Chapter 14
Sabrina
It didn’t take long after I hung up the phone with Luca for regret to set in. There were times I’d wonder who I was. So often I’d try to be the “put together single mom” and most times it worked. Except for today when I failed miserably and snipped on the only decent man who had paid attention to me since Dillon’s death.
When Dillon died, my first instinct was to feel sorry for him. Every time I’d look at our son, and the world of possibilities just waiting to be discovered, I’d cry thinking his father was going to miss it all. Then I felt sorry for Mikey for not having that man in his life. Lastly, I felt sorry for myself.
There were days I’d pull up to the kiss and drop line at school trying to keep it all under control. Unlike some of the other moms who would show up with their hair done, makeup on, and in clothes that matched. I’d picture them at the breakfast table with their husbands and children, having quality family time after a good night’s rest.
My mornings weren’t like that. Most of the time I’d hit my snooze button at least twice before rolling out of bed to pull on a ball cap and drive Mikey to school in my pajama bottoms and a hoodie. The thing was, as hectic, scary, and sad as it was to raise him on my own, I was happy—just tired.
As soon as Mikey was tucked in and fast asleep, I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. My conversation with Luca haunted me. He didn’t deserve the attitude I gave him. Knowing full well I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, I called him.
It didn’t take more than two rings for him to answer. “Hi.”
“Hi, are you still at dinner?”
“No, I’m home.” His voice sounded more solemn that the other times I had spoken to him.
“Luca, I’m really sorry I couldn’t join you tonight, God knows I would have loved to. It’s been a long day and unfortunately, your call came right after I finished cleaning paint off my floor.”
“Did your little Picasso have another debacle with paint?” His tone lightened a bit.
I smiled remembering the day Mikey ran into Luca leaving colorful handprints on his pants and my embarrassing attempt at cleaning them. “Nothing like what he did to you. This time, it was my fault. It all started after I stepped on a Lego, which by the way is equivalent to stepping on a shard of glass. That was right after Mikey decided to see if putting a candy in a two-liter bottle of soda would make a volcano. Which, in case you’re wondering, it does.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.” I rattled off the long chain of events that ended my night. “So, I had dark syrupy soda all over the floor. I sent Mikey to his room for fear something else was going to happen. After I soaked up all of the liquid, and washed the stickiness off my floor, cabinets, table, chairs, and any other surface within a six foot radius, was when I decided to clean up his toys because I was spent. I wanted to call it a day. That’s when I stepped on the Lego, grabbed my foot in pain, lost my balance, hit the table, spilled the paint, then cleaned the paint, and answered your call.”
Jesus, Sabrina… ramble much? But, damn, that felt good getting it all out.
“Ah, it all makes sense now,” he said with a small chuckle. “I’m sorry you had a bad day. You know, you could’ve called me. I would’ve come over to help occupy him. I love spending time with Mikey.”
“Thank you, but all of that happened within an hour at the end of the day. Plus, you were with your friends.”
“You’re also my friends.” I smiled at his declaration. “If I was there right now do you know what I’d do?” The soft foam of my pillow cushioned my cheek as I sank deeper into it.
“What?” So many sexy scenarios flew into my brain. My heart rate increased waiting to hear what he was going to say.
“Are you in bed?”
“Yes,” squeaked out sounding like I had laryngitis.
“I’d hold you.” Not exactly what I imagined him saying, but truth be told, it sounded absolutely wonderful.
Part of me wanted to tell him to come over, but that wouldn’t be possible. “I’d love that.”
“Me, too. Are you working Wednesday?”
“Yes, Becky and I are alternating days this week.”
“How about I take you and Mikey out to dinner. You can pick the place and time. This way you don’t need to cook after work.”
“That sounds great, thank you.”
“Wednesday it is.” I let out a silent yawn, but it must not have been as silent as I thought. Luca chuckled, and the deep timbre of his voice stirred me awake. “I’m going to let you go to sleep now. Sweet dreams, Sabrina. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Sweet dreams, and again, I’m sorry for earlier.”
“It’s forgotten. Good night.”
“Good night, Luca.” When the line went silent, I closed my eyes, imagining the strong, kind, Italian man who found a way into my heart was with me. A comforting warmth ran through my body. Despite his comment, remorse lingered over losing my patience with him. The man was almost too good to be true. I needed to relax and enjoy his company.
Remembering how he made me feel so wanted and desired helped lessen the guilt a bit. With thoughts of Luca, I drifted off to sleep in a peaceful, content way.
A small hand shook my arm and an impatient voice repeated. “Mom…Mom…”
I opened one eye to see my son hovering a few inches above my face. “What is the first number on the cable box?”
