Orlando
Holding Dani tightly against him, Orlando held his breath. Her entire explanation had been about how in love she’d been with the baby—all the lengths she’d gone through to stay in touch with him. She’d cared for and fallen in love with him from the moment he was born. He’d heard it in her voice, saw it in those pained eyes. Dani would’ve stopped at nothing to get her Oreo back in her life, and Orlando totally got it. Did that mean giving into a relationship with the baby’s dad, even if she had to fake feeling for him what she wasn’t?
She pulled away and searched his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I get how and why you’d fall for my boy the way you did. Why’d you go through such lengths to be a part of his life.” He choked back the emotion before going on as he stared into her beautiful eyes. “Ted said it and you just confirmed it. You were miserable without the baby, so you’d stop at nothing to get back in his life.” Feeling the warmth of the tears in his own eyes like the saps Ted mentioned the two of them were, he shook his head in anger. “I’ve completely fallen for you, Dani. Like I never would’ve imagined falling for anyone. I’ve never even been in love before. But why are you here? Just for the baby?”
“No.” She shook her head, her brows furrowing.
Orlando pulled away, unable to touch her anymore. “You were practically engaged two months ago, Dani.”
“I told Felicia we’d talked about marriage, but I explained to you that we were never formally engaged.”
“I heard you tell the fucker you loved him just over a month ago. Now suddenly you’re in love with me?” How naïve was he? Of course, she’d profess her love to him when he had for her. Anything that would secure her stay in Oreo’s life.
“I was never in love with Ted.”
“I heard you tell him you were!”
Dani reached out for him even as he tried to pull away. She tugged at his hand then brought her other hand to his face. “I left Ted before I even came to work for you.”
Orlando shook his head. “Bullshit. You told Felicia about your marriage plans that first day and—”
“I wanted her to think I was in a serious relationship because I sensed she felt threatened the moment I met her.” She ran her hand through Orlando’s hair as he struggled to calm his anxious heart. “You don’t get it, but we women know. I felt her unease about her boyfriend’s new young nanny. After all I’d been through to get Oreo back in my life, I couldn’t risk a jealous girlfriend ruining it for me. So, I laid it on the thick about my fiancé.”
“I heard you tell him you loved him.”
“She showed up when we were in that apartment upstairs.” Dani squeezed his hand. “I saw the look in her eyes. I was already in love with you, and I was terrified she sensed it. At any moment, I could be cut off, so I waited until you two were coming downstairs and pretended to be on the phone with Ted.”
Feeling like the easily duped sap he’d begun to think himself, he brought his arm around her waist and pulled her to him again. “So, you weren’t on the phone with him that day?”
“No.” She brought her arms around his neck. “I made a show of being all lovey-dovey that day for her sake.”
Orlando searched her eyes, trying to find a trace of insincerity, but there was none. “So, you really love me? You’re not just here for Oreo?”
“Oh my God!” Her eyes welled again the way they had so much during this one conversation alone. “For weeks I’ve been questioning how I could be this lucky. How I could get back in his life and meet and fall for such a perfect man—his hot dad—that would fall for me, my shitty cooking and all.”
Orlando chuckled as he pulled her closer and held her tighter, burying his face in her neck. “Tomorrow we get that restraining order, and then I move your ass in with me for good. We’ll go visit your brother a few times a week, maybe make one of my spare bedrooms his if you wanna have him over and give your sister a break sometimes. But Oreo and I won’t be without you even one more night. We can’t live without you.”
“I can’t live without you two either,” she said, squeezing him tightly.
“You’re my life now, Dani. You and the baby. I live for you two.”
Feeling her squeeze him the way she did and the way she inhaled so deeply and satisfied, made him smile. “I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that this all worked out. I was so scared, Orlando. So scared that you’d hate me, especially after I fell in love with you. I had so much more to lose than just the baby at that point.”
“Oreo and I will never let you go. We own you now as long as you’ll let us.”
