Page 108 of Love or Leave

He shook his head. It was embarrassing enough moving back in with his parents. There was no way he was going to revert to being waited on, even if he knew she was offering more out of her need than his. Cooking calmed her.

"I’m just going to grab a drink."

She nodded and sat back down. "How did the house inspection go?"

Antonio took a can from the fridge and sat at the table across from her. "Good," he said. "I love the place and it's in good shape, close to the beach."

"When do you close?"

"In two months."

He took a drink and wondered what to do next. At the poker tournament, he'd tried to remind Cara how great they could be together, but that had ended disastrously. And he'd basically poured his heart out at the observatory, which also didn't work. Maybe he needed to start slower. He could send her flowers. Did she like flowers?

She liked games.

He could send her board games for them to play together. “The Game of Life” would be perfect.

He felt his mother's hand touch his and when he looked up, she gave him a pitiful look. "She'll come around, Tonio."

Antonio smiled and nodded. He hoped she was right.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

His eyes squinted as he looked at the clock on the microwave. It was too late for visitors.

His mom stood, but he stopped her. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No."

He got up. "I'll get it."

He went to the door, worried about what he'd find when he opened it, but when he swung it back and saw who was standing on the other side, his jaw dropped.

"Cara?"

She exhaled in relief. "Thank God. I was going to give up if this house wasn't yours."

His brain finally caught up to the fact that she was standing on his porch, and his body began to slowly let go of its tension. That had to be a good sign… right?

"If this house wasn't mine?"

"Max only knew your street, not the house number, so I had to go by cars, but there are three cars just like yours on this street," she said with an eye roll.

Antonio's face broke into a grin. He was so happy she was there. "You've been knocking on random doors?"

"Not random. Doors with cars like yours. Keep up."

He laughed, and the rest of the tension in his body eased.

"Who is it?" his mom asked, coming into the entryway behind him.

Antonio stepped aside and opened the door the rest of the way. "Mom, you remember Cara?"

His mom smiled. "Of course," she said. "Come in."

Antonio smiled at his mom, thankful that his lecture to her about being polite and keeping boundaries had sunk in.

Cara stepped in reluctantly, but Antonio took her hand and tugged her in, closing the door behind her.

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