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Seb’s lip twitches, and I try not to think about the fact most women my age know about Taylor Swift’s love life, not a side-character cartoon dog from a kid’s show.
“Not Frissy. Unkuhrad,” Charly says in between kissing the puppy’s head.
“Uncle Rad it is then. Radley for short.” Seb pushes himself up and glances at the wet spot on his pants. “Do you mind holding her a little longer while I change my pants? Maybe jump in the shower really quick?”
I tip my chin in a quick nod, and Seb disappears upstairs, knowing he’s left me with an image of him and a shower.
Obviously, I couldn’t say no. Not when Charly is in absolute heaven. But this interaction isn’t helping my resolve to not get involved with Seb again. Not just because of the reminder of what his abs look like either.
He was really sweet with Charly, and I wonder if I judged him too quickly. Maybe his first interaction with her was a fluke. He wasn’t on his best game.
Which would make sense. It was awkward for me too, seeing him for the first time since I ghosted him, with the kid I didn’t tell him about.
Gia comes back into the room, spots us on the floor and shakes her head. “Did he leave you to take care of his animal? I tell him since the time he was a little boy, ‘no animals.’ No cats, no dogs, no little rodents in cages.” She pinches her fingers together and moves her wrist back and forth as she talks. “And what does he do? He brings home an animal. Who’s going to clean up after it? He doesn’t even do his own laundry! I’ve spoiled him. I love him, but he’s still a boy.”
She finishes her rant by clasping her hands and squeezing them together for emphasis.
“Charly likes her. Seb let her give her a name.” I don’t know what else to say. Or why I feel compelled to defend Sebastian while also feeling grateful to Gia for pointing out all the reasons why he’s not ready to be anything but friends with me.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking.” She throws her hands in the air. “He says he wants to be responsible, then lets a puppy pee on my floor.”
Gia opens the cabinet under the kitchen sink and pulls out a bin of cleaning products. “Then leaves me to clean it up, of course.”
She snaps on rubber gloves, which gets Uncle Rad’s attention. She wiggles out of Charly’s arms and follows Gia to the puddle.
Gia kneels and wipes up the spot, then sprays it with something that smells strongly of pine and alcohol. Why this excites Uncle Rad, I don’t know, but she yips and tries to jump on Gia’s back.
“Shoo! Shoo!” Gia yells, but her efforts to wave Uncle Rad away only get the puppy more excited. She jumps around Gia, nipping at her sweater.
One of Uncle Rad’s teeth gets caught in the cable knit. She pulls away, snagging the sweater.
“Oh you naughty dog!” Gia yells and stands.
For a second, Uncle Rad hangs inches above the ground, until the material gives. Rad drops to the ground, a piece of thread still in her mouth, and runs, unraveling the middle section of Gia’s sweater right before our eyes.
I grab Uncle Rad and unhook the yarn from her tooth just as Seb walks in, his hair wet and shining black from the shower.
“What happened?” He looks from me to Gia who’s holding the giant hole in her sweater together.
“There’s been anotherincidentwith Uncle Rad.” I hand the puppy to Seb, then scoop up my own baby.
Gia’s face is flaming red. But it’s her silence that’s truly terrifying.
“We’re going to go.” I carry Charly past Seb.
“You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Seb rushes to open the mudroom door for me, but one glance at Gia tells me I do not want to stay for the explosion that’s about to come.
“No, but thanks. We’ll see you tomorrow, Gia! Thank you!”
Charly holds my neck tight and waves, calling, “Bye, Unkuhrad!” as I practically run out the side door.
Seb stands at the door, watching us, but I hear more shouting in Italian as I close my car door. He’s definitely in for it when he goes back inside, although I don’t think that’s the only reason he stands outside until we leave.
It’s not until I’m on the road to Evie’s that I really let myself think through what Gia said about Seb wanting to learn to be responsible.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Seb might not be giving up on me as quickly as I thought he had.
Chapter 11
