Fast Connection (Cyberlove #2) (29 page)

Business in the winter was slower than summer, but I was still busy. I handled storm damage and delegated employees to handle indoor plants at various offices around Staten Island. I also caught up on paperwork and lined up advertising for the spring.

This was supposed to be my low-stress time, but it wasn’t.

It was also why I found myself walking toward Hot Bagels on a chilly February morning. I pulled up the collar of my Carhartt jacket and dialed George with my thumb. I knew he was at home. Probably eating cookies.

“Yeah,” he said after three rings.

“Would you work on a project this winter for little to no pay?” Silence. I smiled, because him not hanging up was as good of an answer as I was going to get. “You know Hot Bagels?”

There was a pause. “Good pastrami.”

“Right, so I’m heading over there now to talk to the owner. They’re planning a remodel and I want to help. Donate some plants, help them with any restructuring. We could potentially use your masonry experience.”

More silence.

“You know how it is,” I said quietly. “It’s hard to run a business the same way you did even five years ago. But they’ve been around for a long time. They’re a neighborhood staple, and I don’t want them to go under.”

“How do you know about their problems?”

“Son of the owner. He’s…” What was Dominic? “He’s mine.”

Something creaked, and I imagined him lowering the footrest to his recliner. He coughed and cleared his throat. “You gonna have to make this shit up to Cyn somehow. Maybe a dogwood or something.”

“Done.”

“Then I’ll do whatever ya need.”

“Thanks George.”

He’d already hung up.

I’d managed to deduce from Adriana that Dominic was not at the shop today, which is why I planned to head down there. His location was a mystery since Adriana was not about telling family secrets.

I just hoped he hadn’t moved on with someone. It’d only been a month, but hell, it hadn’t taken us long to get where we were.

When I walked in Hot Bagels, I could tell some renovations had started. There was less pre-packaged food and their menu boasted more fresh items. Loud banging sounded from the back of the shop. A kid behind the counter looked up from where he was wiping down the inside of the deli case.

“Duffy here?” I asked.

The kid twisted the towel nervously in his hand. “Uhh…”

Another loud bang sounded from the back, followed by a curse. I jerked a thumb. “I guess I’ll just head back.”

The kid nodded and resumed cleaning.

I probably should have called first, but as our last meeting hadn’t gone so well, I wasn’t sure if he’d afford me the chance of seeing him in person.

I followed the cursing until I reached a back door. Peering out of it, I first noticed there was a patio I hadn’t known was there. Second, it was clearly being used as outdoor storage right now. And third, Duffy was in the back corner, struggling with some sort of large equipment that had ten years’ worth of dirt on it.

I walked through the door and let it bang shut behind me. Duffy jerked up, and he froze when he saw it was me. Then he slowly rose to his full height—which was impressive—and shoved his hands in his jacket.

I’d had a whole thing planned—a way to make this non-confrontational. But faced with Duffy’s obvious dislike, I hesitated.

“What’re you doing here?”

Right, I was here for Dominic. But that wasn’t me, to just show up and blurt out feelings. Glancing around, I searched for something safe to talk about first and took a step forward. “Need some help moving that?”

Duffy’s head jerked back. “What?”

I gestured toward the machine, which on second look, seemed to be an old oven. “Tell me where we’re going with that, and I’ll help you.”

His inner struggle played out all over his face. Accept my help or turn me away and keep working on his own. Finally, his shoulders fell. “I need help loading it in my truck so I can take it to the dump. A friend was supposed to be here and he bailed.”

I glanced over his shoulder to see his truck idling in the alley. A dolly sat nearby. How had he thought he was going to do this himself? I walked over to the oven and shifted it. “Let’s do it then.”

Duffy eyed me for a second, then tossed me a pair of gloves. “All right.”

It took a good two hours to take care of most of the large items, and by then we were both sweating. Neither of us wanted to call Uncle first, but finally Duffy said, “All right, that’s good enough for now.”

I handed him the gloves, which he shoved in the back pocket of his jeans. He looked me over, face streaked with dirt and sweat. “Thanks for your help.”

