Daisy had never eaten a hamburger before. At least, she’d always turned it down when Bianca offered one. “We better get going.”
“I haven’t eaten my cake...and juice, too.” Daisy pointed back to the table, jabbering something about taste-testing juice. “Would you like some cake?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
From the corner of her eye, Bianca spotted Andrew ambling toward them.
“Hey!” he greeted, nothing but softness in his eyes when she stared up at him.
“Thanks for watching Daisy.” She bit her lower lip, her heart thumping at his proximity. “I...” What was she supposed to say? Her tongue suddenly lost its coordination.
He tipped his head toward the table. “Come have some dinner.”
No way was she going to join a group of firefighters. What was she going to talk about?
“I’m not hungry.” That was the truth. After smelling all the food at work, she seemed to lose her appetite. “I'll just take Daisy and let you get back to your dinner.”
“I’m gonna go finish my juice and cake first, though.” Daisy ran back to the seat and Andrew turned toward a door on the left.
“I’ll go get her backpack.”
Feeling the need to clear the air from their last encounter, she realized this was her only opportunity to speak to Andrew without Daisy eavesdropping. She followed him through a door into a medium sized room, and closed the door behind her, turning the lock with a final click.
Andrew turned as he pulled the pink backpack from a tall grey file cabinet. “Oh...!”
She walked over to the blinds and pulled them closed. “I wanted to talk to you...”
Her body shook at her attempt at boldness. She bit her lower lip, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
He grinned and dropped the back pack on the desk next to the computer, then ambled toward her.
Her heart raced in anticipation. Even hearing voices just outside his office, she realized how alone they were.
“Behind closed doors, huh?” Andrew said. “What do we need to talk about, Bianca?” His voice was low as he closed the gap between them and lowered his face to hers.
She swallowed at the feel of his warm breath against her nose. Her mouth instantly felt dry. “I... about...the kiss.”
She sucked in a breath at the confused urgency on his face.
“I don't want to talk about the kiss.” His voice was warm and amused.
She didn’t want to talk about it,either. She’d already messed up their first kiss and it was up to her to make things right. She had no idea how, but she summoned up the courage to stretch up on tip-toes and brush her lips to his.
It was Andrew who took things to the next level, when he slipped his hand around the back of her neck. The next thing she registered was tasting his warm and soft kisses. She tasted beef on his breath, and he smelled of an appealing combination of spice and hard work. Although she’d been kissed before, Andrew knew exactly how to make her forget. Her heart pounded, and she felt warm from head to toe.
When Andrew pulled back and stared at her with longing, she felt as if she were in a different world. He brushed loose strands of hair from her face, his breathing as loud as her own.
“Bianca Perez.” His voice was gruff and amused at the same time. “You’re such a scandalous woman.”
Daisy would be knocking at the door any second, and there were his colleagues right there, as well. Never one to be involved in anything close to scandal, this sure was going down in the books.
She didn’t want him to assume that she made a habit of kissing guys in their offices. Unable to meet the knowing look in his eyes, she whispered, “I’ve never done...something like this before...”
“I’m glad to be the first to witness your scandalous behavior.”
She wrinkled her nose and tried to shove him away with her hand, but he grabbed it, then pulled her back for another slow kiss.
Her legs were still shaking when they stepped out of his office, Daisy’s backpack in her hand. Not wanting to show her guilty face to his colleagues, she said, “Meet me outside?”
Leaving him to get Daisy, she waited outside until they joined her a few minutes later.
The security light of the bay lit the driveway as they strolled lazily, Daisy rambling about her excitement for the day. “Mr. Drew pulled a puppy out of the drain, and I got to see it, Mom!”
“Is she allowed to ride in the fire truck?” She didn't want him to get in trouble on their account.
“It was in the neighborhood. Daisy and I drove in my truck, while Levi and Mason rode the Engine.”
