Page 31 of Juno

“How about you just call me, and I’ll save your info,” he offered.

“Oh, sure,” she said. “I’m sorry that I was so pushy. Of course, you don’t want to just give me your phone. That’s your private property. Um, what’s your number?” she asked. Tony rattled off his number and pulled his phone from his pocket when it buzzed from her calling him. He sent the call to voicemail and pretended to type in her name which was already attached to her number in his contacts. Tony was careful not to show his screen to her and felt like a complete ass for not just telling her the truth. He liked her. Hell, he more than liked her, but he was too much of a chicken to tell her that. And there was the fact that he didn’t have time to add dating to his daily calendar—it was already too full for him to handle and there was no way that he’d do things half-assed with Aurora. She deserved someone who could give her their full attention, and that was just not him.

Aurora

Aurora was sure that Tony hated her. That had to be the case because every time she saw him he had some excuse to run off and do something in the back office or even have an errand to run. He avoided talking to her and having any type of conversation with him was painful. Aurora had thought about quitting a few times, but she loved her job. She loved Elio too, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to work around Tony and ignore her own feelings for him. Sooner or later, she’d burst and everything that she had been holding in would finally come out. Tony would surely hate her after that if he didn’t already.

She usually got to the bakery before Tony and his grandfather. Poor Elio had been so sick lately, she worried that he might never be able to come back to the bakery. That would leave her alone with Tony, and working with just him, day in and day out felt wrong. Elio had hired her behind Tony’s back, and she was sure that had to do with why he hated her. He didn’t seem pleased when his grandfather introduced her as their new employee. He told Elio that he didn’t need any help around the bakery, even though his grandfather insisted that he did. Sometimes, when it was the three of them at the bakery, she felt like a third wheel. She’d even talked to Elio about Tony avoiding her and the sweet old man told her to give his grandson some time—but she knew that no amount of time would help her case. She was sure that there was nothing more that she could say or do to get Tony to accept her working there, or to like her. She was going to have to be resolved with being the outcast, and that usually worked for her. But there was something about the sexy, Italian boxer that had her wishing otherwise.

And now, he was standing in front of her, pretending that he didn’t already have her number in his phone. She had chanced a peek at his phone when he left it sitting in the kitchen to run back to the office. She found her phone number and a picture that she didn’t know that he had taken, listed in his contacts. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, it creeped her out, and on the other, she thought that it was super sweet. And if given the same opportunity, to sneak a picture of him and save it to her phone, she would.

Aurora was a natural born snooper, or that’s what her father used to say. She loved looking at other people’s private things and when it came to gossip, she wanted to know everything. The old saying, “If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, come sit next to me,” was her favorite, and that’s exactly how she felt about gossip. It was a bad trait to have, and one that she didn’t like to tell many people about, so there was no way that she was going to confess to Tony that she knew that he already had her number in his phone.

It was kind of comical watching him pretend to type her information into his phone while she stood there. He did everything that he could to hide his phone screen from her, and her knowing smirk would have given him away, but that would mean that he had actually looked at her. Eye contact wasn’t Tony’s strong suit, and for such a big guy, he was sure shy when it came to talking to her.

He looked up at her and smiled. “There, you’re added to my contacts.” He seemed proud of himself, and Aurora wasn’t sure if she should cheer or giggle at his triumph.

“Great,” she said, “you promise to call me when you have any news about Elio?” she asked. She wondered if his gruff, sexy voice would still sound as good over the phone as it did in real life. She had thought about him whispering to her in bed, but that wasn’t something that she let herself do often, knowing that he didn’t see her that way.

“Yep,” he agreed. “I’m going to start putting stuff out. We open in about an hour.”

“Yeah, I need to finish making the donuts and then, I’ll give you a hand,” she offered.

“I’ve got it,” he assured, “no need to hurry.” It kind of hurt her feelings that he was blowing her off and telling her that he didn’t want her help. It felt more like he was telling her that he didn’t want her around, and that was easier, to some degree, for her to accept. At least he was being honest with her, and no hope was better than false hope.

