Every muscle in my body tightens with awareness; every nerve hums with anticipation. Clearly, it’s been way too long since I got laid, since I’m getting horny about a man who is totally not my type and whom I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of having an actual relationship with.

Deliberately, I look away from him and smile at Vic, who’s still standing by the booth. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He sends his brother a look I can’t decipher and boops the tip of Sophie’s nose with a finger, making her giggle. With a wave, he heads back to the kitchen, and she turns her head to watch him go.

I need to get out of this town. It won’t do me or my daughter any good to get attached to people here. Which means getting my car fixed. “How long will the repairs take?”

Dante’s all business now. “We gotta order some of the parts. Two, three days, most likely.”

That’s tolerable. I have a couple of friends from my early years that I’ve stayed in touch with. They both live in the opposite direction from here, which should have bought me some time. With luck, I can get back on the road before they catch up to me.

Without luck … no, I can’t think about that. I have to believe everything will work out somehow.

He’s watching me with eyes that see too much, so I say, “Sounds good.” I have to force the next words out. “Thanks for your help.”

Dante snorts. “You’d rather stick a fork in my eye. Hope you don’t have your sights set on Hollywood.”

I badly want to say something rude to him, but I can’t in front of Sophie. I’m reduced to glaring again, which bothers him not at all.

“I got shit to do,” he announces. “I’ll be back later.”

“Language,” I growl.

“Sorry, kid.”

“Her name is Sophie.” It comes out in a snap because I am ready to leap across the table and strangle him, not that I’d succeed if I tried.

Dante solemnly tells my little girl, “Sophie, don’t say shit.”

“Tit!”

His mouth quirks up. He can afford to be amused by this; I cannot. When he catches my eye he has the grace to look sheepish, but only for a moment.

Sliding from the booth, he reaches down one big hand and wraps one of her curls around his finger. My hair is straight as a stick; the curl comes from Sophie’s father. It’s the only good thing he ever gave her, besides the fact of her existence.

Sophie looks up, her big brown eyes fixed on his with all the innocence and curiosity of childhood.

“You be good for your mom, okay?”

“Otay, Tontay.”

He smiles, a little with his mouth, more with his eyes. Their gentle warmth wrenches at something in my heart.

With a parting glance at me, he heads out. For such a big man, he moves quickly, and quietly. When he’s gone, the space around us feels strange, as if he’s left a vacuum behind him.

Sophie has eaten almost all of her pancake. I share my fruit with her, and when Gina comes by, I ask her to box up the rest of my food. “And is there a park somewhere nearby?”

“We have several parks in town, but none close by. In this heat, I wouldn’t want to suggest you walk to any of them. But hang on.”

Pulling out her phone, she makes a call. “Hey, babe. How’s your day going? I’m good.”

I bet she doesn’t even know she has a sappy smile on her face, and if she does realize it she doesn’t care. “I miss you too. Listen, we’ve got a mom with a little girl here in the café, and her car’s in the shop. Who’d be up for a play date?”

Gina listens for a moment, then looks at me. “How old is Sophie?”

“Twenty months.”

She relays this information, listens, then laughs. “Oh, you heard already? Right. Yeah, that’d be good. Okay, thanks. Love you too, babe.”

Ending the call, she smiles at me. “Someone should be here before long to pick you and Sophie up.”

“I’ll need to get her car seat. And maybe her stroller.”

“I think whoever’s coming has a car seat that will work for her, but I’ll message Carlo and make sure he knows. If it turns out you need them, we can get them, but there’s no point you lugging extra stuff around if you don’t have to.”

Seeing the wisdom in this, I relax again. A few minutes later, a tall, gorgeous brunette comes into the café. She heads right for us and sits opposite me.