The enthusiasm in Daisy’s voice continued to warm Bianca’s heart. “Thank you so much!”
“She’s a sweetheart. I had fun with her, too.” His words were genuine. “Thank you for letting me help.”
Daisy saw Andrew more often than Bianca did. Daisy had told her he sometimes showed up at Ezra’s house while she was there. That was on top of his recent drop-ins at her house to fix things several times while Bianca was at work. Daisy's attachment to him was growing right along with her own
Daisy cut between Bianca and Andrew as they walked through the parking lot toward Bianca’s car, then threw her arms around Andrew’s legs, causing him to stop. “I love you, Mr. Drew!”
Her daughter's words seemed to choke, and the way she clung to Andrew caused Bianca’s heart to tremble with fear. He loved his niece, no doubt, but what if he didn't want to parent someone else's kid?
Even though Andrew knelt to Daisy’s level, he still towered over her. He peered into her eyes. “Oh, Daisy, you've made me so happy, I don't even know how to tell you this. I’m so, so glad that you’re a part of my life.”
Did it make Bianca a terrible mom for being jealous of the way Andrew knelt and wrapped his arms around her daughter? Her heart felt like exploding at the sentimental way he adored her little girl.
“When are we going biking?”
Biking? What kind of conversations did Andrew have with Daisy?
Andrew planted a kiss on Daisy's forehead. “I’ll talk to your mom first, okay?”
Daisy nodded, then stuck her hand out. “Can we do the handshake you showed me?”
Bianca watched as they did a complicated handshake that ended in a knuckle bump.
“That will be our secret handshake,” Daisy said.
“As long as your mom didn't master our secret.” His tone was light as he rose up, then gripped the back of his neck, and addressed Bianca. “Can I call you later? To talk about Daisy’s bike lesson, I mean?”
No matter the reason, she was grateful to have an excuse to hear his voice. “Sure!”
After they’d said their goodbyes, Andrew slid open the door for her and Daisy, and Bianca listened as he reminded Daisy to brush her teeth before bed because of all the sugar she’d eaten after school.
He waved and rested his hands on his hips, and his eyes followed as Bianca backed out of the parking lot and onto the busy street.
She’d loved Andrew long before he even realized she existed. Her dream was finally happening, and that should be a victory; but she had no idea if she could handle Andrew falling in love with her. He was too good to be true.
CHAPTER 16
Bianca sifted through the racks of clearance sweaters. After almost ten minutes without finding anything she liked, she was ready to call it a day.
She straightened and looked both ways for Renee, then spotted her friend’s brown hair at the end of the aisle. Looking at her overflowing cart, she was glad that her friend was almost done shopping.
Now that Mama was easing back into working with minimal clients, today Bianca had taken Andrew's advice to entrust Daisy to Mateo’s care after he’d promised not to take her on a bus. Mateo was planning to take Daisy to the park, and then attend the Cinco Demayo party organized by a few Hispanic families in their neighborhood.
“Found anything yet?” She jerked around at the sound of Leila’s voice
. Leila pushed one of her dark braids back from her forehead with one hand, and with the other, she held three purple and hot pink dresses in Daisy’s size.
“Thought you were going to the bathroom?”
“I did, and as soon as I stepped out...” Leila held up one of the butterfly dresses in front of Bianca. “Couldn’t pass these up. Aren't they cute?” She held out the rest of the clothes to her.
“They’re adorable.” She’d always overshopped for Daisy whenever she went to the consignment store. “They make the cutest baby girl clothes these days.”
“I thought we're not shopping for Adalee today!” Renee spoke as she walked toward them.
“Says the Aunt who shopped online for an entire box of clothing last week,” Bianca reminded. “That's the point...it’s my job to shop for the baby, and I want Leila to take care of herself.”
Bianca admired the love that overflowed in the Buchanan family. Renee and her brothers were fierce and aggressive when it came to loving and protecting their loved ones.
