How Much I Care (Miami Nights Book 2)

by Marie Force

  The dishes still sitting on her bar are a reminder of how fast the game changed last night.

  “I feel bad leaving you with a mess to clean up.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  I follow her out, closing the door behind me while wondering if I’ll ever be at her home again. The not knowing is a little crazy-making, if I’m being honest. I get in the passenger seat of her silver Honda Civic and tell her which downtown Miami hotel the team is staying in.

  Neither of us says much on the fifteen-minute ride into town, and the quiet only makes me feel more desperate to know what happens next.

  “Do you want me to see about getting you a reservation for dinner tonight?” she asks as she takes a downtown exit.

  “If it’s not a problem, that’d be great,” I tell her, relieved to know there’ll be more.

  “My uncle always holds a few tables for friends. It’s no problem.”

  “Can you join us?”

  “I’m working, but I’ll ask for your table.”

  I’m not sure how I feel about her waiting on us, but I keep that thought to myself. If it’s that or nothing, I’ll take it.

  She pulls up to the main door of the hotel a few minutes later. “I guess I’ll see you at the game,” she says with a comical grimace.

  “It’ll be great. Thanks for doing it.”

  “No problem. I can’t wait to meet Everly.”

  “I can’t, either. My mom is apt to cry when she meets you…”

  “That’s fine. I understand.”

  “I, um… Last night was awesome.” I reach for her hand because I need to touch her. Bringing it to my lips, I kiss the back of it. “Thank you.”

  “You’d better get in there before you get in trouble.”

  “I won’t get in trouble, and if I do, it was one hundred percent worth it.” I lean across the center console, hoping she’ll meet me halfway.

  She does, giving me a quick kiss that’s nowhere near enough.

  When I pull back, I notice her cheeks are flushed. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

  “See you then.”

  I get out of the car and watch her drive off, wishing I had nowhere to be today so I could’ve spent the day with her. I check my phone on the way into the hotel and see a text from my mom, letting me know their flight is on time, and they’ll land around eleven.

  I can’t wait to see Ev, and I’m counting the hours until I can see Maria again.

  Chapter 10

  MARIA

  As I drive away from Austin’s hotel, I call Carmen on the Bluetooth.

  “What happened?”

  “Good morning to you, too.”

  “Come on! I’ve been dying waiting to hear from you. How was it?”

  “It was… Car…”

  “Bad? Was it bad?”

  I’m so emotional, I can barely speak. “No. It was so good.”

  “Oh my God! This is awesome!” When I don’t reply, she says, “Isn’t it?”

  “It sure as hell felt good in the moment.”

  “Did you, you know…”

  “No, but he spent the night, and it was… everything.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I just dropped him back at the hotel in town.”

  “Come over. Jason isn’t here. He’s on a ride with his cycling club this morning.”

  Since the last thing I want to do is be alone right now, I find myself agreeing. “You want coffee?”

  “When do I say no to that?”

  “I’ll be there soon.” After a brief detour to pick up cortaditos from Carmen’s favorite ventanita, I head to her place in Brickell and park in one of the visitor spaces. She buzzes me in, and I take the elevator to the seventh floor. Carmen is standing in the open doorway to the incredible condo that looks down on Biscayne Bay. I’d be green with envy if I didn’t know how much Carmen deserves every good thing she’s found with Jason.

  She hugs me, ushers me into their sleek, spacious, modern home and closes the door. “Let’s sit outside. It’s so nice.”

  We take our coffees to the huge deck and take seats on the double lounge chair that Jason bought her for Christmas.

  “Tell me everything. Leave nothing out.” She leans in for a closer look at me. “Um, is that a hickey?”

  My hand flies up to cover my neck. “What? No.”

  Her raised brow tells me otherwise.

  “No way.”

  “Way.”

  I close my eyes and lean my head against the back of the lounge.

  “That good, huh?”

  “Better.”

  She lets out a squeal that probably wakes every dog in a one-mile radius. “This is so, so cool!”

  “It’s all your fault that it got so out of control.”

  Her brows furrow with confusion. “How is it my fault?”

  “You told me to throw caution to the wind and go for it, so I did.”

  “And now you regret it?”

  “No, not at all, but I will… When he goes back to Baltimore, and I’m stuck here with memories of an amazing guy I can’t have.”

  “Maria, you can have him. You absolutely can. Will you have to make some changes? Probably, but maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.”

  “How can you say that when you were no more willing to move for Jason than I am for Austin?” Just saying his name out loud gives me a thrill. That’s how far gone I am over him.

  “I’ve thought a lot about that since Jay and I figured things out. I think if he’d been forced to go back to work in New York, I probably would’ve ended up there. Maybe not right away, but eventually.”

  “And you think you could’ve been happy there?”

  “I think,” she says in a measured tone, “I would’ve been happier there with him than here without him.”

  “I’m getting so far ahead of myself even talking about this. It was one night.”

  “Why’re you downplaying it?”

  “Because! I’m freaking out! The only reason we didn’t have sex is because he has a thing about condoms—”

  “What kind of thing does he have about condoms?”

