Worthless Page 15

  “Thanks.” Her regular clothes were getting too tight, so she’d had to improvise with a sheer hot pink blouse over a tight black camisole. An elastic waist, long flowy black skirt was on the bottom. Scads of silver jewelry completed the look. Stacks of the silver bangles jangled as she swung her arms as she’d walked.

  Mitch’s compliment was nice, but he wasn’t one to notice a woman’s outfit. He’d noticed the cleavage overflowing the black tank. It helped that a black leather cord with a silver pendant hung around her neck, with the pendant nestled firmly in boob land.

  “How was your trip?” she asked.

  “Great.” He went off about some players or marketing deal they were trying to complete, but it was all beyond her attention span on a good day. On a day when she was thinking about Danny and worried about breaking up with Mitch, she didn’t have a clue about anything football related.

  “How’s work for you?” he asked, probably noticing she’d been responding to him monosyllabically.

  “Fine,” she answered. Oops, another one-syllable answer. She could make more of an effort, but at the same time, she couldn’t imagine ever confessing to Mitch her fears about her clothing designs.

  He exuded an innate confidence and a sense of the world having never let him down. He wouldn’t understand her hesitation and anxiety about releasing her designs into the world. In her shoes, he’d be off and running, signing up for affiliate deals and partnerships and nabbing a spot on a talk show and a front row seat at fashion week. She liked that about him, but it was also a bit exhausting.

  Oh thank goodness, they’d made it to the smoothie place. He opened the door for her, and she stepped on line, not needing to read the menu. She and Cat always got the same thing.

  “Amy, what brings you in here? I didn’t think this would be your kind of place.” A familiar perky blonde was already in line.

  Amy’s stomach clenched uncomfortably, and she berated herself for not having looked in the glass before entering, because she would’ve found any excuse to turn back if she’d seen Kym was already in line.

  “I like smoothies,” she responded in yet another highlight of her amazing wit. She noted that Kym was eyeing Mitch, who was next to her, giving Kym an intense up and down. “Kym, this is Mitch. Mitch, Kym. She owns the shop next door to me.”

  “Hi,” Mitch said, reaching for her hand enthusiastically, “I’m Amy’s boyfriend.”

  Kym’s eyes widened and she gave an assessing look to Mitch then to Amy. “Nice to meet you. You two make a perfect couple,” Kym said.

  “Why? Because we’re both large people?” Amy asked, the words slipping out before she could think.

  “Amy.” Mitch looked down at her, shocked.

  Her cheeks were hot, but she stared at him unrepentantly.

  He looked away first to reach a hand out to Kym. “Nice to meet you.”

  Kym’s eyes were about a foot north of Mitch’s gaze. Ugh. He was a boob talker. How had she missed that undesirable trait? Amy tuned out while they made small talk, and then it was Kym’s turn to order and Mitch’s focus was back on her.

  “She’s nice,” he commented with a nod to Kym’s back.

  “Yeah, she used to be a dancer for the Heat,” she said.

  “I know, isn’t that cool. I knew she looked familiar from somewhere. I go to a lot of basketball games.”

  “Fun,” she said, suppressing a giggle that Kym had managed to work her dance status into a two-minute conversation. She stepped forward to give her and Cat’s smoothie order. Once they’d both placed their orders, they stepped aside and waited with Kym. Luckily the loud buzz of multiple blenders made conversation tricky, so she had a respite.

  After Kym grabbed her bright green smoothie, she gave them a wave. “I’ll let you two love birds walk back together. See you.”

  “Nice meeting you,” Mitch said.

  Amy said nothing and gave a faint approximation of a smile. Things didn’t get less awkward on the walk home. She suggested they head a block over to drink their smoothies in the big open park behind the shop.

  They found a bench under a tree and sat sipping their smoothies. She let herself drink for a few minutes, giving her time to work up the courage and think up the nice way to break up gently and kindly. She’d never been good at this, not that she’d had a lot of opportunities.