Danica smiled, kissing him softy before pulling away. “You both own me forever, Orlando. I’ve never known so much love until that baby came into my life and then I met you. You’re one and the same. My life will never be complete without both of you in it.”
Feeling the emotion wash over him, he cleared his throat. “So, you’re with us forever?”
“As long as you’ll have me.”
Orlando wrapped his arms around her, trying not to suffocate her. “God, I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. So much.”
Epilogue
Danica
On top of her stomach feeling like crap, Danica now had a runny nose she kept wiping with a tissue. She stood on the backyard deck, supervising Oreo, who was sprinting around in his walker. The guy couldn’t move his little feet fast enough, and it’s why at first, she’d balked at getting him a walker to begin with. She’d read they were more dangerous than they did babies good. But he was in a walker one day when they’d picked him up from Orlando’s mom’s house, and she couldn’t believe how much he loved it. So, she’d given in to the idea. Only she made everyone who might be watching him when he was in it, promise that he’d be supervised at all times. The little guy just had way too much energy to burn off and ran amuck in it the whole time. Today was different. She didn’t even have to be out there because there were enough people there to keep an eye on him. They were having a Dodger-themed birthday party for Dominic. Aside from gardening and baking, the Dodgers were another one of his passions in life. There was a playoff game today, so Orlando had said it’d be a perfect day for this. He’d invited all the guys from the shop to come down as well. Orlando had also taken Dominic down to 5th Street to meet Sabian, the superstar Dodger shortstop, on a day he was signing there. He was a good friend of the owners, and since Beast knew them well, he let Orlando know when Sabian was going to be there signing and got Dominic VIP treatment.
They’d even offered to let him celebrate his birthday in a special suite down at the stadium since Sabian had enough clout for that. Unfortunately, while Dominic had gone to many games in his lifetime, he’d been traumatized several years ago after witnessing a bloody brawl at one of them. Ever since he refused to go again. Danica had been standing next to Ali and Drew as they spoke of their babies. She wiped at her nose again with a tissue as she listened to poor Drew complain about her cracked nipples. “I swear it’s been brutal. Chelsea never did this to me.” She turned to Danica. “With Chels—” She stopped and pointed at Danica’s tissue. “You have a bloody nose?” Danica glanced down at her tissue just as she felt the warm liquid drip out of her nose.
Nine was on his feet instantly as she brought the tissue back to her nose. He grabbed some napkins from the table with the cake and handed them to her. “I’ll keep an eye on this guy while you go wash up. Got some on your top.” He motioned to the front of her blouse.
“Crap,” she said, looking down at the stain on her blouse. “I’ll be back.”
“Hydrogen peroxide,” Ali said, moving her big baby from one leg to the other. “Trust me. I was notorious for getting spontaneous bloody noses in my first trimester with both pregnancies.” Danica slowed her steps as she took that in. “Stained up plenty of clothes and pillowcases.”
Orlando turned to Danica as she walked into the house. He’d been on his way out. He peered at her, his eyes on
the tissue over her nose. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Just a bloody nose. I get them sometimes.” Like once a year, if that, but she kept that to herself. “I’m gonna go clean up and change my blouse. Nine’s got the baby.”
