Broken Pieces (Leaving You, Finding Them Book 1) Page 6

  “Thank you.” I place my purse on the desk and continue to follow her. She continues her tour through a conference room, a breakroom with a tv and fridge, and Jim’s office.

  When the tours over I get situated at my new desk and log into the computer, and after a quick summary of what needs to be done, I get to work. I’ve done this type of job before, for my mom, and it all comes back to me. I’ve worked through two accounts payrolls by the time lunch rolls around, and I’m feeling pretty good about the job.

  Jim, who did, in fact, show up at eight-thirty and is a silver fox if I do say so myself, ordered us all Chinese for a sort of welcome to the team. He stands just under six feet with a trim figure, blue eyes, and a full head of silver hair that doesn’t take anything away from his handsome face. My aunt definitely has good taste.

  We all sit around an oval table in the conference room to eat, and I forget any nerves or anxiety I assumed I would have. With the way the girls are gossiping, I barely have room to say anything. Jim watches them with amusement, and I can tell they’ve all worked with each other for a while now.

  By the end of lunch, I could tell you: where the best places to eat are, important events coming up, and of course who’s seeing who. Not that I knew anyone they were talking about. I did listen for names though, just to see if any of my guys were among the taken. My guys? Gah, I wish! Luckily, I didn’t hear any of their names.

  I get straight back to work after lunch, continuing on with the short stack of account payrolls, I need to finish today. When I get to the last one, I have to do a double-take at the name of the business. It says, Cade’s Custom Motorcycles. It can’t be a coincidence, can it? I mean he even rides a motorcycle. I look at the home address on file, I know I feel super stalkerish, and confirm its the house next door. I look at the business owner’s name... Cade Dominic Valentino. Ugh! Even his name is sexy!

  I just manage to finish his books in time for five, o’clock to roll around. I would have been able to get them done sooner, but the forgotten teenager in me kept running my name together with his. Mrs. Cade Valentino, Mrs. Valentino, Mrs. Mia Valentino, and Mia Marie Valentino. Call me silly, but I like how they sound. Don’t judge! You’ve done it too.

  After saying goodbye to Jim and the girls, I grab my purse and head out to the truck. Getting in I take off for home but have to double back to the store. I had forgotten I needed to pick up some hamburgers and other groceries for dinner tonight. This time I’m able to keep it a short trip, and only get what I really need.

  When I finally get home, I pull into the driveway and see Miklo’s bike out front. It’s turned upside down, and I can see a few tools lying around it. I wonder what happened and hope that whatever it was Miklo was already almost home when it did. Plus, whose tools are those? The only tools we have are still in the back of the truck.

  I grab the few bags that I have in the passenger seat and head inside. As I’m opening the door, I can hear more than one voice inside. One a lot deeper than the other. Who in the heck… Oh.

  It doesn’t take me long to figure out who, and I stop in my tracks for a second. Cade is sitting on the couch with Miklo. Each of them is holding a controller, and it looks like they are playing a new version of Mortal Kombat.

  I force myself across the room and place my bags on top of the island, that’s between us. They don’t seem to have heard me come in and I take advantage of that to listen in. I drink my fill of the Adonis sitting next to my son, my eyes traveling across his muscular arms, while I unpack the bags silently.

  Other than grunts and shouts, they don’t say much until my son shouts out, “Yes! I won! I beat you again, Cade!”

  “You got lucky, I almost had you.” His voice was amused and caused shivers to roll over my skin.

  “Ya, sure.” My son offers the biggest cheeser on his face, and it makes me smile too. It makes me feel better about the move, seeing him already happy.

  “Well I gotta go, but rematch another day, you’re going down Lil Man.” Oh man… his voice, deep rough and manly. I couldn’t handle his voice. Literally. Could not. The sound goes through my body, igniting points of pleasure in me the same way the roar of his bike does whenever he drives it by. This is the first time I think I’ve ever actually heard his voice.

  He stands up and reaches down to fist, bump my smiling, teenage son, and he smiles back at him. WTF!? How do I get him to smile like that? But hey, I did get Miklo to talk to me again, so maybe there’s hope yet for Mr. Grump Ass.