  “I almost forgot,” he said, smiling at her. “My mom wants to meet you. She was hoping you could come to Passover Seder. I know that’s a month away, but she likes to plan.”

  She swallowed, sending pink sweet smoothie down the wrong pipe. He clapped her on the back. When she could speak again, she said, “Mitch. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Especially because she’d be showing by then. Chances of any mother welcoming her son’s pregnant-by-another-man’s girlfriend to her holiday dinner? Nil.

  “Why not? Do you go to your dad’s for Passover?”

  “Yes, but that’s not why.”

  “Maybe my parents should invite your dad and step-mom? Meet the parents, right?” He smiled, confident that they were on a path to a future together.

  Goodness, this train had derailed and was hurtling toward disaster. She held up a hand. “Mitch, we need to talk.”

  His smoothie cup hit his thigh with a thud and a thundercloud darkened his expression. “Nothing good ever starts with ‘we need to talk.’ You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

  “No!” She sank back. “I mean, yes. It’s not you. You’re amazing.”

  He scowled. “Yet you’re breaking up with me.” He rose, dropping his smoothie on the ground. “Why does this keep happening? I should’ve known. I went for a fat girl this time because I thought you’d be grateful. But nooo. You’re like every other woman I’ve dated.”

  “Mitch.” She stared at him in shock. Who was this man yelling at her? If she’d known he’d be remotely this much of an asshole, she would’ve dumped him after date one. “There’s no call to be horrible. When I tell you that there’s something going on with me, I really mean it. But I don’t owe you an explanation. We haven’t even slept together.”

  “Not my choice,” he countered. “I thought you wanted to take things slow, and I respected that. But it was something else, wasn’t it?”

  She rose, holding her and Cat’s smoothies in one arm and picking his up in her free hand. “None of your business. We’re done here.” Outwardly, she projected calm, though she was shaking inside. Dropping his half-full smoothie cup into a trash bin, she gave him her back and headed toward her store. He let her go.

  She held it together the whole walk back until she was safely in the store and wrapped in Cat’s arms, crying her eyes out. “He told me he went for me because I’m fat so I should be grateful.” Another sob.

  Cat’s arms tightened. “Asshole.”

  “Right. He hid it well.” Sniffling, she pulled away. “Why am I even crying?”

  “He’s not worth one tear,” Cat said. “We should’ve known he was a jerk when he didn’t drive you home when you were sick.”

  “You knew,” Amy said.

  “I didn’t like that he didn’t go out of his way to take care of you, but I didn’t think he was a total asshole.”

  That spurred a few more tears until she felt cried out.

  “It’s not Mitch you’re crying about, are you?” Cat asked when Amy was done with her tears and wiping her eyes with a napkin leftover from yesterday’s lunch.

  She blinked at her. “Of course I am,” she was about to say, when she realized Cat was much smarter than people gave her credit for. They took a look at her petite blonde frame and assumed she was the miniature Barbie she looked like. “No,” she amended. “This whole pregnancy thing has me loopy. My hormones are all out of whack, and now I’m questioning my instincts about men. I was sure that Mitch was the right guy for me because he has a good job, doesn’t smoke or do drugs.” She paused and eyed Cat.

  “Like my brother. I get it,” she said, wryly.

&nb
sp; “He’s clean,” Amy defended.

  “The majority of addicts relapse. My brother is a risk. The question for you is—is he one worth taking?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “He’s been amazing taking care of me. I’ve got crackers and ginger ale coming out of my ears.”

  “He’s always been like that,” Cat said, “taking care of others, but forgetting to care for himself. He needs a woman who’ll take care of him. That’s why I thought your nurse friend, Olivia, would be good, but I think we can safely say that was a failure.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said. “Drew was smitten.”

  Cat’s eyes widened. “What? What do you know that I don’t?”

  Feeling weight off her back now that she was free of Mitch and gossiping about someone else, she smiled. “Well you saw how they were fighting at your dinner party.”

  “Yeah, because they hated each other.”

