When Dayana looked up again, it was with a tight jaw and fire in her eyes. “No. Everything is most definitely not okay.”
“You’d better come on back,” Maggie said, gesturing toward the hall. “Let’s get some coffee.”
As if on cue, Kevin nosed his way back into the house through the screen door, holding it open long enough for the kittens to scamper inside. They were followed by a long-legged, pissed-off landscaper. With his hat on backward.
Even mid–family crisis, Maggie’s lady parts took a moment to hum the “Hallelujah” chorus. The man had one hell of a hold on her, and it wasn’t lessening at all due to the amount of time they’d spent naked together.
Realizing she was thinking carnal thoughts while juggling her nephew, Maggie thought about paint swatches and grout.
Silas assessed the situation and then grinned at the little boy, who was overjoyedly waving to him.
“If you two don’t mind, I’ll take Keaton here for a tour. Rumor has it the plumbing crew just showed up with doughnuts,” Sy volunteered.
Dayana leveled a look at him, weighing the safety of her child in the care of a stranger.
“Doggy!” Keaton squealed from Maggie’s arms as Kevin trotted up and barked.
“One doughnut, no feeding my son to your dog, no dog tongue to the face, and no caffeine,” Dayana decided wearily.
“You got it,” Sy said, scooping the boy out of Maggie’s arms like it was a handoff they’d performed a hundred times before. “Come on, bud. Let’s go play with power tools.”
Dayana gave Maggie a smack on the shoulder the second Silas disappeared through the front door with Keaton. “Hot Landscaper Guy is even hotter off-screen,” Dayana hissed.
Maggie blew out a breath. “I know. It’s painful to look at him sometimes.”
“Why is he mad at you?” Her sister eyed her shrewdly.
“You can tell?” Maggie was impressed.
“The sparks that flew out of that man’s eyes could ignite underwear at ten paces.”
It was the truth. “We’re kind of seeing each other,” she admitted.
“Like ‘dinner and a movie, let’s see where this goes’ or getting naked?”
Maggie was not used to girl talk and felt rusty at it. “Both, I guess? Also, he doesn’t know anything about your—our—father. I haven’t told him. Or anyone. I mean, obviously Dean knows, but he wouldn’t say anything.”
Dayana cocked her head and gave her an inscrutable look. “Uh, okay.”
“Let’s get back to you,” Maggie said quickly. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Donald’s cheating on me,” Dayana said over a fresh cup of coffee minutes later. Her manicure had chips in it, and the nails on her index fingers were both chewed down to the quick, Maggie noticed. Day’s nail-biting had been another source of constant frustration for her mother. “And you don’t look surprised by that.”
Maggie winced and nodded toward the French doors. “Let’s walk and talk,” she suggested. They headed around the house, into the backyard. She’d met Donald on three occasions and had disliked him instantly. There was something smarmy about the guy. And not just because he wore a tie to lounge around his own house on a Saturday afternoon. He gave off a vibe of needing to be liked. Needing to feel respected. Needing to be the most important person in the room. Which was a problem, given who Dayana’s father was. No one else could be the most important person in the room if Sebastian was in it.
“Why isn’t anyone surprised by that?”
Maggie hesitated. “I don’t want to say anything that would cause problems if you two reconcile.”
At the back of the yard, they wandered up the long horseshoe curve in the path, and Maggie automatically looked for her favorite tree. Tall and straight, it stood like a lone sentinel just before the path opened into the clearing. Dignified except for the pair of carved eyes someone had affixed to its bark. Another surprise from Silas. The man was constantly surprising her.
And she was constantly trying to keep her secrets from him.
“Maggie, there isn’t a chance in hell that I’ll go back to that”—Dayana glanced around, making sure there were no impressionable ears nearby. “Narcissistic, grade-A asshole.”
“I believe you, and I don’t blame you.” Maggie led the way into the clearing and noted that Sy’s crew had put down the gravel for the firepit.
“Well, now, that’s a view,” Dayana said. She stepped up to where the grass ended and the rocky outcropping began and drank it in.