Bianca was grateful to experience some of that love through her friendship with them. If she tried hard enough, maybe she could count on Andrew’s love, too.
“Please tell me you’ve found something.” Renee rested a manicured hand on her chin as her questioning blue eyes bore into Bianca's.
“I really don’t need anything.”
“We need to fix that,” Leila chimed in. ”I gotta go grab my cart first.”
“You rarely get Saturdays off,” Renee said to Bianca. “Now that you’re off, we need to make this day count.”
Bianca could use some new outfits after shaving off a few pounds, but she could get four outfits at the thrift store for what she would pay for one outfit here at the mall.
“Come on.” Renee pointed to the rack ahead that was lined with spring and summer dresses. “Let’s get out of the sweaters and look at some summer outfits.”
She reluctantly followed Renee, more doubtful when she stared at her friend’s petite frame. The aisle Renee was leading Bianca to didn’t seem the right section for her to shop, but she would find out soon.
“I was so busy planning for my wedding that I didn’t get you guys Christmas presents. I’m paying for your clothes as my Christmas gift.” As the CEO of a reputable Interior Design Firm in Colorado, Renee didn’t have to worry about shopping for bargains.
Renee had become the third Musketeer when she met Bianca and Leila on the same camping trip where Leila and Ezra had met and fallen in love. The three of them had become inseparable since.
“You’ve got to have this!” Leila reappeared, her dark face vibrant, and tossed a hot pink, stretchy-looking top to Bianca.
Bianca took one look at the top, then tossed it back to Leila. “You’ve forgotten that’s your color and style.”
Leila was just as slender as she’d been before having Adalee two months ago. If she wasn’t such a wonderful friend, Bianca might have been tempted to think it was unfair and annoying for someone who’d just had a baby to look so slender.
She joined Renee in rummaging through the dresses. When a brown dress caught her attention, she plucked it off the rack and held it in front of her. “What do you girls think?”
“Don’t you think you have enough browns?” Leila said.
Renee thrust four dresses at her. Renee didn’t mess around when it came to shopping; it was like a second hobby for her. “You need a little something bright.”
Now that Bianca could get away with some cute dresses and sort of had a dating lifestyle, sort of, she definitely needed to spice up her wardrobe..
She grabbed a hanger with the letter M on it—a medium!—and held the teal dress against her chest. Dresses seemed to fit easily; it was the jeans she had to worry about when it came to finding the right size.
Leila looked up from where she was rifling through a pile of tops, her eyes taking in the outfit, and gave an approving nod. “I think that’s so you.”
“I thought we were helping Leila shop for her post-pregnancy clothes.” Bianca stared at her friends.
“Every woman needs to update her wardrobe from time to time.” This from Renee, who upgraded her wardrobe on a weekly basis.
This time she was in agreement with Renee, though. She started looking through some colorful options.
It was another two hours of trying on the clothes in the changing room, and shoe shopping, before they drove five miles out of Fort Rock to a Peruvian Restaurant that Leila wanted to try.
Soft music played in the background, and Bianca breathed in a delightful blend of aromas. The onion was particularly pungent, because it was served as a side on Leila’s potato-based dish.
“I’ve heard that when you breastfeed, you can’t eat onions,” Renee said, staring at Leila’s plate. She set her fork back on her half eaten Yuca Frita, their server had called it.
“I’m not going to eat the onions...not taking any chances.” Leila brushed the onions to the side of her plate with her fork.
“How’s the baby sleeping?” Bianca popped a fried plantain in her mouth. She’d stuck to ordering plantains since they were the only familiar thing on the menu. She normally ate them at Leila’s house. “I remember those days like it was yesterday.” She'd been so worried about the sleepless nights, but now she was at a different stage in life, with much bigger problems.
“Not as good yet, ” Leila said. “Good thing Ezra helps at night when he’s able to. He likes bonding with Adalee that way.” Leila spoke about her family with fondness.