  Amy gave her a look. “Not so much that he didn’t drive her home when her car broke down. And they live on opposite ends of town.”

  Cat looked like Tinker Bell infused with the power of the Tooth Fairy. She gave a little clap. “I love it. What can I do to help them along?” she mused.

  “Nothing.” Amy made her tone harsh. “Seriously, Cat. Olivia is good people, and I’m not setting her up with a man whore.”

  Cat sank back in her chair. “You’re right. Drew’s not ready to settle down.”

  “No,” she agreed.

  “What about you? Ready to settle down?”

  “I don’t really have a choice, do I? I’m having a baby. I’m settling down whether I want to or not. But it’s not like I’ve ever been a wild party girl.” She smiled to herself, at the same time, grieving for a piece of her that was lost forever. She might not have been a party animal, but never would she buy a plane ticket and move to Paris for a summer. Gone was a future in which she could go to a midnight showing of a movie without pre-arranging a sitter.

  She held a gentle hand to the curve of her stomach. Given her weight, she wasn’t really showing in her belly yet, but she knew there was a baby inside.

  “That’s why I think you’ll be perfect for my brother. He hasn’t had a real family in a long time. You’re going to give that to him.”

  Her skin chilled at Cat’s pronouncement. She was barely holding on to being an adult herself. How could she be responsible for a man who needed more than she could possibly give at the same time as having a newborn? It seemed destined to fail, but was it worth trying before giving it up?

  Danny walked into heaven that night. After a long, hot, and exhausting day mowing lawns in the Miami sun, he trudged into his house not sure what he’d find. He’d received one text from Amy telling him yes to dinner and then radio silence.

  He wasn’t really up for a restaurant or anything, which was why every one of his senses relaxed at the smell of a home-cooked meal waiting for him upon entering his house.

  “Hola,” Amy called when she heard him open the door. “In the kitchen.”

  He followed the sounds of her voice and smiled at the sight of her standing at the counter chopping veggies. She had a hot pink apron draped over her neck, tied in the back above the curves of her ass.

  They weren’t at a point in their relationship where he could walk over and kiss her, but he wanted to, so fuck it, he planted a kiss on her lips, then stepped back. He held his breath until he saw her smile.

  “Is dinner ready or do I have time to shower?”

  “Go shower. It’ll be ready in twenty.”

  “All right. Smells great.”

  “Thanks.”

  He headed to his bedroom to shower off the sweat and flecks of grass on legs that were an occupational hazard. He’d be a happy man if he could wake up every morning in bed with Amy, kiss her after work, chat with her over dinner, and then fuck her before bed.

  The night only got better from there. Turned out, Amy was a pretty rocking cook. “Didn’t know you could cook the rice in with the chicken,” he said around a flavorful mouthful. “Thought it had to be done in a pot.”

  “You thought wrong,” she said, smiling at him. He noticed she wasn’t eating much.

  “You okay? You’re not eating. Isn’t the nausea medicine working?”

  Her cheeks pinkened and he wished he could take a photo of her to capture the moment, but he didn’t have a smart phone or a camera. Two things he’d have to take care of before the baby got here.

  “Actually, my meal timing’s been thrown off all day. Ate a late breakfast, grabbed a smoothie, skipped lunch, so I was starving by four, and Cat brought me a sandwich.”

  “Remind me to thank my sister for taking care of you. Why did you skip lunch?”

  He watched as she toyed with her fork in the grains of rice on her plate. “Something happened this morning.”

  He went on alert. “What happened? Baby’s okay?”

  She flicked a grain of rice at him. “Baby’s fine. Not everything revolves around this baby. Relax.”

  “Yeah, not happening. Clue me in, babe. What happened?”

  “I broke up with Mitch.”

  He coughed. “You what?” Geez, could this night get any better? “Didn’t know that was on the table. Why today?” Please say it was because of me.

  “I wasn’t planning on it, but I walked into work this morning, and he ambushed me. I took him for a smoothie and told him we were through.”

  “What’d he say about the baby?”