My one eye slid shut until he said, “Nine.”
Like a bat out of hell I flew up and out of bed, wide awake in an instant. Nine! Crap, my first client was in an hour. “You just woke up?” I asked, grabbing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt to change into.
“Yeah. What are we doing today?” The kid’s appetite for activity was insatiable. We’d been going non-stop since our day at the water park on Saturday. Monday was spent with Becky and Jared at the Museum of Natural History. Yesterday I had both boys with me in Central Park where we tackled the zoo in the morning and the playground in the afternoon. Even knowing my day was jammed with clients, I looked forward to interacting with adults.
Showering before work wouldn’t be happening, so I bolted into the bathroom to tame my bedhead. “You’re staying with Aunt Becky. I have to work,” I said while yanking a brush through the tangles in my hair.
“Aww man. I wanted to play with Scottie today. Jared is a butthead.”
“Please don’t use that word.”
“But he is.” He sat on the toilet seat, rambling off all the reasons why his best friend was a butthead. As I brushed my teeth, I felt bad for Becky. She’d have to deal with their nonsense today while I got to be an adult.
Breakfast, dressing, and rushing around took up the next forty-five minutes of our morning. It was a miracle I only walked into the salon ten minutes late after dropping Mikey off at Becky’s.
With back-to-back appointments all day long, I barely had time to breathe. Luca had texted me earlier suggesting he pick me up after my last client. We’d then get Mikey before heading out to dinner.
As it turned out, my last client was Cassie. I completely forgot she had made the appointment until Tami, our receptionist, handed me the schedule at the beginning of my day.
Her trim took no time at all, since Cassie liked to keep her hair long and straight. The natural highlights were the type some of my clients paid hundreds of dollars for. Standing behind her elevated chair, I examined her hairline once it was cut to be sure it was straight.
“So, Luca?” she asked when I was satisfied with my precision. Our eyes met in the mirror, and a wide smile spread over her pink tinted lips.
“What?”
“I like you two together.” Together? Were we together? I guess we were dating, although it was really never discussed. “Why the look?” she asked, watching my face.
“No look. He’s so great, but I’m sure you already know that. I just…”
“Worry,” she finished my thought. “That’s understandable.”
I held her gaze and nodded. “It is, right? I keep battling with myself in my head. The way I snapped at him when he called the other night bothers me. I want to apologize to you, as well, it was a difficult day.”
“No need to apologize, it’s all forgotten. You and Mikey have been through a lot, but I will say, Luca is a great guy… and genuine.”
“I can see that about him,” I said, reaching for the blow dryer.
“Before you turn that thing on, let me say something else.” She waited for me to meet her gaze in the mirror. “Sabrina, you’ve done an amazing job with Mikey. I told you this on several occasions. He is well adjusted, bright, funny, and a normal happy-go-lucky kid. You deserve to be happy as well. Just trust your heart, and let things happen as they should.”
I nodded with a small smile. “Thank you for telling me all of that.”
“It’s true.” She waved her hand and added, “Okay, proceed.” As I dried her hair, I wondered what Luca shared with Cassie regarding our relationship. I would never ask her, nor do I think she would tell me what he had. But I was pretty sure they must have discussed it.
After a few minutes, I switched off the dryer and finished brushing Cassie’s silky locks. The salon was winding down making ringing phones and chatter less prominent than it had been an hour prior.
Twisting her head from right to left, she admired the cut and smiled. “Just the way I like it… exactly the same. Thank you for keeping it that way.”
“Well, you have great hair, so it doesn’t take much effort on my part.” I removed the black nylon cape around Cassie’s neck. “You’re all done, my friend.”
Based on the amount of hair I cut whenever Cassie came in, and the fact she became a great friend to me, I hadn’t charged her the last couple of times. It always resulted in an argument, right before she thrusted an insanely large tip at me.
“You know this defeats the purpose,” I quipped, holding up the fifty dollar bill.
“Where can I get a haircut in the city for fifty bucks? Especially one that won’t have me crying because some over-ambitious stylist thinks it’s her beautifying duty to rock my world with the newest trendy cut that cost me a fortune to boot.” She referred to the last person who left her with choppy layers and no trust in beauticians. That incident was what had Cassie begging me to take her on as a client. With her bag in her hand, she patted my cheek affectionately. “Have fun with Luca tonight. He told me you had plans.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” I teased. “What else did Mr. Benedetto tell you?”
“Not much. He barely answers my direct questions.”
“He should be here any minute if you want to hang around.”
“I think I will.” She plopped back into the chair as I cleaned up my station. While gathering my custom scissors and cash tips, she then said, “Speak of the devil.”
