Page 31

ANDI

“Miss Rossi, can I borrow you in the bathroom for a second?”

Turning off the water at the sink, I slowly turn around to look at Henry as I dry off my hands. He’s the contractor I’ve hired to do most of the remodeling in the house and today is the second day of real work being done. There are some parts of the home that are fine, like the flooring and the general structure of the house. The bathrooms and the kitchen are the most in dire need of remodeling.

Henry’s standing in the doorway, his bright blue eyes finding mine. His lips part, the corners reaching upwards as he flashes his straight, white teeth at me. He’s in his early thirties, his angled jaw covered in stubble. His dirty blonde hair is pushed away from his face, although a stray wave hangs down just above his eyebrow.

“Of course.” I smile back at him, pulling my hair back into a ponytail as I walk over to him. His gaze is warm and doesn’t leave mine. “Is there something wrong in there?”

“No, no,” he says with a soft chuckle as he spins on his heel. I follow him upstairs to the main bathroom, which he’s about to get started on. “Although, you never know what you’regoing to find until you start tearing things up.”The old, outdated linoleum floor is already half torn up to expose the plain plywood subfloor. “You didn’t tell me which color you wanted to go with for the tile in the shower.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” I say, nodding eagerly as I pause in the doorway. My head tilts to the side as I try to picture what it will look like when it’s finished, however, I can’t quite seem to conjure the image. “I was thinking about white, but I’m afraid that will be too much white.” I turn my head to look at him. “What do you think?”

“Personally, I think white is a great choice,” he says, nodding his agreement. “It’s a very clean look and can make the space actually appear bigger.”

I scan the room once more, contemplating how bright this bathroom would look with white tile. “You’re right. Let’s do white.”

He beams at me and claps his hands together once. “Perfect!”

“Mom, someone’s at the door,” Matteo calls out to me as he comes trotting down the hallway. His hair is a tousled mess and he’s holding an armful of dinosaurs that he was trying to decide which to bring downstairs to play with. I guess he settled on all of them.

My forehead creases. I didn’t hear the doorbell ring, but then again, I’m not even sure if it works here anymore. “Did someone ring the doorbell?”

Matteo shakes his head, dropping a pterodactyl onto the floor. I bend down to pick it up and hold it in my hand as I wait for his response. “Someone was knocking and I looked out the window and saw a car.”

Anxiety courses through me and then I remember the text from Carson earlier this morning. I told him we could come over, but he insisted on stopping by instead. My heart speeds up in mychest and I glance back at Henry. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Of course, Miss Rossi,” he says, smiling brightly at me as he tips his chin and turns back into the bathroom to get back to work.

“Come with me,” I tell Matteo, gently pressing my hand against his back in an effort to guide him down the stairs. “Carson is supposed to be stopping by. Do you want to answer the door with me?”

A wide smile breaks out across his face. “Yep,” he giggles, his footsteps moving quicker. “Race you there!”

“Be careful,caro!” I call after him as I follow him down the stairs. He runs as fast as he can down the stairs and I’m holding my breath the entire time because I do not need him falling and hurting himself.

I reach the front door after he does and he’s already waiting there, hand on the door and a shit eating grin on his lips. “I beat you!”

“I couldn’t keep up with you!” I laugh softly and ruffle the hair on top of his head. Matteo does a happy, little celebratory dance, spinning around in a circle. Laughter fills the air and my hand finds the doorknob. Slowly turning it, I pull the door towards me and reveal our visitor on the other side. My eyes meet his and a slow smile creeps across his perfect lips.

He looks at me, then down at Matteo, and then back to me again. "Hey," he says softly with a nervousness evident in his tone.

I’m immediately drawn to the sling around his neck, holding his arm across his chest. My gaze travels back to his, searching for any indication of pain or discomfort.

"Hey, how are you? How are you feeling?" I fire off a round of questions. My eyebrows tug together, contorting my expression in concern before relaxing again.

“I’m good,” he says, smiling at me as something dances in his irises. His gaze drops down to my lips before slowly drifting back to my eyes. “Much better now.” His voice a gentle caress and my stomach flutters as my breath hitches. I immediately shelve the feelings. That’s not why he’s here. He probably just means he feels better since surgery.

Carson bends his knees, lowering himself into a crouching position in front of Matteo. "Hey bud. I’m Carson. I don’t know if you remember or not, but we saw each other at the grocery store when you were helping your mom.”

Recognition washes over Matteo’s eyes. “You helped me find the one that won’t hurt my belly.”

“Right,” Carson smiles, nodding eagerly. “What's that you got there?" He motions to the dinosaurs Matteo holds in his arms.

Matteo pulls one hand out, showing him the pterodactyl as excitement transforms his features. “I brought my dinosaurs downstairs to play. Do you want to play with me?"

Carson nods with equal excitement, his smile lighting up his entire face. "I would love to," he tells Matteo. Matteo reaches for his good hand, giving him a gentle tug. Carson slowly rises back to an upright position.

I hold the door open for him and step out of the way. "Please come in," I offer, as Matteo leads him into the house. "You'll have to excuse the mess,” I explain as I follow them into the living room. “They just got started on the renovations today.”