  “If I tell you this, you seriously can’t tell anyone else. It’s a big deal.”

  “I swear.”

  Because we’ve kept each other’s secrets all our lives, I tell her what he suspects about Everly’s mother and how she ended up pregnant.

  “Wow.” Carmen blinks. “Can you imagine doing that to someone?”

  “No, I can’t, but she was probably hoping to trap the rich baseball player, and now he’s super cautious.”

  “I think it’s pretty great that he didn’t come there last night prepared for that possibility. It says a lot about how he heard what you said and respected your wishes.”

  “Yeah, I thought so, too.”

  “What’s the plan for tonight, after the game?”

  “He’s bringing his family into the restaurant.” Which reminds me, I need to text my uncle to ask if he can get them a table. I take care of that before I forget.

  He writes right back. Consider it done, honey.

  Thanks, Uncle V! xo

  “Aren’t you working?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll wait on them so I can spend some time with them.”

  “That’s not happening. I’ll take your shift and give you the money.”

  “Stop it. You’re not doing that.”

  “Why not? You’d do it for me. He’s only in town for this weekend, Mari. I’m more than happy to work for you, and I don’t need the money. Let me do this for you.”

  “You guys must have plans.”

  “We don’t. We had the hospital thing last night, and we purposely didn’t plan anything for tonight.”

  “I don’t feel right about it.”

  “Too bad. It’s happening. Tell my dad to make your reservation for one more.”

  “You’re a bossy pain in the ass.”

  “Yep, but you love me. Now, do what you’re told.” />
  I text her dad and then glance at her, by my side where she’s been all my life. “Thanks, Car.”

  “Anything for you.”

  I arrive at the ballpark at twelve thirty and park in the VIP lot where I’m greeted as if I am, in fact, a VIP. It’s so weird to be coming here under these circumstances, when I’m at the park at least once a week for six months a year. I’ve never been a VIP, however, and the treatment is a bit heady.

  Valentina, a perky young woman from the Marlins promotions department, meets me and walks me in through a special entrance where we meet up with Erica from the Orioles.

  “It’s great to meet you,” Erica says when she shakes my hand. “We’re so happy to have the chance to thank you for what you did for AJ’s daughter.”

  As I follow them deeper into the stadium, I hope I’ve done enough to hide the hickey “AJ” left on my neck last night. I covered the mark with foundation and left my hair down. I’m wearing a V-neck Marlins shirt with black shorts and the same shoes I had on last night.

  Ah, last night… I’ve relived the hours with Austin a thousand times today, and I already know I’ll never forget a minute of it. I can’t wait to see him, to meet Everly and his parents, and…

  Judging by the way my heart goes into a crazy gallop, I’m getting way ahead of myself again. I’m apt to hyperventilate, or something equally embarrassing, in front of thousands of people if I don’t get things under control—and fast.

  “Have you met either of them yet?” Valentina asks.

  “Only Austin.” I’ve definitely met him, I think, resisting the urge to descend into nervous hysteria. “I’ll meet Everly for the first time today.”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet. It’s amazing what you did for her.”

  “I did what anyone would do.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Erica says. “A lot of people wouldn’t inconvenience themselves for someone they’ve never met, let alone undergo a scary medical procedure. What you did is pretty damned heroic. Everyone thinks so.”

  “Oh, well, thanks.” It still seems weird to me to be treated like a hero for something that was a no-brainer to me. Of course I’d try to save an innocent child’s life if I could.

  The Marlins offered seats to whoever I wanted to invite to the game. My parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmothers are planning to be there. My sister, Dee, had to work in New York, so she couldn’t come home for the weekend. I’ll join my family in the stands after the pregame ceremony.

  I stand with Valentina and Erica in one of the stairways that leads onto the field and listen to the announcer talk about the special treat they have in store for today’s attendees.

  “Fifteen months ago, Miami’s own Maria Giordino donated bone marrow to save the life of a child she’d never met. That child is the daughter of Orioles pitcher Austin Jacobs, and today, we’re so pleased to bring Maria and the child whose life she saved together for the first time. Please help us give a warm Marlins welcome to Maria Giordino, Austin Jacobs, his daughter, Everly Jacobs, and his parents, Jeff and Deidre Jacobs!”

  Valentina and Erica walk with me onto the field, where I’m due to meet up with Austin and his family in the infield. The crowd provides thunderous applause.

  As they approach the infield, Austin leans down to say something to Everly.

  She pulls her hand free of his and runs to me.

  I scoop her up and hug her, amazed that she came to me, a perfect stranger, without hesitation. Closing my eyes against a rush of tears, I hold the child whose life I saved and absorb the thrill of this amazing moment. Her sweet little body against mine, the scent of her baby shampoo and her soft arms around my neck fill me with gratitude for her good health.

  The applause goes on for a long time.

  Austin joins us and hugs us both. “There you are,” he whispers in my ear. “I’ve been missing you.”

  His words fill me with unreasonable elation.

  The three of us hug as if we’re alone and not in the middle of a crowded baseball stadium.

  Eventually, he takes Everly from me so I can receive hugs from his tearful parents.