“What’s your plan out here?”

“Clean it up. Nicky said we should make it a place for people to sit and eat. Hoping to get it done by the spring.”

The half-wall surrounding the area was crumbling, and the stones underfoot were uneven. There were overgrown weeds and a white pine that was going to take over the area if given another season. This was going to take a lot of work. And money. “I can help.”

Duffy arched a thick eyebrow. “What kind of help?”

“I got a mason who works for me. Micah owes me for that stunt he pulled in Boston, so he’ll also be working for me as well. I can help you fix this up—put down some new stone and fix the landscaping—and have it ready for spring.”

His wariness was more apparent than ever. “How much?”

“You pay materials. That’s it.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

Duffy crossed his arms over his chest. “Why you wanna help?”

“I know Dominic’s helping you out from his savings. I want him to still have enough money to take his EMT classes. And I’m helping because he cares about this shop and cares about you. And since I care about him, that means I care about this.”

Duffy stared at me for a long while, and I waited to see if he’d tell me to go to hell. It was a good deal, but pride was important to him. Finally, he reached out his hand. “Deal.”

I shook. “Great. I’ll come back with my guy, George, and we can start on a plan. What day is good for you?”

“Monday?”

“Sure.”

With a nod, I started to leave, but Duffy’s next words stopped me. “Sorry for pushing your son.”

I let the door shut and turned.

He sighed. “Things haven’t been good. My temper was high. I don’t blame you for reacting like you did.”

“I don’t regret punching you, but I know I shouldn’t have done it.”

He barked out a laugh, and for a moment, I saw Dominic in his smile. “No one ever regrets hitting me.”

I smiled. “Won’t happen again.”

“Same here.”

“See you Monday?”

He hesitated. “You want me to tell Nicky?”

I shrugged. “That’s up to you. I’m not doing this to get him back. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Duffy shook his head with a half laugh, half scoff. “Never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad you came over here. I had my concerns, but you seem like a decent guy. It would be real easy for a kid with a face like his to attract trouble.” He smiled wryly. “So if you want to try to get back with him, I won’t stand in your way.”

I grinned the entire way home, so that by the time I walked in my door, my cheeks were sore.

Dominic

The EMT program was more hands-on than I’d anticipated. There was a lot of time spent working with actual patients in a real hospital and less with essays and reading.

I had a dual sense of working towards a real career, and putting real work into something that wasn’t earning me any money yet. Kind of like the situation at Hot Bagels. I’d put cash money into the business, but increasing the shop’s margin was a work in progress. Undoing years of mess was more than just upping prices and bewildering regulars that had been coming around for a couple decades.

It was arguing with my father to cancel the vendors who stocked premade crap no one bought and went stale and focusing more on hot food and creating an outdoor dining area. So far, I’d won on everything but that battle. He didn’t understand that there were enough young people in the neighborhood to really dig an actual hangout on the corner, and I was sick of debating. Kind of like I was sick of living at home even if things were better than they’d been in a long time.

The commute from Brooklyn to Staten Island was the most peaceful part of my day. Just me and my music, no one talking to me and no debates to be had or pieces of information to internalize and remember. It worked until my thoughts wandered to Luke.

It’d been over a month since we’d last spoken, and I kept wondering if I was doing the right thing by continuing with the radio silence. It was undeniable that I wanted him, that he was good for me, and that I felt good being with him. And, after weeks of celibacy, I had absolutely zero desire to fool around with anyone else.

Nicky C, the player, was officially a thing of the past. Dominic Costigan, the veteran, was more likely to indefinitely end up in one dude’s bed than out in the street trying to chase tail. And apparently I was likely to end up jacking it forever if that one dude stayed untouchable even if he was only a few blocks away.

I kept waiting for a sign of something to change. Or a signal that I should give up the ghost, call him, and try again. But so far there had been nothing. He’d left me alone after his first few texts had gone unanswered back in December, and I just sat and waited for who the hell knew what.

I got off the bus on Forest Avenue with my hand poised on my phone and a keen desire to talk to him, but the sight of his blue truck parked on the corner gave me pause. I looked around, frowning, but saw no sign of Luke himself.

