Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Thank you.” She pats my shoulder. “All of Sinclair’s favorites are in there. I made it all myself.”
“Thank you, Marti.” Sinclair goes in to embrace her. “What do I owe you?”
“A smile.” Marti demonstrates by smiling as she hugs Sinclair. “That’s all I want.”
“Done.” Sinclair reaches for the bag, but Arietta takes it before she can get a hand on it. “I’ve got this.”
Marti turns in a complete circle. “Where’s my Gina?”
Since I’m not the last one in the room to see her, I look at Arietta to answer the question, expecting her to say that Gina went home after Vern’s appointment.
“My cousin asked her to hang around.” Sinclair smiles. “He’s single. She’s single, so.”
Marti takes a step back. “Your cousin? The heart doctor?”
“Gaines.” Sinclair nods. “He was working out of the hospital today, so we went there to see him. The five of us had coffee in the cafeteria after Arietta’s granddad’s appointment. When it was time for us to go, Gaines asked Gina to hang back.”
What the hell?
“A doctor.” Marti nods. “I like doctors.”
That makes one of us.
“It takes a brilliant man to know the treasure my Gina is.” Marti suddenly turns to stare right at me. “Doctors are very smart.”
“So are wealth managers,” I mutter under my breath.
Marti taps her ear. “What was that, Daniel?”
“Can I get an order of lasagna to go?” I ask with the best charming grin I can muster.
“Carbonara for you tonight,” she says. “I made it myself.”
As much as I want to race home to ask Gina why she made extra time in her schedule for a single heart doctor, I can’t do that right now.
I see too many hands in the air, trying to grab the attention of a clearly exasperated waitress.
“Put my order on hold, Marti.”
Her hands drop to her hips. “Why?”
“I’m helping out.” I slide my suit jacket off. “I need the key for the office so I can drop this off in there.”
She fishes in the pocket of her apron. “Are you sure, Daniel?”
I hold out my hand for the key. “I’m sure. I have something valuable in here, and can’t risk losing it, so I’ll put it in the office and get to work.”
“Is it your phone?” she assumes. “Or your wallet?”
Both of those are replaceable, but the inexpensive silver band tucked in the pocket of my jacket is priceless to me.
“I’d stay and help too…” Arietta begins.
“No,” Marti interrupts her as she drops the key in my palm. “You’ll go home and make sure Sinclair is fed. Daniel will help. We will see how many plates he can break before we close.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I broke two plates years ago, Marti. It was years ago.”
Tapping the center of her forehead, she smiles. “I never forget. I’ll tell Gina you did good today, Daniel. She’ll like that.”
I grin because if her grandma approves of me, I’m already halfway to winning my wife’s heart.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Gina
With a bounce in my step and a future filled with hope, I make my way toward my grandma’s restaurant.
I skipped lunch today because my plan was to stop in here and pick up dinner for Daniel and me. I’ll order the minestrone because it’s worth a shot, but I suspect I’ll be leaving with something delicious that includes pasta and cheese.
Just as I’m about to yank open the door to the restaurant, something inside catches my eye.
My husband is in Calvetti’s, minus the suit jacket he had on this morning. He does have a new accessory, though, and it’s not complementing anything.
A petite blonde woman has her arms wrapped around him, and he’s returning that favor.
Jealousy pierces my heart as I swing open the door and march inside.
I don’t make it three steps before my grandma is at my side. “Gina! You’re here!”
She screams that loud enough that it draws the gazes of the people waiting to be seated and a few that are already at tables. It doesn’t, however, interrupt Daniel and the woman he’s hugging.
As I greet my grandma with a weak “Hey, Marti,” Daniel steps back from the embrace, and I get my first good look at the woman he was hugging.
She looks familiar.
“That’s Elowen Truscott,” Marti fills in the blank for me. “I think she likes Daniel.”
“You think?” I mutter sarcastically.
“Where’s the doctor?”
I tear my gaze away from my husband and the woman he met in a pool in Las Vegas and focus on my grandma for a split second. “What doctor?”
“Dr. Morgan.” She pushes her shoulders back. “He’s a heart doctor, Gina. You know what that means.”
I shake my head, stealing yet another glance at Daniel and Elowen. “He fixes broken hearts?”
Marti laughs. “It means he’s good husband material.”
“What?” I let out an awkward chuckle. “What are you talking about? Did Daniel come here with her?”
“Why?”
Frustrated, I turn to face my grandma. “Why what?”