  I quickly turn my gaze and try not to be caught staring at them. I focus myself on trying to open the pickle jar I just took out of the last grocery bag.

  Damn thing won’t open! Come on, Mia, you can do it. You're tough… Fuck! Pickle jars tougher. Oh sure, this isn’t embarrassing at all. Big manly Cade is probably watching you struggle with a pickle jar and laughing…

  A hand appears out of nowhere and takes the jar from me. Cade twists the lid off like nothing with a pop and hands it back to me. I look up into his emerald green eyes, and he just looks away, then turns and walks out the door. Never saying one word to me, although I think I heard him growl, I just stand there and watch him walkout.

  “Mom… mom… Earth to mom!” I turn back to my son, who is now off the couch and is standing right beside me. I wasn’t expecting him to be so close and I jump. While reaching to get a pickle out of the jar in my hands, he laughs. Little shit just about gave me a heart attack. “Need me to turn the AC on? You’re looking a little sweaty. Why is your face all red? Huh?”

  “Ha. Ha. Ha. Bubbs” He just loves picking on me. I grab a pickle out for him and hand him a paper towel. “So what was Cade doing over here?”

  “My bike got a flat on my way home. I was almost here when it went flat and had to walk it the rest of the way. Then just as I reached the house, he got home too, and came over to see if I needed any help.” Well, that solves the tool mystery.

  “Well, that was nice of him.”

  “Yeah, he helped patch the hole, and while he was working on it, we started talking about video games. It was super cool because he said he had played some of the same ones as me. So I invited him in so I could beat him..”

  Boys.

  “Bubbs, he’s basically a stranger, why are you inviting him in when I’m not here?”

  “All the neighbors are super nice mom, and I didn’t think you’d mind coming home to him here,” He said while wagging his eyebrows as I roll my eyes. How is it that my son has my number? I needed to check out who he is crushing on at school and then tease him without mercy.

  “You’re not wrong on that part, although I don’t think he likes me. Still, nobody over while I’m not here until I know them better.”

  “Deal.”

  “So how was your first day of school today?”

  “It went great. I like all my classes, and I made two new friends, Killian and Shane. Killian is new to the school too.”

  “That’s great, Bubbs! You have my permission to give my number to them, so their parents have it. That way if you guys ever want to hang out, this will make it easier for their parents and myself. ”

  “I don’t even have their phone numbers yet. Let’s wait for a few weeks. It is just the first day of school mom.”

  “Alright, alright, I’m just so proud and happy for you.” I ruffle his curls, and he gives me a playful glare.

  He finishes his pickle and throws his napkin away before heading back to the couch. Picking up his controller, he starts to play another game. “Oh yeah, Dad called again, told me to tell you to please call him.”

  Ugh, I really don’t want to, but I think I gave him enough of the silent treatment for now. “Okay, thanks. I’ll call him real quick before dinner.”

  Taking my phone out of my purse, I dial Dre’s number and wait for him to answer. It just rings and rings till the voicemail comes on, and I hang up not wanting to leave one. He’ll either call me back or not when he sees my missed call.

  Just as I�
��m pulling a beef enchilada casserole out of the oven, he decides to call back. “Hello?”

  “Hey Ma, I’m glad you called back. Why have you been so mean to me?”

  “Hey, Dre. I haven’t been mean to you, I just needed time to adjust to everything here. I had my first day of work today, and I loved it.”

  “Yeah, you have been. You’ve been ignoring me.”

  He didn’t even care for a second about how my day actually went. Honestly, this man makes my point on why I needed to leave for me. “What’s up? What do you need?”

  “Ouch Baby, you know all I need is you. I love you. I miss you.”

  “Dre…” I mumble, shaking my head.

  “So when are you going to move back? I can’t wait till I see you again.” When he gets so sweet with me, it’s hard to keep my resolve, but I can. I can feel myself getting stronger already. It’s so much easier to let him down over the phone than it ever was in person. Usually, in person, he would win me over, and I’d give in.

