AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When he put it that way, there was only one decision I could make.
“I’ll come to LA.”
34
KAYLIN
Freaking heck, my eyeballs were too big for my head.
And there was a small creature with sharp teeth nibbling at my brain. Maybe a beaver.
I tried lifting an eyelid and quickly rethought the decision. So much sun. So bright.
What was wrong with me?
Try as I might, I couldn’t remember a thing after the second pitcher of margaritas. Cesare had always told me I was a lightweight, and you know what? He was right. But only about that one tiny thing. The rest of the time he was so, so wrong.
What time was it? I stared at my watch until the hands came into focus, which took longer than it should have. Holy crap! It was nearly nine o’clock. Matty. I had to go see to Matty. He never slept past seven thirty, and his potty training was still hit-and-miss, mainly because Cesare kept yelling every time he had an accident, which only made the situation worse. I rolled out of bed and realised I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, but someone had taken off my socks and shoes. Nico? Had Nico put me to bed?
I ran into the third-bedroom-slash-nursery, but the bed was empty. That was the moment panic hit. Where was Matty? Where was my son? Heart hammering, I ran into the hallway with worst-case scenarios making my headache even worse. Had he climbed out of bed and fallen somewhere? Gotten lost within the hotel grounds? What if Cesare had?—
“Mama!”
I stopped short. Matty was sitting on his booster seat at the kitchen counter, wearing a pair of bib overalls and a faceful of chocolate spread. Nico was also wearing chocolate, but it was on his T-shirt, and when I didn’t come over right away, Matty threw a square of toast in my direction.
“Shit.” Nico’s eyes widened. “I mean darn. Matty, you shouldn’t throw food at your mom.”
“You…you made him breakfast?”
“He said he wanted ‘nut seller,’ which I interpreted as Nutella, but we don’t have that, so I found a recipe on the internet and got the kitchen to whip up a batch. They had plenty of hazelnuts for the praline in the Paris-Brest.”
“But…you got him dressed?”
“That was an interesting challenge. And yes, he’s used the bathroom.”
“How did you know what to do?”
“I’ve been watching you for the past two weeks. I’m sure I’ve done something wrong, but I managed to keep him alive.” Nico raised an eyebrow, expectant.
“Uh, he usually wears a shirt with the overalls.”
“Well, I guess that’s one less thing to wash chocolate out of. How’s your head?”
“Sore. How much did I have to drink?”
“Not an excessive amount, but one minute you were giggling, and the next…” He mimed his head hitting the counter. “Lights out.”
“Sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“For what? Enjoying yourself a little too much on a night out?”
“For being irresponsible.”
“Irresponsible would have been leaving Matty home alone while you drank the bar dry and then attempted to drive back. But you engaged a fully vetted babysitter, you made sure a driver was on standby, and you have a highly competent roommate who’s almost capable of dressing a toddler.”
“Highly competent and modest. Don’t forget modest.”
“When the shoe fits.” Nico stood and took a bow. “I’ll get you some Tylenol. Are you up to taking over? I could do with attending the operations meeting at nine.”