“She’s gonna be Daddy's girl, I can already tell.” Renee said. “He won’t let me take her across the street to my house for a minute.”
“That will change soon when he gets sleep deprived,” Leila said.
The conversation shifted to work, then to the next devotional book they would be starting in the summer, then back to relationships. Renee got a dreamy look on her face when she talked about Jake. She was still so in love with her husband, just as she had been while they were best friends.
Bianca glanced at her friends, both of them happy, and she was happy for them since she'd experienced that love before. Amid all this happiness, there was maybe a tiny twinge of jealousy.
She wanted what Leila had with Ezra and Renee had with Jake—especially during the lonely nights when she was staring at the dark walls, wondering when and how the next day starts, or when Daisy asked for a dad to accompany her to daddy/daughter events.
Ezra had stepped in as a father figure, and Bianca was grateful. She did, however, long for a family of her own, with someone she loved, someone to wake up next to each morning.
Andrew, her mind whispered, resurfacing with his name all the fresh memories of the kiss they’d shared in his office. Her cheeks heated and she reached for her water, lifting the glass and tilting it on her lips.
“What’s on your mind?” Leila queried as she shoved aside her plate.
Renee held an arched brow when Bianca stared at her.
“Fine...” Nothing was fine. Feeling the urge to share her encounter yesterday, she put both hands on her cheeks and propped her elbows on the table. “I don't know.”
“Andrew kissed you!” Renee blurted with typical Buchanan bluntness.
Leila thumped the water glass down, then drummed her fingers on the table. “Give us all the details.”
“I kissed him.” Her face was now buried in her hands, and heat rose in her neck as the image of his kiss nearly blurred her vision.“I can’t believe I did something so outrageous!”
“Did he kiss you back?” Leila asked as she waggled her brows.
She took her hands from her face and met the girls’ curious eyes as they eagerly awaited her response. “He did.”
“I knew it!” Renee proclaimed, “The moment Drew ignored my text asking him how the hike went.”
Bianca decided not to tell her friends how she’d blundered that first kiss. “I thought guys didn’t tell stuff like that,” she said.
�
��Not the guys in my family.”
“Focus... focus,” Leila advised Renee, then turned back to Bianca. “So, what did you think of the kiss?”
Bianca looked at her friends, feeling like a love sick teenager. “Do I have to tell you that?”
“No.” Leila shook her head, “Your face tells us everything.”
Doubts kept creeping up in her mind. “I’m afraid to get my hopes up about him being into me.”
“He rearranged his schedule so that you could have a day off today. I think that should tell you something.”
Bianca frowned as Renee’s words slowly registered. “You mean he had something to do with Pascal giving me the day off?”
Renee leaned forward. “Yeah, he’s working at the cafe as we speak.”
Bianca’s jaw dropped at the new revelation. “Pascal said he didn't...why didn't he tell me?”
Renee chuckled. “Pascal is pretty good at playing cupid, especially when a guy tells him it's a surprise.”
Andrew had called her last night at ten to discuss Daisy’s bike lesson. “Why didn’t Andrew say something to me?”
“Would you have been okay with the idea of him working your shift?” Leila asked.
“No way.”
If she’d had any doubts about Andrew’s feelings for her, his actions were revealing all she needed to know to erase any uncertainty. If only there was something special she could do for him in return, she would do it in a heartbeat.
But then, Andrew had everything he needed, and there was nothing he would want from Bianca except for her love. That she could at least easily offer to him.
CHAPTER 17
The day dawned with blue, clear skies for Daisy’s bike lesson. Her bright face shone underneath a purple princess helmet as her hands gripped the handlebars of the purple bike. Her eagerness gave Andrew confidence that this lesson might last less than forty five minutes.
Andrew had driven them to a park outside Parker, which was not only quiet, but had a paved loop around and sat on a flat surface with no hills—perfect for learning to ride.
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