Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
She winces. “I’m not very sad. Just kind of confused, pretty angry, and a whole lot embarrassed.”
“Question four—Do you want to take a walk with me and talk about it?”
She gives me a sly, teasing glance. “I don’t know. Will there really be cookies?”
“There could be. There is a package waiting for me at home, and I suspect it contains cookies.”
She pushes her stool back from the bar. “I would love to take a walk with you. But aren’t you supposed to be celebrating with your teammates?”
“Nah,” I shrug. Then I use a couple of English phrases that show off my new capabilities. “I spend every waking moment with those psychos. They can party one night without me.”
“Listen to you! Your English has come a long way. But you still have a cute accent.”
Cute. Hmm. Puppies are cute. Hockey players not so much.
“…Okay, let me settle up here and visit the ladies room.”
“I will settle up with Pete. You go ahead,” I say.
I am just paying the bill when Heidi Jo comes through the door. “Hey, Ivo! Those idiots are playing darts without me, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they fear you.”
She gives me a hug. “What are you doing up here all alone?”
“I am not really alone, but I do have a question. If a woman says my accent is cute, is that a bad thing or a good thing?”
“Oh, that is definitely a good thing.” She pats me on the shoulder, then takes her hand away as Chiara walks purposefully towards us. “I can see why you’re skipping the darts tonight.” She giggles. “Night, Ivo! See you at the Christmas Eve party tomorrow!”
The storefronts on Hicks Street are decorated for the holidays. Even the tavern has little lights ringing the window. We are only fifteen paces away when I give in and ask the question I’m so desperate to ask. “So what happened with Stefano?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“Well, I have all night.”
She smiles ruefully. “Okay, but brace yourself to hear how stupid I am.”
“You are not stupid,” I say immediately. “Not possible. You are the best woman I have met in New York.”
Her smile turns soft. Then she takes a deep breath. “When I was in high school, Stefano was twenty. I had a big crush on the older man.” She rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t just me, though. Everybody loves Stefano—except my aunt Teresa. But that’s another story. Anyway—he’s charming. He’s a party boy. He has a wicked sense of humor that I used to enjoy, until I realized his jokes were often at my expense. He seemed so sophisticated to poor little me, with his girlfriends and his cigarettes. Oof. It was just a dumb teenage crush.”
“I had those too,” I assure her. “Janna Koskinen stole my heart in year nine. I am over it now.”
She cackles. “What I wouldn’t give to see a photo of you in grade nine. Anyway, I mostly forgot about Stefano when I went off to college.”
“To study business,” I prompt.
She gives me a sideways glance. “Yeah, I can’t believe I told you that. Well, I probably also told you that it was a mistake. I hated the school, hated the classes, but I finally had a boyfriend. Too bad he turned out to be a controlling turd.”
“Hmm. What is a turd?” I never feel stupid asking Chiara a language question. She never judges me.
“Sorry. It’s a word for shit.”
“Ah, well, if we’re describing one of your exes as a turd, I think I like this new word.”
She smiles. “It took me way too long to leave him, and the school. But my Uncle Rico—you remember my uncle raised me?”
I put a hand on her arm, just casually. “I remember all the things you tell me, Chiara. He is your grandfather’s brother. Really a great-uncle.”
“Right. He stepped up after my mother died, and he didn’t have children of his own. I love him. I really do. Actually—tonight I’m mad at him…”
“What did he do?” I demand.
“We’re getting to that.” She waves a hand. “Anyway, I agreed to come back and work at the café. This was a few months before I met you. It made Uncle Rico happy, even if I felt like a loser for landing back here with my waitress apron on instead of conquering the world of business. My self esteem was not the greatest. I was in a weird place when suddenly Stefano wants to date me, after all those years of never noticing me.”
We stop for a light, and I take her arm. She holds on tight, her brown eyes flashing toward mine. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“Yes.” The light changes and I guide her across the street.
“Okay. So I’m dating Stefano. Honestly, at the beginning, it wasn’t even dating. He wanted hookups after work, and I knew I was just the most convenient girl in the room, but my inner high school girl was vindicated. I mean—what would you do if Janna Whatsername suddenly wanted a date?”