That was too bad, but probably for the best. Normally, his self-control was ironclad, but one kiss with Fiona had reduced it to a charred pile of rubble. In the future, he’d be more careful.
He didn’t want their evening to end, but he knew if he lingered, it would lead to complications neither of them were prepared to address. He backed up a step to put more space between them and jammed his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to touch her. “Goodnight, Fiona. Make sure to lock the bolt once you’re inside.”
“I will.” She smiled. “Goodnight, Joe. Thanks again for dinner. I had a good time tonight.”
She opened the door to her apartment and a sliver of light spilled out into the hallway. The proverbial devil on Pinto’s left shoulder whispered for him to follow her inside—you know, to make sure everything was safe and sound—while the angel on his right shoulder reminded him of all the things that could possibly go wrong if he let the little head do all of his thinking.
For once in his life, he actually listened to the angel. Still, he couldn’t resist calling out to Fiona before she closed the door.
She glanced back at him, one hand on the knob, and the heat that came when her eyes met his was beginning to feel familiar.
He backed up another step, just in case the devil managed to put the angel into a headlock. “If you change your mind about needing more practice, you know where to find me.”
The blush returned to her cheeks. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The door clicked shut, leaving him alone in the hall. He waited until he heard the bolt slide into place before he turned to leave.
According to his watch, it was quarter to eleven—not late for a Friday night, especially when he had the weekend off. He wasn’t tired by any stretch; to the contrary, his body was wired with restless energy in need of an outlet. Going to a bar or a club didn’t hold any appeal, and there wasn’t anything at the movies that he was interested in watching. He briefly considered a late-night run, the weather was perfect for it, but then he remembered Fiona watching him from her balcony, and it only made matters worse.
As he walked down the stairs, he powered up his phone and found a missed call from his sister Stephanie. Curious, he sent her a text to see whether she was available, and his phone chimed with her ringtone as he stepped into his apartment.
“About time you called back,” he teased when she answered the call.
“Excuse me for having a life.” Humor laced her thick Jersey accent. A year and a half apart in age, they’d been giving each other crap ever since they learned to talk. Nowadays, it was mostly of the good-natured variety. “I’m surprised you’re calling on a Friday night. Shouldn’t you be out disappointing some unfortunate woman?”
Normally, this would be the point where he hit back with a cheap shot at her nonexistent social life, but he knew she was sensitive about anything even remotely related to her divorce, so he pulled that particular punch.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I just got home from a date.”
“Are you serious?” Steph barked out a laugh. “Jeez, it’s not even eleven. I hope that poor woman has plenty of batteries.”
If they’d been in the same room, he would have flipped her off. “She’s a teacher, you putz. She’s been up since the ass crack of dawn. Forgive me for being considerate.”
“Now there’s a first.” His sister snorted. “I assume you want to talk about Ma.”
“You would be correct.” He toed off his shoes, plopped down on the couch, and reached for the remote control. Maybe he’d luck out and find some nice, boring documentary that would put him to sleep as soon as he got off the phone. “Care to shed some light on her sudden decision to pay me a visit?”
“It wasn’t my idea.” The irritation in her voice led Pinto to believe she was telling him the truth. “I was planning on having a nice, quiet Christmas, but then Ma came over last week and announced—right in front of Sadie—that she wanted to take us to Disney for the holidays. So if I say no, Sadie will hate me for being the big, mean mommy who won’t let her visit Cinderella’s Castle. Is that some bullshit or what?”
It was, but he still would have appreciated a friendly heads-up. “You could have warned me.”
“I know. I meant to call, but then things got crazy at work, and Leo’s being an ass about visitation, and I’ve got to figure out how to make all of this fit into my schedule so I won’t lose my job and my daughter won’t hate me.” She made an exasperated sound. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
Understanding took the edge off his irritation. The divorce had been brutal on his sister. It was bad enough the lousy bastard had cheated on her with their barely legal babysitter. Then he’d acted as though he was the injured party when she left his sorry ass. To make matters worse, he’d had the nerve to fight for full custody of Sadie with the bogus claim that Steph was a bad mother. And now that he’d gotten his ass spanked in court, he made a point of dragging his feet with the child support payments.
The last thing she needed was Pinto piling on with petty bullshit.
“Next time I’m up, remind me to kick the shit out of Leo. I still owe him.”
“Please don’t do that,” Steph said. “I’d rather not have to explain to Sadie why Uncle Joey got arrested for beating the tar out of Daddy.”
He grinned. It would totally be worth it. “You know you’d love to see it.”
“That’s beside the point.”
Pinto blew out an exaggerated exhale as he continued to flip through channels. “Fine, have it your way, but the offer still stands.”
Maybe, if he asked really nicely, Nina could inflict some of her computer wizardry on Leo. Nothing that would jeopardize the prick’s job—then he wouldn’t be able to pay child support—but maybe she could add him to the No Fly List or give his contact information to every marketing company known to man. Not nearly as satisfying as breaking his kneecaps, but it would have to do for now.
