Chapter Six
1581 Words
She served whiskey throughout the night which he nursed slowly while working on a laptop. He was quiet, polite, tipped generously. And every time Gia passed his table, she felt his eyes on her.
Not in a creepy way. In a way that made her skin warm.
When her shift ended at two a.m., she gathered her things and headed out the back exit. The stranger was leaning against a sleek black Mercedes, scrolling through his phone.
He looked up when she emerged. “Heading home?”
Gia tensed. “Are you following me?”
“No! God, no. I just—” He ran a hand through his hair, looking suddenly uncertain. “I wanted to make sure you got to your car safely. After that guy earlier, I thought—”
“I take the bus,” Gia said quietly.
“At two in the morning?”
“It’s fine. I do it every night.”
He frowned. “That doesn’t make it safe.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I’m sure you can.” He pushed off the car. “But would you let me give you a ride anyway? Just to make me feel better about leaving you here alone?”
Every instinct screamed at her to say no. But there was something in his eyes—something honest.
“Okay,” she heard herself say. “Just this once.”
The next day, Gia brought Sharon to the bar for the afternoon shift. The daycare was closed for a teacher training day, and the babysitter was sick. Her manager had reluctantly agreed, as long as Sharon stayed quiet and out of the way.
Sharon sat at a corner table with her coloring books, her dark curls pulled into two ponytails, her brown eyes bright with curiosity.
“Mama, can I have juice?” Sharon’s voice was sweet and small.
“In a minute, baby.” Gia was mixing drinks, moving fast to keep up with the lunch crowd.
The door opened, and Gia glanced up automatically to greet the customer.
It was him. The man from last night.
He looked even better in daylight—tailored navy suit, crisp white shirt open at the collar, leather briefcase in hand. He scanned the room and his eyes found hers immediately.
“Hey,” he said, approaching the bar. “Thought I’d stop by for lunch. You working?”
“All day.” Gia wiped her hands on her apron. “What can I get you?”
“Whatever you recommend.”
As Gia made his drink, Sharon appeared beside her, tugging on her apron.
“Mama, who’s that man? He’s pretty.”
The stranger laughed. “Why thank you, young lady. You’re pretty beautiful yourself.”
Sharon beamed, then turned shy, hiding behind Gia’s legs.
“I’m so sorry,” Gia said. “Sharon, you can’t just—”
“It’s fine.” The man crouched down to Sharon’s level. “Hi, Sharon. I’m Max. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Sharon peeked out. “You know my name!”
“Your mama just said it.” Max smiled. “And what a pretty name it is.”
“Thank you! Mama gave it to me!”
Max’s eyes lifted to Gia’s, something warm and amused dancing in them. “Your mama has very good taste.”
Gia felt heat creep up her neck. “Sharon, go back to your coloring, okay?”
“But Mama—”
“Sharon.”
The little girl pouted but obeyed, dragging her feet back to her table.
Max stood, still smiling. “She’s adorable. How old?”
“Four.” Gia busied herself wiping down the already-clean counter. “She’s usually not here, but I had a childcare situation today.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Max leaned against the bar. “Kids should be kids. And she’s clearly well-behaved.”
“Max, can you be my daddy?”asked from her table.
Gia’s heart stopped. “Sharon, no. You can’t ask people that.”
“But I want a daddy!” Sharon’s lip trembled. “All the other kids have daddies. Why can’t I?”
“Baby, we’ve talked about this—”
“I know my daddy is out there somewhere! You said so! And Max is nice and pretty and he smiles at me, so maybe he could be my daddy until we find my real daddy!”
Gia wanted to sink through the floor. “I am so, so sorry,” she said to Max, her face burning. “She doesn’t understand—”
“It’s okay.” Max’s voice was gentle. He crouched down again, bringing himself to Sharon’s level. “Sharon, that’s a very big question. And I’m honored that you’d even think of me. But your mama is right—you can’t just ask random people to be your family.”
“You’re not random,” Sharon insisted. “You’re my friend.”
“I am your friend.” Max reached out and booped her nose, making her giggle. “And friends are pretty special too, don’t you think?”
Sharon considered this. “I guess so.”
“Good. Then how about I keep being your friend? Is that okay?”
“Okay.” Sharon threw her arms around his neck. “You’re the best friend ever, Max!”
“You’re here a lot,” Gia observed, sliding a whiskey across the bar. “Don’t you have a job?”
“I do. A very demanding one, actually.” Max took a sip. “But I like it here. It’s… peaceful.”
“A dive bar is peaceful?”
“When you’re here, yeah.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Gia almost missed the implication. Almost.
“Max—”
“Can I ask you something?” He set down his glass. “Sharon’s father. Is he in the picture?”
Gia’s hands stilled on the glass she’d been polishing. “No.”
“By his choice or yours?”
“By circumstance.” Gia chose her words carefully. “We had a brief encounter. One night. I never got his name, never saw him again. He doesn’t know Sharon exists.”
“Do you want to find him?”
The question caught her off guard. Did she? She’d thought about that night sometimes—about the man.
But he’d been drugged. Drunk. Drowning in grief.
Would he even want to know he had a daughter?
“I don’t know,” Gia said honestly. “Part of me thinks Sharon deserves to know her father. But another part of me is terrified of what would happen if I found him. What if he’s married? What if he wants nothing to do with us? What if—” She stopped, realizing she was oversharing. “Sorry. You didn’t ask for my life story.”
“I did, actually.” Max’s eyes were serious. “And for what it’s worth, I think any man would be lucky to know Sharon exists. She’s amazing.”
“She is,” Gia agreed softly.
“And so are you.”
Their eyes met and held. The air between them felt charged, heavy with something Gia couldn’t name.
Max broke the silence first. “Gia, I need to ask you something. And I know it’s going to sound insane.”
“Okay…”
“How would you feel about getting married?”
Gia blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“To me. How would you feel about marrying me?”
She stared at him. “Are you drunk?”
“Stone cold sober.” Max ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know we barely know each other. I know this sounds crazy. But hear me out.”
“I’m listening.” Mostly because she was too shocked to do anything else.
“I need a wife.” Max leaned forward. “It wouldn’t be real.”
Gia’s heart was pounding. “You want me to enter a fake marriage with you.”
“Yes.”
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I know.”
“We barely know each other.”
“I know that too.”
Gia shook her head. “Why me?”
“But I don’t want any woman.”He pulled a card from his pocket and slid it across the bar. “Think about it. No pressure. But if you’re interested, call me. We can work out the details.”
He stood, left a hundred-dollar bill on the bar for a fifteen-dollar drink, and walked out.
Later that night, back at her tiny apartment, Gia stood in front of the bathroom mirror with Sharon beside her. The little girl was trying on the single pearl earring Gia owned—the one that matched the earring she’d lost that night on the beach.
“Mama, this one is funny,” Sharon said, tilting her head so the earring swung. “Where’s the other one?”
Gia knelt beside her daughter, kissing her forehead. “It’s missing, baby. Your daddy has it.”
Sharon’s eyes went wide. “My daddy? Really?”
“Really.”
“Mama, where is my daddy? I want to see him.”
Gia pulled Sharon into her arms, holding her tight. “Soon, my dear. I’ll give you a proper family. I promised you.”
- Writer
