He regarded me. “You ready for that, Stefano? The instant family, the history—” he paused and drained his water, then lifted an eyebrow “—your mama getting involved?”
I thought about Gabby. How I felt when I was with her. My little man and how he made me smile. The urge to be with them as much as possible. It had taken everything in me not to show up at the bar where Gabby worked tonight. I wanted to sit and watch her. Make sure she was okay and no customers hassled her. Except I knew she would kick my ass and inform me she could handle herself. Still, I simply wanted to be close to her. Watch her smile, see her laugh. I had never experienced anything like this before in my life.
“Yeah, I am.”
He lifted his beer and waited until I did the same. We clinked bottles and he smiled. “Congrats, man. I hope it works out for you.”
His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and I studied him closer. “You okay, Brett?”
“I’m good.”
“How are things with Cindy?”
He had met Cindy a few weeks ago, and I knew he’d been seeing her. He liked her, and the one time I’d met her, she seemed nice.
He picked at the label on his bottle. “Yeah, so, that’s done.”
“What happened?”
He met my eyes and shrugged.
“Oh God,” I groaned. “Again?”
He grinned sheepishly. “What can I say?”
I let my head fall back as I laughed. Brett was a great guy. Too great. He was known for being nice. Helpful. And he had a habit of dating women who had just broken up with their significant others. And somehow, they always ended up returning to them. Brett, it appeared, was a great listener. He managed to land in the friend column every damn time.
“You need to change careers. Relationship counselor suits you.”
He chuckled. “I think I’ll stick to cars.” He finished his beer. “And casual dating. I seem to be the best at that. Relationships and I don’t mix.”
“You’ll find the right girl.” I winked. “My sister gave you Lola’s number. Call her. Maybe you should try the long-distance thing.”
A strange look came over his face, but it passed quickly. “Not sure Toronto is long-distance, but maybe that’s the answer,” he agreed.
“You just need to meet the right one,” I said again.
He laughed and stood, taking the empty pizza box with him. “If you managed to do it, then there’s hope for me yet.” He leaned on the counter. “You home for the night?”
I yawned and leaned back in my chair. “Until later, yeah.”
“Heading out for another late-night walk?” he asked, lifting his eyebrow.
“Maybe.”
He laughed. “There’s a Jays game on.”
“Awesome.”
“Chase said they were starting up the baseball teams again. I signed us up. First game is Saturday afternoon. You in?”
“Absolutely.” We all loved baseball, and the garage was a sponsor of the local team for Littleburn and Lomand. I loved playing the game and enjoyed the camaraderie. No one took it too seriously, and we always had a good time. “I assume Maxx passed this year?”
Brett shook his head. “Charly told him she wanted him out of the house. He’s apparently too close all the time.”
I laughed. “She loves him close. And if she thinks it’s bad now, wait until the baby is born.”
“He basically said that. She informed him Saturday afternoons will be pie day and girl time. He needs to be out of the house. I added his name, but we’ll see what happens. He can be a spare.”
I stood. “Makes sense. Now let’s watch some baseball.”
Saturday night, I was sitting on the front steps when Gabby got home. She eyed me warily with a shake of her head, walking up the driveway and standing in front of me.
“Tesoro.”
“Stefano. What are you doing here?”
“I was out for a walk. Got tired, so I thought I’d sit awhile.”
“You got tired. Right by my driveway.”
I nodded. “Convenient coincidence.” I held out my hand. “Join me?”
She let me pull her down beside me, and I smiled as I felt the way she snuggled into my side. I slid my arm around her shoulders, tucking her even closer. I pressed a kiss to her hair.
“How was baseball?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Fine. Relaxed. We’re not in it to win any championships.” I dropped another kiss to her head.
“How was your night?”
“Quiet,” she sighed. “They’re still having issues in the kitchen, so it was closed. A lot of people left when they couldn’t get food. The regulars were there, but it wasn’t a great night.”
“Sorry.”
She shrugged. “It happens. I budget according to my hours and the lowest amount of tips I think I’ll make in a night. Anything extra I consider bonuses.”
“It’s obvious where the extra goes, Gabby. Theo is well cared for.” I hesitated. “It’s you I worry about. You do without a lot.”