“I’m very excited to meet her, and I hope I am able to go watch Callie do flips and stuff.”
“Callie’s pretty badass. Great girl.”
“It pleases me that you care for her. It has to be hard to raise a young girl and date.”
I scoff. “I think I’m the first boyfriend Aviva has had since she lost her mom.”
“Because who can say no to you!”
“Aviva. She can say no. She did…a lot,” I laugh, and my mom gushes.
“I love her already.”
My laughter subsides as I pull into the parking lot. “Hey, make sure before you come, everything is taken care of on your end.”
“It will be. My lawyer is doing everything we ask and is also handling the will.”
My nerves are making my words come out jerky, and I wish I could focus on what she is saying, but I’m all kinds of screwed up. “Just make sure everything is done and right. Send my lawyer the paperwork.”
“Please.”
“Please. I’m sorry. I’m freaking out.”
“You’re going to be fine.”
I just wish I believed her.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aviva
“I’ll Be There for You” by the Rembrandts is blasting through the shop.
Even though I’m wearing a very expensive—and completely out of my comfort zone—evening gown, I help Callie prep for tomorrow as we sing at the top of our lungs. She’s actually a decent singer; then again, there’s not really much Callie isn’t good at. When I asked her to prep for tomorrow after Nico invited me to go to this gala with him, I was nervous to hand over the reins. I’m discovering, though, Callie is a lot like me. She is smart and quick on her feet. I’m very proud of the woman she is becoming.
“I told Amelia about the surgery.”
I glance back over at her as I pull the bread out of the proofer. “What did she say?”
“She said she understood but that I can’t get lazy on her.”
“Well, of course not,” I say, putting in the next batch. “You know we can just do the mastectomy now and then do the reconstruction and augmentation when you’re older.”
She shakes her head. “No, I’ll be like you and put it off.”
She’s got me there. I shift uncomfortably in my bra. I wish I’d had an augmentation now; a real set of breasts would have given me better options for a dress. Also, a lot more confidence. Since I don’t have cleavage, I went with a sparkly, midnight-blue halter-top gown that shows all of my back. I was kind of nervous about my little bit of back fat, but Nico promised the dress looked great on me. He says he sees no back fat, but I know it lives there. I left my hair down in big, wide curls with a small braid around the crown of my head. Callie did my makeup all classy-like, with a dark red lip. With a pair of strappy-backed heels, I feel like I look sexy, and I actually feel somewhat sexy. I just hope Nico thinks so.
“Whatever you want,” I answer as I move to get another batch of bread going. “I just don’t want you out of the gym long.”
“I know. I don’t either.”
“And I’ll be pissed if you pop a boob.”
She snorts. “Me too!”
She moves past me to grab the big stack of onions. I really should move away. I don’t want to smell like onions when Nico gets here. “So, things with Nico are going very well.”
I nod as I side-eye her. “They are.”
“How long has it been?”
“Almost two months now.”
She gushes, “I’m just so happy for you two. You’re, like, the best together. I like him way more than Mike.”
“Me too,” I agree. I feel all gooey inside.
Things have been great with Nico. I’ve never had a man do everything to spend time with me. He’ll sit in the shop just so he can talk to me between customers. He keeps me laughing all the time, and we have a great time. He went to Callie’s gym practices twice last week, and while he didn’t want to sit in the crowd, standing by the wall with him was worth the numb legs at the end. He’s just great, really great, and I’m so damn happy.
“Do you love him?” she asks, and I laugh loudly.
“Callie, I don’t know. It’s still early. You can’t tell this early.”
“Yes, you can,” she says quickly. “And you do. You’re just hiding behind your walls.”
She might not be wrong, but I don’t want to acknowledge what I am feeling yet. I don’t want my mind to fuck with what we have. I could fall, completely and wholeheartedly, for Nico, but the fear that he can’t fall for me is there. I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse, but he could do so much better than me. So much. Yet he’s here almost every day, and when he’s not, my phone is blowing up.