“Suit yourself,” she mumbled under her breath as she walked back to the kitchen to finish frosting and glazing the donuts she made earlier. She wasn’t lying when she told him that she needed this job. But there were other jobs out there, and maybe it was time to start searching again. At least then, she’d be able to get through a day without feeling let down by a man who didn’t seem to know that she was alive.

* * *

Mornings always started out slowly, especially weekends. People usually came in for sweets and bread after church, and this Sunday was no different. She hated when it was slow—it gave her time to think about everything that she was missing in life—including the man who was currently helping a few guys in the front of the bakery. He seemed to know them from the way that he was laughing and carrying on with them. She was right earlier—he talked to everyone except her. It had nothing to do with the lack of coffee or the early hour. He didn’t like her, and watching him with his friends drove that point home for her.

She grabbed the coffee pot and headed in Tony’s direction. If he didn’t want to talk to her, she’d just have to talk to his friends. Maybe one of them would pay some attention to her. God, it had been so long since any guy paid any attention to her. And once they paid her a bit of attention, they seemed to lose interest. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that by the second or third date, the guys all wanted sex, and she wasn’t ready for that next step. Aurora was saving herself for someone special, not that she’d ever find him at this rate. That was probably why she was still a virgin at the age of twenty-three. Her friends from high school were all married and having kids—at least, that was what their social media pages said.

Aurora knew that sticking around her hometown, with all her old friends from high school, she’d never meet anyone. She hated that she needed to leave her family, but her mother seemed to understand her desire for a new start. She thought that her fresh start would finally find Mr. Right, but she was wrong. She had been in town for almost a year now, working for Elio, and wishing with all her might that Tony would finally notice her.

“Can I get you guys some coffee?” she asked.

“Oh, I’ve already got them covered,” Tony said. She nodded and started back to the kitchen, just wanting to hide, when one of the guys called her back.

“I could use a refill,” he said. She smiled and nodded, grateful that he gave her a reprieve after Tony flat-out dismissed her.

“Sure,” she said, filling his mug. “Anyone else?” she asked. They all nodded, and she filled their mugs too. “If you need anything else, just ask Tony,” she breathed.

“How about your number?” one of the guys asked.

“And your name,” another chimed in.

Tony sighed and introduced her. “Guys this is Aurora. She works here, and as for her number, you’ll have to discuss that with her. But, if you’re as smart as I think you are, you won’t give any of them your number.” Aurora smiled, but her brain was trying to figure out if Tony had really just called her smart. He couldn’t have meant it. He never paid her a compliment and honestly, she wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“Aurora, this is Rocco,” he pointed to the guy in the corner. “And that’s our manager/promoter, Jones.” An older man nodded to her, and she did the same back. “And that’s Luca,” he said.

The guy sitting closest to her stood and held out his hand to her. “Good to meet you, Aurora.”

“Um, thank you,” she said, pulling her hand from his and sticking it in her pocket. “I’m going to go back to the kitchen and start cleaning up,” she stuttered. She was lying. The kitchen had been clean for over an hour because she had been hiding back there, trying to avoid Tony.

She put the coffee pot back on the burner and rounded the corner into the kitchen. Aurora pulled her flour-covered apron off and tossed it in the pile of dirty rags that needed to be washed. She took the laundry home every night for Elio, hoping to save him from having to do it himself. She didn’t mind, really, and Elio seemed to really appreciate the help.

“Hey,” Tony said, finding her in the back of the kitchen. He looked around and then back at her. “You either were really fast or you just lied. I hope that my friends aren’t too much. They’re all boxers, and well, Jones’s whole life is boxing. I know that we can all get a bit rowdy, and I had no idea that they were coming today. Heck, Rocco, and Luca are supposed to be off bread, to meet weight for their upcoming fights.”

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