Page 45 of You've Got Male

“I don’t have a job, Evie. I don’t have a firm backing me. I can’t confidently say that I’d be the best guy to handle her money. I told her about the interview and we are going to revisit it when I’m employed.”

“Sounds like you are going to pro and con yourself out of a great way to dip your toes in the water.” She reached out and touched his hand. Sparks ignited but she didn’t move away. “Youcan only hide from the world for so long. Trust me, eventually you have to get back out there.”

“I will. I just want to do it right. I’m still interviewing and sending out resumes while I wait. It’s kind of like screaming into the Ether, but maybe I’ll get a few hits.” He took a sip of wine and swallowed. “How long did it take you after Mateo split?” he asked.

She waited until he finished filling her glass, then took a long sip. She hated talking about this. She was sure Jonah had received the lowdown from Amber at some point, but somehow the idea of telling him directly felt somewhat comforting.

He must have mistaken her silence for hesitation because he waved off the question. “You don’t have to tell me if it brings up bad feelings.”

“Not bad. Mad. At first, I was hurt. Then I was embarrassed. Nowadays, I fluctuate between exasperated and pissed.”

He chuckled. “How long were you together?”

“A little over a year. I found out I was pregnant six months into dating. He immediately proposed, then one night he drew me a bath and said he was going to go get some ice cream. He never came back. I called every hospital thinking he’d been in an accident, but then I got a notice that our bank account had been cleaned out. I was seven months pregnant.”

Jonah’s expression was priceless. “I’ve always had this gut reaction to punch your ex. Now I know why,” he said, and that protectiveness was back. Only, this time it was directed at her. And she wasn’t sure howthatmade her feel. “I can’t believe you even let him in your life after that.”

“I do it for Camila’s sake,” she admitted. “I hoped that just because he was a bad partner wouldn’t mean he couldn’t be a good dad. He’s failed on both fronts.”

“Amber told me he was a deadbeat, but I never knew how bad it was. It must have been hard to go through that all alone. Howold were you?”

“Nineteen. But I had my family, who’ve been this amazing support system. Mateo might not be all that involved but Camila receives three times the love.” Not wanting to ruin the meal with any more Mateo talk, she asked, “Where do your parents live?”

“My dad died in Afghanistan. And my mom lives in Boulder. She’s been great, but she’s a lot older than your parents, so being a weekend grandma is about all she can handle. And I wouldn’t want her to take on more. She worked three jobs to keep the roof over our heads. She deserves to spend every moment of her retirement being retired.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “Does single parenting get any easier?”

“It did after I came to the conclusion that, while I wanted to be perfect at everything, the perfect mom, the perfect employee, the perfect daughter, I was going to screw up on every front. As a single parent, perfection isn’t an option.”

“You seem like you’re holding it together pretty well.”

“It’s all a facade. You saw my room the other night. It was filled with clutter, bags of goodwill stuff, weeks and weeks of unopened mail and bills. I hide it in there before every board meeting so people think I have my shit together.”

“Sunshine, I couldn’t see anything past those Gnope panties.”

“Friends don’t comment on other friends’ panties.”

The air crackled. “Then why have you been staring at my lips?”

She jerked her head away. “You have a little sauce on the corner of your mouth.”

“Liar.”

He was so spot on she was surprised her pants didn’t burst into flames.

Chapter Seventeen

Evie

“Nothing about that is okay,” Camila said loud enough for everyone in line at the market to hear, while holding her phone in Moira’s face. Evie ducked her head and pushed the cart forward to distance herself from the conversation and hopefully go unscathed.

Moira rested her hand on Camila’s and lowered them. “Don’t worry, honey, he’s all yours.”

“Gross,” Camila said with enough teen angst to fuel a heat-seeking missile. “I am not going out with a guy you matched with.”

Evie came to a stop and whipped her head around to look at her daughter. “Hold up. You two are matching with the same guy now?” Camila picked up a candy bar and pretended to study the ingredients. “How old is he?”

Silence. Even though her daughter’s back was to her, Evie knew she was rolling her eyes.

“Camila?” she pressed.

---