Page 12 of Fixed Up Ever After
An hour later, she had not only managed to finish his business cards, but also pay for them to be shipped overnight. He insisted he’ll pay her back, but Ofelia would not hear of it and requested he let it go. Begrudgingly, he did.
When they showed up the next day, Javi should have put them straight into the middle compartment of his truck, but instead, he haphazardly tossed them to the back so he could drive his cranky kindergartner off to school in a timely manner.
With a sigh of defeat, he pushed himself out of his car and turned to face his client. She had warm tawny-colored skin, with deep-set dark eyes. Her black coiled hair fanned her face, falling to her shoulders. She had a friendly smile and her bright red, oversized glasses reminded Javi of a schoolteacher.
“I’m sorry. I thought I'd put them in my truck.” He mentally kicked himself for being so unprepared after declaring he was going the independent route. He still had a week left, maybe it wasn’t too late to beg to keep his job…
The woman waved away his apology. “Don’t worry about it. My wife says I would lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my body.” She laughed good-naturedly and reached into her apron pocket. A moment later she dug out a crumpled sheet of paper and a pink pen. “Can you write down your contact information here? You did amazing inside fixing the water leak and helping design a new cupcake display.”
Javi sighed in relief. “Definitely. Thanks for understanding,” he said and took the pen and paper, jotting down his information in his best non-chicken-scratch writing. He left two ways to contact him in case one of them was illegible.
“Like I said, it’s not a problem. We just need a reliable person to fix shit around the bakery. It’s an old building, as you know. I also have a friend who is in need of a contractor. She’s trying to open up the old bookstore downtown.”
Javi handed her back the paper with his information and raised a brow. “A bookstore? You wouldn’t be talking about Phoenix, would you?”
“The very same. Our friend moved back to town and bought it from Mrs. Sanderson. She is hoping to restore it to its former glory but hasn’t found a contractor that meets her needs. Love her to death, but she is a hard-ass when it comes to things like that.”
Javi wasn’t a reader, much to his sister’s dismay, but he had been dragged into the old bookstore countless times as a kid. He had hated it at first but eventually found the comic books, which made the visits slightly more enjoyable.
“Oh!” The woman—if his memory served from the job form, her name was Mattea—exclaimed. “She is going to be here this weekend. You could come to the bakery!”
Javi opened his mouth to politely refuse. He had two days off, a rarity for him, and he did not want to spend it doing business. He promised Camilia that he’d spend the weekend with her and he always tried to keep his promises to her. Especially those that involved quality time together.
“That sounds amazing, but I promised I would spend the weekend with my daughter,” Javi admitted.
At the mention of his daughter, Mattea lit up. “This weekend we’re holding our monthly family day at the bakery. We have cookie decorating and storytime. It’s always a hit with little ones. We would love it if you came. Completely free. No pressure on the business side, if you don’t want to talk shop while off.”
Javi considered her offer. Since his sister moved closer, her mission had been to convert her niece into a bookworm by reading to her, taking her to fun bookstores and storytimes, as well as reading to her each time they were together. It had achieved the desired effect and his Camilia was just as big of a bookworm as her tía.
Add cookies into the mix and he would be crowned superdad. He needed that win. “When does it start?”
The smile on Mattea’s face was one of pure genuine joy. “It’s Saturday at eleven.”
“Count us in.”
Mattea clapped, doing a little dance. The woman was pure joy wrapped up in a tiny body. “Wonderful! We are all about getting the community involved. Plus, I love seeing the little ones. I’m trying to subtly hint to my wife that I’m ready for us to start having kids.”
He didn’t know the woman well, but he could tell she had a big heart and any child would be lucky to have her. “Well, anyway,” Mattea said, “thank you again for fixing our bakery issue. I can’t wait to meet your little one on Saturday.”
“Call me if you find any other problems. I’ll see you Saturday.” He offered her a wave before getting into his truck. He waited until Mattea went back inside, since it was getting dark, before he took off.
He was off for two days and he planned to make the most of it. He would finally be able to sit and watch his daughter practice cheer, a sport she had been in since she was just out of diapers, and now he could take her to a storytime and cooking decoration activity.
Ten minutes later Javi pulled into his driveway where his father and Ofelia sat outside while Camilia and little Arturo played in the front yard. He attempted to reach for his lunch box, but the zipper wasn’t closed properly and his uneaten lunch as well as a white box fell out.
The same white box he had been looking for earlier that held all of his new business cards. Fucking typical.
His body felt tense as newfound stress worked its way through his bones. When he got like this, he knew it meant he was itching for a stress relief. His last relief came in the form of a one-night stand with a gorgeous woman who popped into his head more times than he cared to admit. It hardly seemed proper to seek out another fling when he was clearly not over his last one.
His anger and thoughts of flings lasted a total of twenty seconds though before tiny fists began to pound on the side of his door, accompanied by the sweetest voice he knew. “Papá! You’re home.”
CHAPTER7
Javi
Getting three full-sized adults and two kids into his sister’s minivan had been no easy task. Arturo decided to have a diaper blowout, making Javi thankful that poopy diapers were something he no longer had to deal with. His father, Ruben, insisted on sitting in the third row of the van, which would have been fine if he didn't move at a snail’s pace. He was too proud to admit that he was having a hard time maneuvering his body into the back seat, but Javi knew from experience not to stop him. His father would grow angry and impede progress.
Camilia would only get into the car if she could bring along her doll because she did not want it to be scared alone at the house. By this time, Javi was ready to ram his head through the car’s door, but he dug deep within himself to find the last traces of his patience.