  “We’re not moving back, I told you before we left that this wasn’t just temporary. We’re going to start new lives here Dre. I need this, and Miklo is already starting to like it, he even made two new friends at school today.”

  “What about Miklo? You can’t keep him from me.”

  “I’m not now, nor would I ever keep him from you. We’ll make sure he gets to go down there for some of the holidays. It’s not like you saw him that often when we lived only an hour away. You know what? How about we split the ticket and he goes down and stays with you for Fall Break?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good, I want him for Fall Break. I’m not sure if I can get the money for the ticket though.”

  Can we say typical?

  “It’s fine, I still have some savings left and will start getting paid soon, so I’ll just buy it. We’ll split Christmas Break though, and we WILL, split that ticket.”

  “Of, course. You know I’ve got it, Ma.”

  Right. Just like how I don’t have a massive crush on the men next door. Wait, what? Where did that come from? I blamed my view of their house.

  “I’m serious Dre, you don’t pay half of the ticket he stays with me the whole break, which means for Christmas and for his birthday.” I shake my head even though he can’t see the motion through the phone. Please let him do his part. “Well I gotta go, dinners done and I need to feed the kid. Later Dre.”

  “Later, Ma.”

  Well, that conversation actually went a lot better than I thought it would. He usually would have started fighting with me. I’m so glad he didn’t though because I’m already exhausted. Soon as I eat dinner, I’m heading to bed.

  ∞∞∞

  Cade

  Well her kid is pretty cool. When I was pulling into our driveway on my way home from work today, I saw him pushing his bike. I saw that his tire was flat, so quickly grabbed a few tools and headed over to see if he could use some help.

  After accepting my help, he talked my ear off switching from one story to the next so quick they blended together, while I patched a hole in his tire. He did talk about a few games he’s been playing on his XBox, and I recognized a few names. Letting him know which ones I’ve played, he asked me if I wanted to come in and play one. We ended up deciding on Mortal Kombat, and the kid kept kicking my ass. I’m gonna have to brush up and play it at home so I can beat his ass next time.

  I knew the second Mia walked through the door, the sweet smell of her perfume coming in with her. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a button-up, the jacket not on, and I could see her black bra through the teal shirt. The dress pants fit her every curve, making me want to rub my hands over them and what they keep hidden.

  Instead, I pretended not to notice her, turned my head, and kept my eyes on the game. I could tell from the very corner of my eye that she was watching me. Watching me interact with her son.

  Once the match we were in was over, him beating me, of course, I decided to leave. I knew if I stayed, I’d have to talk to Mia, and I just didn’t know what to say. When I stood up, I glanced over just in time to see her head turn down towards the pickle jar she was trying and failing to open. I really didn’t want to find it a bit cute, but fucking failed.

  I walked up and took the jar from her. Her golden eyes rising up to meet mine. Once I opened the jar, it took all I had to look away after handing it to her. I turned with a growl and still didn’t say anything and left. She probably thinks I’m the biggest asshole.

  I’m just getting into the house after putting my tools away, and I head to the sink to wash my hands. Jesse is in the living room watching tv and watches me walk in. “Where have you been? Thought you were going to get off early today?”

  “I did. I’ve been next door.”

  His eyes perk up, and he sits up straight. “Oh, really? Doing what?” I knew I’d get the third degree from one of them.

  “I helped Miklo fix his tire and played a few video games with him.”

  “Did you see Mia?”

  “Yeah, she came home right before I left.”

  “Did you talk to her?”

  “No.” I turn my face away from him, he’s looking too intently at me.

  “You like her too, don’t you? I can see it in your face.”

  “Nah, that girl literally has drama rolling off her.”

  “Don’t lie Cade. You like her.”

  Wadding up and tossing the hand towel I had gotten to dry my hands off on, it hits him in the head. “Fuck off Jesse.”

  He starts laughing, and I know when he gets like this, it’s hard to get him to stop. I go head upstairs, and he manages to take a breath from laughing, calling out. “If you do like her, don’t forget the rest of us do too. So we’re gonna have to share.”

