Tate has her face pressed up against the glass of the cupcake shop. “Where’s Tilly?” Tate glances at me before peering through the window again.

“Maybe she’s not in yet. Let’s go, Tate. Grandma’s waiting, and I have work to do.”

“Maybe she’ll bring me more cupcakes today.” Tate runs to my side and grabs my hand. “They were so good, Daddy. Weren’t they?” She gazes up at me, wanting nothing more than my attention.

“They were delicious, kiddo. Thanks for sharing with me and Brax.”

She smiles. She’s proud of herself. The greedy little thing only gave me half of one cupcake, but it was a start. She’s never been one to share food, especially dessert. She’d sooner stab you in the hand with her fork than give anyone a bite. She did give Brax an entire cupcake, so I’ll take that as a sign of progress.

“Think Tilly can come over sometime?” she asks, totally throwing me for a loop.

I look down at her, and she’s gazing up at me with so much hopefulness in her blue eyes. “Maybe, Tate. Tilly’s a very busy lady.”

“Maybe have her over for dinner. Everyone has to eat,” she says like she’s thirty years old instead of seven.

“We’ll see,” I tell her because the last thing I want to do is kill all her joy at eleven in the morning.

She still hasn’t forgotten about the horse, something I may never forgive Daphne for mentioning in front of her.

“It would make me so, so happy,” she says as we walk through the front door of Hook & Hustle.

The kid has me wrapped around her little finger. She knows it. I know it. Hell, the whole world knows I’m hers to command. Every little girl has her father right where she wants him, and Tate’s no exception.

“Grandma!” Tate takes off across the bar, running straight into my mother’s waiting arms.

“Hey, kiddo. Ready for a fun day?” Ma lifts her off the floor in the biggest bear hug.

I carry Brax around to the back of the bar with me and set him on top, letting him play with his Transformer for a few more minutes. His tiny feet dangle, kicking the wooden cabinet underneath. “You want something to drink, Brax?”

“No.” He doesn’t even look at me. He’s too fixated on the toy in his hand.

“I want to go ice-skating at the park today,” Tate tells my ma, filled with so much excitement at the thought, she’s almost shaking.

Lucio walks through the front door and shivers. “Damn, it’s cold out there. I’m so sick of this weather.”

We’re all over the long winter. There have been moments when I thought about joining the other half of my family in Florida, but I can’t bring myself to leave my parents behind.

“Don’t take off your coat,” Ma says to Lucio and then turns to me. “I have something I need both of you to do for a bit today.”

She’s up to something.

“Who’s going to watch the bar?” I ask.

“Your father and I will.” She tilts her head, slowly crossing her arms. “I ran this bar more years than you two have. I think we can handle it.”

“What on God’s green earth do you want us to do?” Lucio asks as he rubs his hands together, trying to warm up.

Ma pitches her head to the side. “Tilly needs help at the shop.”

“Wait.” Lucio tilts his head. “She needs what kind of help?”

“Her contractor went MIA. She needs a hand finishing a few projects so she isn’t late for the grand opening next week.”

“I’ll do it.” There’s no way I’m leaving my parents in charge of the bar, and I sure as shit don’t need Lucio to help me give Tilly a hand. “Lucio can stay here.”

“I’ll help, man,” Lucio says immediately.

“No. It’s a one-man job.”

My mother’s smiling for some odd reason. “That’s fine too.”

Lucio shrugs. “I’ll be here if you need me,” he tells me before taking off his jacket.

I place Brax back on the floor, guiding him toward his grandma. “Be good today. Listen to Grandma,” I tell him and Tate.

Tate gives me a little nod. “We always are, Daddy.”

Ma walks over to me and places her hand on my arm. “Thank you,” she says. “I have a good feeling about this girl, and I hate to see her struggle. She’s been through enough.”

“I’ll take care of her, Ma.”

“You’re a good man, baby.” She touches my cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want Lucio’s help?”

I shake my head. “I got it.”

Normally, I’d be more than happy to have Lucio’s help, but in all honesty, I’m being greedy. I want time with Tilly by myself. The more people around, the more awkward the entire thing could be.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there’s a spark between us. Maybe it’s our pasts that draws our souls together. Unless you’ve lived through that kind of loss, you can never fully understand the depth of the possible heartache.

“Take your time,” Ma says to me. “I’ll watch the kids as long as you need. Tilly’s waiting for you.”

I know what she’s doing. I can see her scheme from a mile away. “I won’t be too long.” I kiss her cheek softly. “Thanks.”