She continued on to the bathroom, Ali’s words still in her head as the nausea that had her throwing up earlier lingered. Because of the runny nose, Danica had just thought she was coming down with something. Now her heart was beginning to race with another alarming thought. Grabbing her phone from where it was charging in the bedroom, she brought it with her to the bathroom. “No way,” she whispered as she set it down on the sink, and she ran the water and began rinsing her nose and face. This was the second time she’d rinsed her face off in less than an hour. The first time had been earlier when she’d been in there hugging the toilet. The moment she was done, she stuck tissue in her nostril to clog the blood from dripping and dried off her face with a towel. Glancing in the mirror, she frowned because she looked as exhausted as she’d been feeling lately. Another reason she’d been sure she was just coming down with something. She picked up her phone and tapped away, clicking on her period-tracker app. Ever since she’d gotten on the pill, she hardly even checked the app, nor kept up with her periods. It’d been one of the few perks of being with an older man. Ted had had a vasectomy years prior. So, she’d never had to worry about getting pregnant with him. Being on birth control now, there was no real need to check either, right? But then she’d only been on the pill for a few months, and she wasn’t very good at remembering to take it at the same time or even every day. The calendar popped up and she gasped. She’d been so busy with the baby, this new relationship, and then planning this damn party, she hadn’t even noticed she’d missed her period weeks ago. “No, no, no,” she whispered, feeling nearly faint. The app had an early-pregnancy-symptoms list she tapped on. “Nausea, tender swollen breasts,” she whispered as she touched her breasts over her blouse and winced at the not too tender, but definitely swollen breasts. She’d chalked it up to a sign of her period coming since they tended to always get swollen a few days prior. “Increased urination, fatigue, sensitivity to smell, bloating, mood swings. God, I’m an idiot.” She touched her bloated belly, something she’d also attributed to her period coming soon. The app said you might experience some of these symptoms if you were pregnant. She’d never even heard of bloody noses being a symptom of pregnancy. But of course her ass would be experiencing every last one of them. But again, she’d just attributed them all to her impending period. She’d even been annoyed that Aunt Flow might show up the day of the party. Just as she heard the knock at the door, she bent over to throw up again in the toilet. Only this time it was just dry heaves.
“You okay, Dani?” Orlando asked from outside the door.
“Yeah,” she said, still bent over because the nausea was brutal, and she didn’t trust she wouldn’t actually throw up again. “Just washing up.”
“And throwing up again? I heard you.” Of course he had. How in the world was she going to tell this man who’d already had a major life changer just this year, that he may be in for another one?
“It was just dry heaves,” she explained, trying to make less of it. “I didn’t actually throw up. I’ll be right out. Just give me a minute.”
She heard his phone ring just outside the door. “What’s up, Beast? Nah, nah, leave it all as is. Everything’s been getting paid for this whole time, and no one’s been living there. At least now someone will be there to enjoy it. Leave it all on for him . . .”
Glad he’d apparently walked back out into the living room because his voice faded, Danica only hoped Beast calling Orlando meant he and the guys at the shop were all on the way. Beast had dropped off Ali earlier but left to help get Byron moved to the apartment upstairs at the shop. From what Orlando had let her in on, things hadn’t gotten better at home with Byron’s stepdad. But all she could focus on now was changing her blouse as fast as she could so she could get out to the party and hope the guys all got there soon to keep Orlando busy. If she’d learned anything about herself since she’d met Orlando, it was how incapable she was of being able to keep anything from him. The last thing she wanted was to start blurting out what she’d begun to seriously suspect and had her heart pounding today. Except for when she’d looked into birth control, she hadn’t given any thought to how Orlando might feel about her accidently getting pregnant. She just naturally assumed it was the last thing he’d want this soon.
After changing her blouse and checking her face again then removing the tissue plug from her nose, she rinsed her nose out one last time and made sure it wasn’t still bleeding. Rushing back out to the party, she smiled when she heard Oreo squealing out back but walked to the dining room first to make sure all the food was set up. Danica froze when she saw the amount of food on the table. She’d taken the plunge and made a large lasagna and garlic toast for the party. Orlando had been quick to say that wouldn’t be nearly enough for all the guys coming from the shop. Danica had eyed him suspiciously as she’d prepared the lasagna yesterday. Even before she’d finished making it, she could see it wasn’t going to be very pretty. Still, it’d been the thought that counted, and Dominic loved lasagna. “I’ll just order a few things to compliment the main dish,” Orlando had assured her. There were at least eight extra-large boxes of pizzas, two boxes of fried chicken, and two six-foot-long sandwiches on the table, along with bowls of chips, dips, and an assortment of restaurant-bought side dishes She could barely see her lasagna amidst the overabundance. She turned when Orlando and Nine walked into the dining room.
