Eva laughed. "Fair enough." She pushed back her empty plate. "Shall I get the check? I want to see your apartment."
"Sure. Just please, please, Mom, keep in mind that it's not my place. So you can't dive in and redecorate."
"I'm not interested in the paint job. I want to see the area and the building. I want to know that my baby's safe."
Elena rolled her eyes. "It's in the parental DNA or something."
"What is?"
"Tyree hardly even knows me, and he said the same thing last night. He wanted me to text Gordon and see if it's okay for me to change the locks, because who knows how many guy friends Gordon's given a key, too."
"He said that? It's a good point."
"Yeah, I thought so, too. So I texted Gordon this morning and he's cool with changing out the locks."
"You can use my credit card for the locksmith," Elena said, once again relieved to know that her daughter had access to a high-limit credit card. And, more importantly, was responsible enough not to use it for makeup and cocktails.
"It's all good. I texted Tyree right after. He said we could drive out to the apartment after my meeting at the bar and he'd change them for me."
"Meeting?"
She lifted a shoulder. "I was talking with the security guy yesterday--Brent--and he said that I should talk to Reece or Jenna. They might have a job for me."
"Oh." Eva leaned back in her chair. "Well, that's excellent. And it just makes me more convinced that I'm not making a huge mistake."
"A mistake?"
"Going back home."
Elena leaned back, then forward, then back again. "Wait. What? You're leaving?"
"You have a place to live, and you found your father and, most likely a job. Even if you don't end up working at The Fix, it's clear he'll help you out. And you should have the chance to get to know him."
"But--"
"So I'm going to go back to San Diego tomorrow."
"Tomorrow! Why?"
"Because tomorrow's Friday and I leave on Sunday for Vancouver, remember?"
"Yeah, but..."
"I'll come back after my vacation and check on you." She leaned across the table and took her daughter's hand. "You'll be fine."
"Go back on Saturday."
Eva felt a tug at her heart. In so many ways Elena was a grown woman, but being out on her own and away from her home town had brought out the little girl who needed her mom. "I can't do that, baby girl. That only gives me one day to get everything packed and ready before my vacation."
And, dammit, it was hard being around him. Wanting what she couldn't have. What had passed her by.
She said none of that aloud, and yet from the way Elena was studying her, Eva felt like she might as well have.
"What happened to my mother?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
Elena put her elbows on the table and leaned over her sticky waffle plate. "What happened to the woman who told me to go after what I want? Seriously, Mom. Just make a move."