  I didn’t want to stay away from Mia, but I promised myself I would try. It was better for both of us.

  Chapter Six

  Ball To The Face

  It’s October now, and we have been here for almost three months. They seem to have gone by so fast, with work, and school. As well as getting to know the guys next door better. Except for Cade of course. The other three though I’ve grown far closer to, at least as friends. I know unfortunate. We talk almost daily in passing, but anything further, I’m not sure where they stand. I feel like they are still giving me space.

  Miklo’s fall break starts next week, but I took today, Thursday, off so I could take him to the airport this morning. He's only going back for a little less than two weeks to stay with his dad, yet the stress I have felt from the multiple calls with Dre has me needing my own vacation. He keeps trying to get me to come back one minute then cursing me the next, a type of whiplash I am more than acquainted with. Not wanting to waste the day away, and because it should have been done months ago, yup I’m a procrastinator...I decided to finally unpack the rest of our boxes. I put up all our pictures on the walls from Miklo growing up to our yearly vacations, then I find places for the small number of knick-knacks and decorations we still have. It’s about three now, and I’m pretty much finished, so I decided to break down all of the boxes and take them out front to the recycling.

  Dressed in a red Vici tank top and black baggy overalls I’ve had for about ten years now, the breeze is a bit cold and the air damp. Don’t judge my overalls. They are so comfy. My hair in pigtail braids, I walk out to shove all the boxes into the recycling container. I can hear some of the guys playing basketball out front again and look over to see Jesse and Roman, both in dark wifebeaters and basketball shorts. They’ve stopped playing and seem to be in a heated discussion when Roman looks over and sees me.

  “Hey! Mia! Come over here and be our ref, Jesse likes to cheat.”

  “Whatever man, you’re just a sore loser.”

  Laughing at their serious faces, I walk across the yard to their driveway. “Yeah sure, of course, I will.” Of course, I will come and watch your sexy, sweaty, tatted bodies play basketball. I literally could not imagine a better way to spend my time. Well�
� that isn’t wholly true.

  When I reach the edge of their carport, they begin to play again. Jesse does cheat a bit, I see elbows thrown as if he plays more street style.

  “Foul.”

  “Oh come on Beautiful, it was just a little love tap.”

  “Hey just calling it, like I see it.” I can’t help the smile on my face, he called me beautiful.

  “I knew you’d be on my side,” Roman says with a smirk.

  They continue to play. Jesse playing a lot more fair now that I’m calling him on his cheap shots. I can’t help but notice how similar they are, it really is like they are twins rather than just step brothers who’ve been together since they were four. Watching them, I notice that they have a lot of the same mannerisms and move a lot in the same way. Hearing a noise behind me, I turn towards our yard, hoping that it isn’t that dang cat again, he keeps getting out, and I have yet to find out how. Not seeing him or anything else I turn back to the boys and SMACK!

  “Shit!”

  “Fuck!”

  My hands instantly fly up to my face and steeple them over my nose, my eyes beginning to water as the basketball bounces away. Just as I had turned around, Roman had smacked the ball from going into the hoop to block one of Jesse’s shots, and the ball came flying at me and hit me square in the face. The guys rush over to make sure I’m okay, and I see a look of horror and concern on their faces. Hands still over my nose, the unwanted tears start leaking down my cheeks, and I begin to laugh. Unlucky me 1, Me 0.

  “Mia, you okay?” Roman looks at me like I’m crazy, unsure if he should hold me or shake me out of it.

  “Dude, I think she’s in shock.”

  Me? I can’t even say anything. I just continue to laugh, the situation is just too hilarious! Of course, something like this would happen to me. In fact, I’m actually having a little bit of deja vu. During my Freshman year of high school, I was a cheerleader, and we were at an away game for basketball. I had been turned to talk to one of my team members, and I'd turned back to a basketball right in my face. Also, like that time, I had started to laugh and couldn’t stop until our coach took me to the bathrooms to assess the damage. That time I had gotten a lovely swollen and purple nose. Please. Oh please! Oh please, don’t let my nose swell, or get a black eye or something equally as terrible!