Luca
“Hi, ladies.” I stopped beside Sabrina and bent to place a soft kiss on her lips. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she repeated with a smile.
Focusing my attention to Cassie, who sat beaming in the chair, I narrowed my eyes. “I thought you were getting your hair cut?”
She flipped her long locks over her shoulder. “I did.”
“It hasn’t changed.”
“I know.”
“Um… okay.” Cassie and Sabrina both smiled. “Well then, it looks great.”
“Thank you.” She stood and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I should get going. You’re not the only one with a hot date. Have fun tonight, you two.”
“What?” I snatched the crook of her elbow stopping Cassie in her tracks.
Sabrina beamed and clapped her hands. “You were sitting in my chair for an hour and this is the first I’m hearing about a date? You do know you’re supposed to tell your hairstylist all the gossip, right? Is it anyone I know?”
For the first time since I’ve known her, I saw Cassie’s cheeks turn pink. “As a matter of fact, you might. It’s Mr. Carson.”
“No way!” Sabrina squealed and I was suddenly the odd man out. “Oh my, God! Now I’m really mad you didn’t tell me. When did this start?”
“Wait… who’s Mr. Carson?” I interrupted.
Sabrina released a dreamy sigh, which wasn’t something I wanted to hear after mentioning another man’s name. “He’s the hot first grade teacher that every mom who has a kid in Kindergarten is sucking up to in order for their kid to be in his class. Of course, all the dads prefer Mr. Carrington.”
Every mom, I wondered, scanning her face as I did.
Cassie laughed. “Mr. Carrington is a great teacher and very nice in a grandfatherly way.” She also sighed. Why was everyone sighing today? “Anyway, I need to get moving. See you two later. Have fun!”
Before I could tell her to text me when she got home, Cassie was already out the door. When I turned, Sabrina was putting her jacket on. She still had a goofy smile on her face.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
With my hand on the small of her back, once outside the salon I clicked the fob for the SUV and opened the door for Sabrina. “I’m right here. I got lucky.”
She slid in and asked, “You still have this car?”
“Yes. A friend of mine owns the dealership. It’s growing on me, so I leased it for a month to see if it’s something I’d like to own. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not getting rid of my Jag because I love it.”
She let out a laugh right before I closed her door, jogged around the front, and hopped in. “I’ve heard that men have flashy sport cars to… you know… compensate.”
Did she just imply what I think she did? “You’re awfully feisty today. I can assure you, there is no need for me to compensate for anything. One day, I’ll prove that to you.” Sabrina squirmed a little and if I didn’t change the subject, I was going to have a big problem. “So, where are we picking Mikey up?”
“You can just go to my place. I’ll text Becky now to have her meet us there. She took the boys to the park this afternoon.”
“Are they still at the park?”
“I haven’t heard. Let me check.” I watched her thumbs flying across the screen of her phone. After a chime sounded, she said, “Yes, they’re still there. The same one where they play soccer.”
“Okay, tell her we’ll come get him there.” Again her thumbs moved, and then she tucked her phone into her bag.
“Done.” Before I shifted the car and pulled out into the road, I twisted to face her. Her eyes met mine and held. She tilted her head with a smile. “What?”
“You’re beautiful.” A pink hue tinged her perfect complexion.
“Thank you, but I feel gross. I slept late this morning and had to rush to work. I barely combed my hair. Which doesn’t bode well for a hairstylist. It’s a good thing I fixed it before my first client.”
This woman had no clue how her natural beauty was such a rare thing. Rather than tell her she had lost her mind, I buried my fingers into her hair pulling her head closer. Just before connecting our lips, I rubbed my nose along hers and repeated, “Beautiful.”
When I closed the distance, she had parted her lips on a small sigh. Our open-mouthed kiss went from slow to smoldering within seconds. I missed those lips, and spent a few minutes devouring them while enjoying every noise that escaped her mouth.
Her eyes were still closed as I pulled away. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I stepped foot into the salon.”
A sexy smirk spread before she said, “I’ve been wanting you to do that since you stepped into the salon.”
“There’s one problem with having done that now.” She watched as I adjusted myself, and fuck if that tiny shift of those hazel eyes didn’t make me hard as stone. “Well, yeah there’s that… but also I want more of you.” I skimmed my thumb along her bottom lip and then her top. “Tasting these lips reminds me of what the rest of you tasted like.”
“That’s not fair.” Before I could respond that I agreed, she surprised me by adding, “Because I’ve been dying to know what you taste like.”
“Fuck, Sabrina,” I grumbled, shifting the gear into Drive while trying to imagine my parents doing it to deflate my cock.