Page 68 of Sinful Bargains

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and nodded.

“No, I needeverysingle detail,” she demanded, setting her glass down with a dramatic flourish.

I finally let my laughter slip free. “Well, I was working my shift, and he came in,” I started, watching as Lucy leaned in closer. “And he told me he had finally ended things with Renee—officially. Then he said he wanted to take me out.”

Lucy’s eyes sparkled. “And what were hisexactwords?”

I smirked, shaking my head. “He said, ‘I want you to be ready by six tomorrow night, because I’m taking you out.’”

Lucy gasped and clutched Angela’s arm. “He didn’t even ask her, Angela! Hetoldher!”

Angela grinned, clinking her glass against Lucy’s. “I just like that you’ve got him running around town like some love-struck fool.”

“I donothave him running around—” I started, but Lucy cut me off.

“Oh,please,” Lucy began. “I’ve known Joey for twenty years, and in that entire time, he’s never been so enamored by someone. Joey, who wouldn’t settle down if his life depended on it.Literally. And you’ve walked in here, strung him along, and put some sort of spell on him.”

Angela laughed. “She has put a spell on him, hasn’t she? And it’s about damn time.”

I shook my head, my face warm. Lucy waved a hand. “Okay, but what are you going to wear?”

Angela’s eyes lit up. “Oh, we’re picking out her outfit.”

“You two are worse than teenagers sometimes.”

Angela smirked. “And you love us for it. Don’t you?”

I sighed but couldn’t fight the smile that tugged at my lips.

That night at dinner, Antonio and I sat down to eat, the clinking of forks against plates filling the quiet space between us. I watched him for a moment, taking in the familiar features that made my heart ache with love—the wild curls of his brown hair that always seemed to have a mind of their own, the deep brown of his eyes that held a sharpness beyond his years, the sun-kissed warmth of his skin, and the freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose like tiny constellations. He was growing up too fast.

“What did you do with Joey today?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh,” he said, reaching for his glass and taking a sip of water. “He worked me like adog, Ma. You should probably not let me go back. It’s practically child labor in his shop. I’d do better sweeping and stocking down at Davidson’s.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Hmm…” I hummed. “Did you learn your lesson?”

“Oh, absolutely,” he said without hesitation.

“Good,” I said, twirling my fork into the pasta I had made for dinner. I hesitated for a second before speaking again. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah?” he said, looking up, waiting for me to continue.

“Well, I thought I’d go into the city with Joey tomorrow night,” I said carefully, watching his face for any sort of reaction.

Antonio only shrugged and kept eating. “Yeah, okay. You should do that, Ma. You deserve to be happy, and if Joey makes you happy, I’m cool with that.”

I blinked, surprised by his easy acceptance. “Are you sure?”

He nodded, swallowing a bite of food. “Yeah, Ma. I already knew something was going on between you two.”

“Oh, you did now?” I arched my brow.

He grinned, leaning back in his chair. “I’m almost an adult. I knowthings.”

I laughed, shaking my head. He really thought he was grown. But as I looked at him—the sharpness of his jawline that hadn’t been there a year ago, the confidence in his expression—I realized that in some ways, he was. And I couldn’t help but be proud of the young man he was becoming.

“Just go easy on him.” Antonio grinned, popping a bite of pasta into his mouth. “Joey’s softer than he looks.”

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