I’m thanking her for watching the kids, but I know she already has her eyes set on a possible love affair and future Mrs. Angelo Gallo. She did this with Lucio, pushing him toward Delilah. Of course, he would’ve found his way to her in time, but Ma and I helped make him come to his senses a little quicker than he would have.

When I walk out of the bar, I stop on the sidewalk between the two buildings and take a few deep breaths. Tilly knocks me off-kilter. Maybe it’s the sweet way she talks or the fact that she smells like dessert.

I walk into the cupcake shop, pushing open the front door a little harder than I meant to. I didn’t even see the ladder or Tilly standing at the top, polishing a light fixture, until she screeches in horror and tries to grab on to something. She fails, falling backward, and I catch her.

“Jesus, I’m so sorry.” I hold her tightly, loving the way she feels in my arms.

“Scared the fuck out of me.” She gasps for air. “Thank God you caught me or…”

“I’d never let you fall.” I stare into her beautiful green eyes.

She’s shaking. “Nothing like almost breaking your neck to remind you of how alive you really are,” she says, trying to play off the fact that I could’ve actually killed her.

I take in her body, light and soft against mine. “What the hell were you doing up that high in heels?”

“I always wear heels.” She gives me an innocent smile.

“Always?” I raise an eyebrow, a bit more playful than I normally am.

“Always.”

I can imagine her naked in nothing but a pair of red stilettos, standing at the foot of my bed. My stomach flips, liking the idea just as much as my cock does. “I should probably put you down now,” I say, but in this moment, I don’t really want to. “Ma said you needed help.”

“You don’t have to. I can hire someone online.”

“No. I would love to help.”

Her eyes light up. “You would?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m ready, willing, and able. I’m here to do whatever you need.”

A playful smile dances on her lips. “Well, I guess you better put me down, or we’ll get nothing done.”

I’d almost forgotten I was still holding her. “Right,” I mumble, feeling like a tool. “What do you want me to do first?”

She slides down my body as I release her, a little too close not to be flirtatious. “Well, why don’t I show you everything I have on my list, and we’ll go from there?”

“I’m your man,” I say and stop myself from continuing.

Where the hell did that come from? Again, when I’m around Tilly, I don’t feel like Angelo the widower. I feel like Angelo the red-blooded American male.

Six hours later, we have the majority of her list completed. Her contractor was ripping her off and working at a snail’s pace to get more money out of her. There’s no reason any of this shouldn’t have been finished already. But in a way, I’m thankful. Without his fuck-up, I wouldn’t be sitting next to her on the floor, exhausted and feeling more content than I have in a long time.

“Tilly.” I lean against the wall with my arms propped up on my knees. “Want to go to dinner with me? As friends, of course.”

I threw in the last little part so I wouldn’t scare her off, and it makes me feel less guilty.

“Only if I can pay as a thank you.”

I turn my head to face her and narrow my eyes. “Absolutely not. I’m asking you, and therefore, I’m paying. I never let a woman pay.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Is this a date?”

I rub the back of my neck, wondering what the hell I’m doing. “I don’t know.”

Am I taking her out as friends, or do I want something more? I’m not sure where my head or heart is, but it’s not in sync with my dick, which very much wants a date with Tilly.

“If we’re going out as friends, I can’t allow you to pay.”

“I’m asking you to dinner. Whatever you want to call it. We barely know anything about each other, but I want to know more about you. I’d like to just kick back, have some food and good company instead of listening to two kids bicker through an entire meal.”

She laughs. “Your kids are great, Angelo.”

“I wish I could take credit for them being amazing little people, but I think that has more to do with their mother than me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re amazing with them.”

I realize that I just referred to Marissa as their mother instead of my wife for the first time since she died. It feels almost dirty.

“Whatever we’re calling it, I’m free tonight,” she says, not giving me any more time to dwell on the guilt that has already started to creep in. “Unless that’s too soon.”

“Tonight would be great,” I say quickly because if I put it off, I’ll probably chicken out. “It’ll be nice.”

“Want me to come back here?”

“I’ll pick you up.” I want to do this thing right.

She stares at me for a moment, biting her lip. “I live in the South Loop. Are you sure it’s not too far?”

“Just be ready at eight. I better get back and get the kids.”

We both climb to our feet, and there’s an awkward moment where we stare at each other.

“I owe you big time for your help, Angelo. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“I didn’t do you a favor to have you in my debt. Dinner is payment enough.”

For a second, I think she’s going to hug me, but she backs away instead. Maybe she feels what I do. An intense connection that’s there and undeniable, but there are so many complications in our past, it stops us from acting.

We’re in a constant state of immobility.

Trapped by the memories of someone who’s no longer here.