Page 43 of A Linton Scandal

“Wow, you got this stuff everywhere,” I said as I wiped off the flour from Nelu’s face. He’d obviously enjoyed himself making pizza pockets with Noah, who’d shown off by throwing flour everywhere.

The silent kid only gave me a broad grin as he took another bite of strawberry sheet cake he held. I’d made it along with a few more props for the menu on Sunday. He’d eaten two pieces already, and I wondered if it wouldn’t ruin his appetite. He’d even insisted I pack a few more pieces away for him into a plastic bag that he’d put in his back pocket.

“Hey Jul’s.” I paused in cleaning Nelu’s face to look over at Hannah who’d come from the front. “There’s a guy here who says he’s your husband, when did you get married?”

Since we were standing in the hallway between the two kitchens everyone heard what she said. Immediately there was the sound of things falling and clatter, as a few cooks, busboys and waiters all came to the two doorways.

“You’re married, Jul?” They all asked at the same time.

I lowered my face feeling my cheeks burn from embarrassment. “Don’t you people have food to cook and dishes to wash?”

They all quickly rushed back to their stations, and I could hear some cursing. Shaking my head, I stood stuffing the rag in my back pocket. Taking Nelu’s hand, I thanked Hannah and headed to the front of the restaurant.

I hadn’t been expecting him to come here, and for some reason I felt a bit nervous, and I couldn’t explain why. Deciding to push it down, I walked toward the front with Nelu. His hand in mine, somehow reduced the feeling of nervousness that filled me.

As we drew closer to the front, Noah was talking to someone, once we entered the entryway, I realized the person he was talking to was Mihai.

Nelu tightened his hold of my hand, and I looked down to see his happy expression had dimmed and become something weary. Not sure why his mood had changed, I squeezed his hand as he looked up at me and I offered him a soft smile. “I’ve got you,” the words slipped out.

He looked away but the weary expression disappeared as he nodded.

We reached Noah’s side, and I smiled at the sight of Mihai.

“I didn’t think you would come,” I said as a greeting. He turned away from Noah, and the minute his eyes landed on me, I felt my breath catch. I’d never had a man look at me the way Mihai did, it was intense and held an emotion that I’d only seen once before. And that was in my own eyes when I’d thought about Daniel.

Immediately my heart was thrown into turmoil, he seemed to almost walk toward me in slow motion. What was happening to my mind, I’d told him last night I wasn’t in love with him.

He reached out and took my hand and his cold expression softened. “I didn’t have much going on at the office, so I decided to stop by.”

When he turned his attention to Nelu I could see that his expression turned awkward, seeing this I was distracted from the mess going on in my own mind. “Nelu, why don’t you give Dad some of your cake.”

For a second, I wasn’t sure he’d do it, he’d been going to town on the cake in his hand and there was only one bite sized piece left. I’d learned something from the time I’d been spending with him, and if he didn’t want to do something or answer he’d ignore you.

He released my hand and pulled out the little baggy from his back pocket. And held it out to Mihai.

Mihai glanced at me before he reached out and took the bag, “You’re giving me this?”

Nelu took my hand once more as he bobbed his head up and down, finishing off his last piece.

I smiled. “Seems like he’s feeling charitable.”

Meeting my gaze Mihai gave me a thoughtful look, placing the plastic bag of cake pieces into the pocket of his coat, before he said, “The car is outside, I’ll take Nelu while you get your things.”

Seeing no problem with it, I handed Nelu over to him and quickly returned to the office to change and gather my things. I decided to take this time to get my nerves together.

Once done, I said bye to the others and ran out getting in the car with Nelu and Mihai. The minute I sat down inside. Nelu leaned on me and before we even reached the halfway mark he was asleep.

“He likes you.”

I looked at Mihai feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’m good at two things, sweets and kids. Though I’m rarely around kids with my job, I was always given the job of babysitting my cousins.”

“It’s been three years since his mother died, in those three years he’s only let four people into his room,” Mihai said softly, his eyes seeming to be set far off. “I’ve tried my best to be a better… Parent. But for some reason I feel like there’s a wall between us. He always looks at me wearily, and I can’t figure out why.”

I bit my lip, hearing the pain in his voice. He clearly desired getting closer to his son, but lacked the tools to do so.

“In my family we’re taught about duty and responsibility before anything else. Our place at the top must be maintained no matter what, and the person we choose as our partner must be from an appropriate family. Nelu’s mother was the diamond of her family, and I did my duty and married her with every intention of being a good husband, but…”

He stopped speaking and looked at me. “We weren’t happy, the hope I had that we’d be like my mother and father died quickly. And then we had Nelu and while I tried my best to be involved, I left him with his mother most of the time,” He scoffed.