  “Thank you so much, Maria,” his mom says. “We’ll never have the words…”

  His dad hugs me next while Austin holds Everly.

  “Thank you for saving our little girl,” his dad says.

  We’re all a mess by the time the announcer asks for one more round of applause for “our own local hero, Maria Giordino.”

  We pose for the team photographer, who wants pictures of the group, one of me with Austin and Everly and then just me and Everly.

  The whole thing is surreal, to say the least.

  “I’ll text you after the game,” Austin says when we have no choice but to go our separate ways for now.

  I nod to let him know I heard him and walk with Valentina and Erica back the way we came.

  “Thank you so much for that,” Valentina says, wiping up tears of her own. “That was one of the coolest things we’ve ever gotten to do.”

  “Thanks for having me.”

  “Let me get you to your family in the VIP section.”

  She walks me through more winding tunnels to an elevator that takes us to the top of the stadium, where I’m shown to one of the deluxe boxes that I’ve certainly heard about but never experienced for myself.

  “I hope you and your family enjoy the game,” Valentina says.

  “Thank you for everything.”

  “Our pleasure.”

  The box is full of family members who hug me and congratulate me and thank me for inviting them to partake of the VIP suite, which includes a buffet and open bar.

  “So proud of you, honey,” my dad says when he hugs me.

  “Thank you, Dad.”

  “It’s gonna be tough to go back to the cheap seats after this,” he adds.

  We love those cheap seats, as well as the people we see at every game. The season ticket holders are like a family after years of sitting near each other.

  “Pretty cool, sis,” my brother Nico says. “This is the life.”

  It’s not easy to impress my brothers, and it gives me pleasure to see them enjoying something I made possible.

  Jason and Carmen hug me next.

  “You looked good out there,” Carmen says. “I loved the way Everly ran to you.”

  “I know! That was amazing.”

  “Well done, kid,” Jason says when he hugs me. He was the first person I reached out to after I got the call from Be the Match, and his support was instrumental to me as I navigated the sea of information and questions. I didn’t know him all that well yet, but he jumped right in and helped to put my mind at ease about the whole thing.

  “Thanks for all you did for me during that time.”

  “My pleasure.”

  The game is a blur of people and food and beer as the home team runs away with the lead in the fourth and holds on to win, six to three. My dad is bitter that he has a birthday party for a close friend and can’t come back tomorrow to see Austin pitch his final game as an Oriole. We’re reluctant to leave the fancy box, but as we file out, I end up between Nona and Abuela.

  “Thank you for a lovely day, honey,” Nona says. “We’re so very proud of you.”

  “Thank you guys for coming.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed it,” Abuela says. “Cried my eyes out when that little girl ran to you.”

  “I know! Me, too. She’s so cute.”

  “The dad’s not exactly hard on the eyes, either,” Abuela adds.

  “He isn’t? I didn’t notice.”

  She pokes me in the ribs. “Liar.”

  “I hear you’re bringing them in tonight,” Nona says.

  “I am.”

  “We can’t wait to meet them.”

  I hope I’m not making a huge mistake by bringing Austin and his family to the restaurant, where my eagle-eyed grandmothers are going to take one look at us and see everything I’d like to keep private.
But it’s too late to change our plans now.

  I head home to shower and change and end up taking a nap that leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to see him again. At least I hope I’m ready. After I got home from Carmen’s earlier, I finally cleaned up after our dinner from the night before. It was funny to realize how things went from hot to bothered in a matter of minutes, and how dishes and cleaning up became the least of my concerns. I even forgot to worry about having almost-sex with him and then possibly never seeing him again.

  I emerge from the shower to find a text from Austin. Today was incredible. Thank you again for letting us celebrate you. Today has gone by SLOWLY since you dropped me off earlier. Can’t wait to see you.

  Can’t wait to see you, either. Guess what? Carmen heard you were coming in and insisted on covering my shift, so I can eat with you guys.

  That’s great news. I didn’t like having to share you with others. Is it seven yet?

  Almost.

  Did I mention I can’t wait to see you?!?!

  I love that he’s as excited about this as I am and doesn’t even try to hide it. I drive to the restaurant where we’re due to meet, again thinking about his texts and last night and wondering how it’ll go with his parents and Everly with us. Will it be awkward or weird or… Once again, my nerves have gotten the better of me, and I’m a bit of a wreck by the time I arrive at Giordino’s. I park in the back lot and go in the back door. Aunt Viv is the first one I see, and she greets me with a hug.

  “There’s the star of the day. Thank you for such a fun afternoon.”

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed it. We’re so, so proud of you. I’ve got your table ready.” She leads me to the Cuban side of the house, to a table that’s set back from the action in the main part of the dining room. “Is this okay?”

  “It’s perfect, Auntie V. Thanks.”

  “I wanted you to be able to talk and hear yourselves think.”

  Carmen joins us, wearing the waitstaff uniform of white dress shirt, black skirt and black apron that I haven’t seen very often on her since she moved in with Jason. Other than occasionally filling in for a sick waitress or waiter, she hasn’t worked at the restaurant for a while now.