Free Always by Celia Juliano Page B

fog. He could barely even see the trees lining the street as he drove down toward D’Angelo’s Market. As they approached the busy intersection of Columbus and Green, Gina slid next to him.
    “Thanks again, for everything. I wish…things could be different.” She kissed his cheek, her lips warm and gentle. An angel’s kiss. He gripped the steering wheel harder.
    She edged away. “Can you just drop me after you pass the light?”
    Of course she didn’t want anyone to see him drop her off. She wished things could be different? Then why didn’t she do something about it? He nodded to her. The light turned green. He drove through and pulled up to the curb. Gina jumped out, waving as she slammed the door. He watched for a moment as she wove her way through the other pedestrians and café tables and chairs.
    He rolled his shoulders and drove on. He wished things could be different too. But it was best—they both saw that—if he and Gina stayed apart.
    ***
    Vincente rubbed his shoulder and stepped out of the trailer on the second job site. He’d already checked in at the first earlier. It was close to lunch and Grandpop had texted, insisting Vincente come home. Nothing had loosened the tension, the ache, that had consumed him since this morning.
    “You said you weren’t coming in today,” Juan said as he hopped down from the scaffolding. “Hottie bail on you?”
    “Whaddaya mean?” Vincente’s chest gripped.
    “I saw a woman jumping out of your truck this morning as I was getting off my bus. Who is she? Actress? Model? I haven’t seen anyone that hot since that JLo concert I took my girl to.”
    Vincente flexed his biceps. His ears burned, the sensation tightening into his neck and throat. No one should talk about Gina like that. So what if he’d thought it. Cool it.
    Juan gave him a look, like “What the hell?” Vincente shrugged. “She’s a family friend, that’s all.”
    “Do you have her number?” Juan’s broad smile didn’t stop Vincente from frowning.
    “No.” And he didn’t. Not her cell, anyway.
    “You know, my sister broke up with her boyfriend.”
    “Did she?”
    Juan had tried to set him up with his various female relatives before. Now that Juan thought he hadn’t bedded Gina, the hottie, that cemented his trustworthiness to escort any of Juan’s friends and relations. Usually, Vincente was that reliable. He respected women. Not that he didn’t respect Gina…She just threw him, made him want things…
    “Uh, yeah…You okay, amigo ?”
    Vincente forced himself to look at Juan. He’d been staring at nothing, seeing only Gina.
    “Yeah, no worries.” He clapped Juan on the shoulder. “Doing a great job. Call me if you need to. I have a meeting with el jefe .” They both chuckled. Grandpop wasn’t really the boss anymore, but everyone at DeGrazia Construction called him that—men like Grandpop didn’t really retire.
    Vincente waved as he walked away. He’d dreaded this lunch with Grandpop, until he’d realized he had some questions of his own to ask.
    He drove home, slowing as he passed D’Angelo’s Market. If they’d been open, he would’ve stopped, in hopes of catching a glimpse of Gina. This was bad. He hadn’t felt this way since he’d first met his late wife, Marie. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other—not uncommon for two twenty-one-year-olds. But he’d let it blind him to their incompatibility. Just like he was now. Thirty and he still hadn’t learned. Four years alone—more like five, since he and Marie hadn’t been together, really, the last year or so of their marriage. Just dates all those years—no one ever lasted, no one made him feel the way…
    A car honked at him, brakes screeching. He started. He gripped the steering wheel. He’d just run right through the stop sign near home. Get your mind in the game. But the only game he was interested in anymore was the one he and Gina were playing.
    ***
    Vincente wiped his mouth with