Page 40 of Craving Francesca

“I’d play it by ear,” she told me, dropping her hand. “Check on her when you get back and go from there. Maybe she just needed a minute to get her bearings.”

I nodded and swung open the door.

“You’re a good man,” my mom called, making me pause just outside the car. “Proud of you, bud.”

“I’m a grown ass man,” I said, looking at her in disbelief.

“You’re still my little buddy,” she sang. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Turning, I moved to shut the door. “You’ll keep this to yourself?”

“Don’t keep anything from your dad,” she reminded me. “But it won’t go further than that.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

“Anytime, kid.”

I shook my head as I closed the door and unlocked the Tahoe with the fob. Frankie wasn’t that much shorter than I was, so I barely had to adjust the seat when I got in. Hopefully if she noticed, she wouldn’t be too pissed about it.

The SUV was a nice ride. Frankie took really good care of it, and the inside was spotless except for a travel coffee mug that was sitting in the cupholder. She was getting low on gas, so I took it through the gas station and filled it before I headed back to her place. Next door was a car wash, so I ran it through there, too.

When I got back to the house and opened up the door, I was surprised to hear music playing in the kitchen. Following the sound, I found Frankie on her hands and knees, mopping the floor.

“Decided against the nap?” I asked, dropping the keys on the counter.

“Fuck!” she screamed, spinning to look at me and falling flat on her ass.

“A little light cleaning?”

“You scared the shit out of me,” she said, one hand pressed to her chest.

“Brought the Tahoe home.”

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Wasn’t a big deal.”

“That was really nice of you. Thank you.”

“You wanna tell me what this morning was about?”

“Not especially,” she said, rolling back to her knees.

“All right.”

Her gaze shot to mine. “Really?”

“You doin’ better now?”

“Yeah.” She shook her head. “Sorry about that.”

“Nothin’ to be sorry about. Glad I was there.”

“Me too.” She shot me a small smile. “But seriously, I’m fine. I was a little distracted earlier, but I’m over it now.”

“Quick turnaround.”

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