele away from you. I just want to help.”
She covers her face with both her hands and whispers, “I can’t hold it together anymore. Nothing I do works. Everything just keeps getting worse. They’re going to close the diner in thirty days. We live upstairs. I just … I can’t.”
I pull her into my arms and hold her to my chest. She’s been suffering all along and not once has she asked me for anything but to not take Daniele from her. This is what made me fall in love with her the first time. She’s so strong.
Keeping one arm around her, I pull slightly away. I place a finger under her chin and nudge her face up. Her beautiful blue eyes are drowning in worry.
“Let me help.”
She nods and when she tries to take a step back, I tighten my hold on her. There’s confusion on her face when she looks up at me again.
“I’ll have my attorney close the diner and settle the debt, to keep you from being declared bankrupt.”
She starts to shake her head again and when she opens her mouth, I quickly cover it with my hand.
“Just listen before you lose your shit. There’s nothing for you here, Della. You have a fucking degree. Why are you still waitressing? Let’s pack it all up. The three of you come with me. You can work at Indie Ink and pay me back every fucking cent if that will make you feel better. Think of Daniele. Think of Jamie. You can’t even take care of yourself never mind two kids. It’s time to let go of all of this. It’s time for a change.”
When I move my hand away from her mouth, she asks, “Why would you do all that for us?”
“You’re the mother of my child, Della. Jamie is Daniele’s aunt. You’re my family. Why the fuck wouldn’t I take care of my own.”
Finally, she nods and it feels like I can breathe for the first time. “Only if you let me pay you back. I want it on paper.”
“I’ll have Logan draw it up.”
***
DELLA
“Oh, wow,” Jamie breathes as we walk into our new apartment. “Let’s go find your room, Danny.”
Wow is the understatement of the damn year. I glare at all the expensive stuff while I wait for Jamie and Danny to leave the huge living room.
“This was not part of the deal,” I snap at Carter.
“If you complain one more time about the moving, the apartment, the fucking clothes,” He shoves his hands through his hair. “Fuck, so help me God I’m going to kiss you until you shut up.”
Kiss me?
The thought actually makes my heart beat faster while butterflies explode in my stomach.
It looks like he’s counting to ten, then he says, “You start work tomorrow. Where the fuck would you have found the time to do all of this, or even find a place to stay? It’s done. Say fucking thank you and let’s get on with our lives.”
He follows after Daniele and I hear him say goodbye to her. “Daddy has to go to the office but I’ll be home for dinner, okay.”
“Yes, Daddy,” her sweet voice answers him.