“Damn! You expecting an army?” Nine asked, opening one of the boxes of pizza and grabbing a slice.
“Yeah.” Orlando glanced at Danica, his expression a bit contrite. “I didn’t realize I’d ordered so much. But”—he turned to Nine—“all the guys are coming down, and you know how they eat.”
Nine nodded immediately as if in complete agreement. It made Danica feel a little better. It had almost felt as if Orlando had purposely bought all this food to try and make up for her lasagna. She remembered the look on his face the day she’d told him she’d be taking on the task and making it for the party. It’d been the day after her attempt at meatloaf. But that wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t until she had everything prepared that she realized Orlando didn’t even own a loaf pan. She’d had to improvise and used a cookie sheet instead. It’d been a bitch to try and shape the soggy mess. Then each time she’d taken it out and it still wasn’t cooked all the way through. she’d try to reshape it again, but it only got worse. By the fourth time she put it back in, she’d been so frustrated she’d upped the temperature so it’d be sure to cook through that time, and it ended up burnt on the outside and still not completely cooked all the way through. As usual, Orlando had been a sweetheart and assured her it was okay to eat medium-well red meat. Like her lasagna it may not have been pretty, but once cleaned up a bit and in between bread slices with mayo and mustard, her meatloaf sandwiches had been pretty good. The seasoning packet she’d used had saved the day. They were tasty enough that she decided she’d try again once she bought a loaf pan. Despite feeling slightly emotional for a minute there over something so petty, she was glad Nine and Orlando were still on the subject of the food. Danica was certain her feeling sensitive over something so silly had everything to do with what she was suspecting, especially because she could hardly stand the smell of all that food anymore. Before Orlando asked her how she was feeling and before she’d start gagging, she decided to make a quick exit. “I’m gonna go check on the baby.”
“Your sister has him,” Nine explained. “Dee Dee was getting hungry.”
Orlando glanced down at the plate he was loading. “Dee or you?”
“Nah, man,” Danica heard Nine say as she walked away. “She eats like a dude when she’s breastfeeding. Doc says it’s normal, but holy shit.”
Squeezing her eyes shut as she remembered her swollen tender bre
asts, Danica took a deep breath as she made her way out to the deck. More people had arrived, and she’d been right about Beast being on his way. Just as she walked out, he and Byron walked in from the side gate. She let everyone know there was plenty of food in the dining room. The guys from the shop arrived shortly afterward, and with the game on now and the food flowing, the party was in full swing. She spent most her time pretending to be utterly engrossed in conversation with whomever she happened to be sitting with or standing by. The rest of the time she kept busy hosting. They waited for the seventh-inning stretch to bring out the cake for Dominic. He’d baked it himself, and Danica had bought the Dodger cake toppers for it. But even the smell of the cake was a bit too pungent for Danica to stomach. So, she left the cake-cutting to Delia after they sang to Dominic, using the excuse that she had to change the baby. Walking into the nursery completely lost in thought, Danica couldn’t imagine how she’d even start that conversation with Orlando.
You don’t know yet. She shook her head as she put the baby down on the changing table. Oh, but she did. Call it woman’s intuition. She knew. It all made sense now. The entire time she’d been with Orlando now, the only time she could remember feeling ready to snap at him was back when he’d laid down the law about Ted. He’d sounded a little too similar to Ted. But given the circumstances, she’d let it go. Now this week alone she’d been ready to snap at him more than once. And for no good reason. He was such a sweetheart and never gave her any reason to feel annoyed. She knew. The smell of Oreo’s dirty diaper as she changed him had her gagging. She never gagged when she changed him. She’d seen Orlando do it more than once, but she never had. It almost made her feel guilty even. Then it happened again.
Orlando: Boyle Heights #4 Page 30