Page 31 of Daycare Santa
“I know. It’s bad for my eyes.”
For Gina, it was more than that. She didn’t like the idea of tranquilizing him with a screen. Since the pandemic many people didn’t socialize as well as they had before, including children. Gina believed in a healthy balance and ensured Luca had physical books alongside his electronic device.
He sat forward and leaned sideways. “May I borrow your phone?”
She swallowed a smile at his politely worded request, pulled the cellular from the holder, and passed it to him.
“Thanks.”
The traffic flowed smoothly, and she prayed they didn’t get stuck unexpectedly. She approached the next stoplight, humming to Mariah Carey’sAll I Want Is You. The light caught her, so Gina tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and sang under her breath.
A sports car pulled up next to her. A Maserati, with the same matte finish and white gold trim as Zack’s. Somehow, she doubted there were two of them on the island. Male drivers preferred SUVs to sports cars, given the terrible road conditions in some areas.
Zack looked at her from the Maserati, with no hint of recognition in his eyes. Then he turned away and kissed the woman sitting next to him. His action was a gut punch that made her draw a sharp breath. He had some nerve to act as if he didn’t know her. Well, two could play.
He must have felt her gazing at him, because he turned his head and cocked one eyebrow. The glare she seared him with said exactly what she thought of him. A lowlife who didn’t deserve her attention. She should have known better. If she hadn’t caught him, Zack would have been two-timing her the way Boyd had done.
She pressed the gas, and the car surged forward.
Luca looked up, and she met his gaze in the mirror and reassured him with a smile. His gaze went to the Maserati that caught up with them and pointed. “That’s Uncle Zack’s car.”
“Why d’you think so?” she asked, veering into the far lane.
“Nobody else has one, so it must be him.”
“He’s not the only person to have a sports car.”
“I didn’t see anybody else with one like that.” Luca craned his neck, then nodded. “His car has the same number.”
Gina couldn’t win that argument, so she let it go. The confirmation of his license plate landed a boulder in her belly. At least she’d get to spend time with Luca this evening. That would keep her mind off Zack. A peek in the rearview mirror confirmed the Maserati was long gone.
She pulled in a lungful of air that hurt her chest and released it, feeling like a fool. Life was proving her to be a poor judge of character. Not to mention having a broken discernment radar. Zack was charming, handsome, and persuasive. Plus, there was that flashy, expensive car. Any fool would know he was a player. Any fool, but her.
Chapter 13
Forty-five minutesafter he pulled up to the ice cream shoppe, Zack eased his seat into an upright position. Good thing he hadn’t gone inside, but opted to wait in the car. Parents and children went in and out—young, old, in between, and of course, young lovers added to the numbers. The pepper lights lining the plate-glass windows, and cheerful Christmas music that escaped each time the door opened, sent him deeper into the doldrums.