  “Nothing, because I didn’t tell him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s none of his business. If I thought we’d have a future together, I’d tell him, and let him make an informed decision, but I only saw him as a friend, not my romantic future. Now…” She frowned and looked away.

  “Now what?” he prompted.

  “He didn’t handle the breakup well,” she said.

  His fingers gripped his fork hard until it clattered on the table, then bounced onto the floor. He grabbed it, then sat back up to look at her. “What’d he do?”

  “Do? Nothing. He said some stuff.”

  “Give me his number. I’ll have a word.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Not worth it. He doesn’t know about the baby or about us, so it’d come out of left field.”

  “Don’t try to protect his feelings, Amy,” he warned.

  “Oh, believe me, I’m not,” she said, making him think he and Mitch definitely needed a word. Perhaps face to face.

  Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it, clicked a button and turned the phone facedown. Something about her expression made him ask, “Who was that? Was it Mitch?”

  She reached for her water and took a long drink. “No. Someone else.”

  He didn’t want to act like a controlling nosy boyfriend by pressing the issue, but gut instinct told him she was lying about who’d been on the phone. He let it go.

  Amy took another bite of dinner, which she did admit was pretty fantastic, but still wasn’t sitting well in her stomach. It wasn’t the baby causing the discomfort, but nerves. Danny had taken the news of her breaking up with Mitch with equanimity, but a part of her wanted him to come across the table, grab her in his arms and kiss the heck out of her.

  But she knew that wasn’t a fair expectation. Danny had been upfront and honest from day one that he was open to a relationship with her, but she’d been the one to turn him down repeatedly. If something was going to happen, it’d have to be on her.

  Her phone buzzed again, and she glanced at it, and ignored it. Yet another message from Mitch, apologizing for being a dick earlier. She’d let him wallow for a bit, then call him later. “So about my breakup,” she started, “I’d be lying if I said you weren’t a factor.”

  She had all of Danny’s hyper-focused attention now. “Oh?” he asked.

  A slow nod. “I’m open to exploring the possibility of starting something with you.”

  His forehead furrowed. “Hang on. Trying t
o translate that.”

  She giggled. “I mean that I want to take things slow. It’s complicated because we’re living together and having a baby. It’s like we jumped straight into the deep end without learning to swim.”

  “Fair point. Define slow.”

  Her cheeks heated, but she needed to answer the question. “I assume you’re talking about sex.”

  “Among other things.”

  “Well, I thought about it a lot all afternoon, and I realized that I could arbitrarily say no sex for a certain time, but given how we got in this situation in the first place, and the activities of last night, it’d be stupid to think we can keep to a no sex rule.”

  “Thank God,” he said. “I love a logical woman.”

  “By slow I mean we need to date, get to know one another. Do you realize in the year we’ve lived together, we’ve never shared a meal anywhere other than this table?”

  “Not true. We’ve eaten out at lots of restaurants.”

  “Yes, with Cat and Ian or other people. Never only the two of us.”

  She could almost see his brain rewinding through the past year. “All right. Date out in public.”

  “I know money’s tight, and we’re saving for the baby, so I’m not asking to go to The Forge or anything. Just out.”

  “Deal.”

  He agreed easily, but she could tell he hated her mention of his financial straits by the way his jaw tightened. But that was the kind of stuff they needed to learn about each other. How could they ever be a successful couple if they couldn’t have an honest conversation about money?

  Her phone rang, and this time Danny reached across the table to grab it. “Listen, dickhead, she broke up with you because she’s having my baby. Now stop calling and get the message.” Something the caller said made him pause in the act of hanging up. His skin paled and he held the phone out to her. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed.

  Wordlessly, she took the phone, and… “Oh, shit,” she whispered. She put the phone to her ear. “Daddy?” The look on Danny’s face would’ve been comical, had the situation not been horrifying.

  Having her sort-of-boyfriend yell at her father, thinking it was her ex-boyfriend, was not the way any girl wanted to tell her dad she was knocked up.