Baffled, I walked into the store.

My mother stood behind the counter, counting the drawer and casting an obvious side-eye at the new guy I’d hired to run the deli. He was an eighteen-year-old who wore a sideways cap and blushed every time Adriana sneered at him, but the kid could slice himself some deli meat.

“Ma, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” She counted faster. “What’s going on is that this ridiculous child—”

“Shh.” I ducked my head, cringing. “Ma, come on. He’s a teenager. Be nice.”

“Nice? Is nice going to get him to stop flirting with customers? I’m thinking that’s a no.”

I glanced at the kid—Vinnie. I’d actually pay to see him attempt to flirt.

“I’ll talk to him,” I promised. “Now, what’s up? There’s a truck outside.”

“A truck? Do I look like I keep track of the vehicles on this block?”

Sighing, I summoned every ounce of my self-control to keep from lapsing into the sarcasm-athon she was fiending for. I think she saved up all her banter for me.

“There’s a blue truck outside. It says Rawlings’ Landscaping.”

“Oh.” She stopped glaring at Vinnie. “Luke Rawlings is here. In the back with your father.”

I stared. “What?”

“You heard me. Besides, aren’t you having sex with him? Why don’t you know these things?”

“Jesus, Ma.” I shot another furtive glance at Vinnie. He was doing a good job of pretending not to listen. “Why is Luke here? What’s he doing with Dad?”

“Go and ask him yourself.”

I remained rooted to the spot. “Is Adriana here?”

When my mother went back to her counting and pointedly ignored me, I was forced to find out on my own. I wondered what had happened. Were Adriana and Micah off getting into trouble again? Was Luke reading my father the riot act for not having better control of his kid? All the worst things ran through my mind, but I didn’t necessarily believe any of them. There was no way he’d come to the store to start shit after what had happened between us. I didn’t know a lot, but I was certain of that fact.

I stopped just beside the deli counter and stared at the door leading to the back patio. A cold breeze whipped through the store due to the open portal, but it didn’t penetrate me. There was no ice slinking down my spine to sheath me in a cold shroud of unease. Just a sense of anticipation at seeing Luke for the first time since that night on his porch.

Pulling the knit Yankees hat off my head, I ran a hand through my hair and hoped I didn’t look like shit.

It only took three steps to make it to the back door, and I braced my hands on either side of the frame. Unless my eyes were deceiving me, Luke and my father were embroiled in a serious conversation about… landscaping.

There was a long white paper stretched out on a table before them, and Luke was pointing to parts of it as Duffy rubbed his chin. Nearby, Adriana and Micah were picking through the junk that had accumulated on the dirty concrete space over the past several years. All of the old appliances were already gone.

“What’s going on?”

Luke stiffened at the sound of my voice. He glanced up, and his entire face warmed with a smile that I couldn’t help but return. No resentment or awkwardness. Just him very obviously feeling me, and me really fucking obviously feeling him. In front of my father.

Duffy cleared his throat, but it didn’t stop Luke’s eyes from sliding all over me.

“Luke made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

I cracked a smile. “If this ends with a horse head…”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Still enjoying your own sense of humor, I see.”

“Of course. It’s only been a few weeks. The bad jokes don’t dry up that fast.”

“Good. I like them.”

Duffy forged on, ignoring our flirtation. “He said you’d told him about your big plans for the back patio—”

“I never told you about that,” I cut in, still looking at Luke.

“Well,” he said. “Adriana may have brought it up when she was over at the house.”

This time, I gaped at my sister. How had I missed that she was hanging out at the Rawlings homestead now? I’d become too embroiled in EMT classes and reading books about running a small business to focus on much else with the rest of the world.

“Anyway,” Duffy went on. “He said he’d do the landscaping for free as long as I let Micah put some of the work in.”

“My punishment for sneaking off to Boston,” Micah muttered.

He did a good job of looking sullen despite it meaning he’d score more time than usual with Adriana. Her newfound dedication to cleaning up was definitely not a coincidence.