“Oh.” Disappointment jabs me in the chest. “So does that mean you don’t want to go out with me?”
It must be the sweatpants
He snorts. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You think I’d come all the way to Brooklyn on a Friday night for a girl I don’t like? I’m a nice guy, but not that nice.”
“But…”
“But I don’t need Nonna to force you to go out with me.” He sets his dark brown eyes with the long eyelashes on my face. “I can win you over without resorting to blackmail.”
I manage a smile. “Awfully confident, aren’t you, Doctor?”
“Hell yeah.” He returns the smile. “Call me when you finally realize how awesome I am, okay?”
“Okay.”
As he pushes through the door to the stairwell, I feel a pang of regret. I should ask him to stay. I should tell him I want to go out with him tomorrow, and it has nothing to do with what he did for Nonna. I should tell him to kiss me right here, right now, in the hall of my grandmother’s apartment building in Bensonhurst.
But I don’t.
Joel has really done a number on me.
Instead, I watch Dean leave. I watch him sprint down the stairs, only turning once to wave goodbye. And he calls out to me, “Make sure Nonna comes to see me on Monday!”
Chapter 30: The New Girl
Two weeks ago, Joel’s friends Anna and Con announced the birth of a baby boy named Andrew. When Joel called to tell Cassie about it, he sounded more excited than the new parents were.
It worries Cassie. When she first brought up the prospect of kids with him, he acted like she was being silly—they were only together a month, after all. But now they’ve been together nearly six months. And furthermore, Joel made an offhand comment about wanting to be a dad before he turned forty. Except he’s now thirty-seven. That means he’s got three years to get engaged, get married, knock his wife up, have her spend nine months pregnant, and then have a baby. Working backwards, that means he’s got to get engaged…
Like, now.
Maybe he’s flexible on the whole forty thing.
Right now, they’re at Con and Anna’s apartment, paying a visit to the baby. Cassie likes their place better than Lydia and Pete’s four million dollar apartment—this place is cozier and the furniture looks like you can use it without having a panic attack that it could be damaged. Anna herself looks tired. She usually seems so put together—it’s surprising to see her in a camisole and leggings with two milk stains on her blouse that match those on the sofa. There are purple circles under her eyes and new white hairs are threaded through her messy ponytail.
“How are you doing?” Cassie asks her. “Are you sleeping?”
“I sleep when the baby sleeps,” Anna recites, as if it’s her mantra.
Joel grins at her. “I’d be happy to take him off your hands for a little while.”
Anna obliges by gently handing him the bundle in her arms. Joel is so careful with him, settling down on the couch and peering down at the little face. “Look how tiny he is, Cassie.”
Anna giggles. “Somebody’s got baby fever.”
God, no.
Con comes out with a bowl of popcorn and sodas for everyone. He rests a hand on his wife’s shoulder, “Anna, if you want to go lie down, I’ll keep Cassie and Joel company.”
Anna yawns. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. You’ve been up with Andrew since four. Go to sleep—it’s my shift now.”
But just before Anna leaves the room, Con reaches for her hand, and for a moment, the two of them hold hands and look into each other’s eyes. What Cassie sees pass between Anna and Con in that moment reminds her of the love she used to see between her grandparents. Lydia and Pete are always bickering, but Anna and Con never do. They’re always staring at each other like they’re the only two people in the world. They have a Wuthering Heights sort of love.