King of Hearts by Stevenson Jennifer

Author:Stevenson, Jennifer [Stevenson, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: blue collar, Chicago, stagehand, romantic comedy, romance, deckhand, backstage, comedy
Publisher: Book View Cafe

King Dave found Nadine watching Davy Junior dig for dinosaur bones at the children’s museum. He’d been gone exactly an hour.

Her face lit up. “I knew you’d be back.”

He walked smash up to her and wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “I almost wasn’t.”

She clutched him tightly. All his self-blame and misery melted away. She kissed his ear. “You didn’t know, but I knew.”

His knees went weak.

Davy Junior looked up from the dinosaur bones and shrieked, “Daddy!” and hurtled over to slam into his knees and hug him.

He stooped to kiss the kid, and then Davy Junior rocketed back to the dig. “Guess he’s feeling better.”

“I called his grandmother after he threw up,” Nadine said. “She said not to worry.”

King Dave’s heart stopped dead in his chest. If Mom knew what he’d done, he’d never get a visit with Davy Junior again.

“Are you okay?” Nadine looked at him with concern. “Oh. I didn’t tell on you. I said you were in the bathroom.”

His eyes closed with relief. “Thanks.”

“She says it was probably excitement and the yogurt after a bad tummy night. When his tummy’s been upset, he doesn’t digest milk products well.”

King Dave got down on his knees. “You are the least vengeful waitress I’ve ever met.” From here he could almost see up that little blue dress. “I’m sorry. I’m a ratfink stagehand. I don’t deserve you.”

Nadine’s eyes danced. “Your mother asked specifically if you were being good, and I said you were.”

“I threw cab fare at you and ran out on you. I left you with a sick kid. You should be crucifying me.”

She smoothed his hair with one hand. “I knew you’d be back.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“King Dave, I know you better than you know yourself.” She glowed at him. “I’m proud of you.”

Now he felt worse. “It’s not what you think. I knew I had to come back. But I didn’t actually go until FX showed up and threw me off the call.”

“I thought he didn’t go out on jobs.”

“He don’t. He came to check people’s cards, making sure they’re all union or permit per contract. Prob’ly suspected Bobbyjay would try to shoehorn me onto the call.”

“Oh, dear. Was he mean?”

King Dave laughed out loud at this description of his father’s temper tantrum. “You could say that.”

“Is Bobbyjay in trouble?”

“Nah. I think I ran an intercept on that. The old man will be too mad at me to bite him.”

He became aware that Nadine was still touching his hair. This close, all that warm, soft waitress would normally make him hard as a baseball bat.

He searched her face. “I’m no hero, Nadine.”

She smiled down into his eyes. “Oh, I knew you’d be back.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “What would you have done if I hadn’t come back?”

“I guess we’ll never know,” she said.

He flinched. Only a PK could forgive you in a way that made you dread ever needing her to forgive you like that again.

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