“Gracie.” Unlike when Alex called her that, hearing it from Sal made her heart flutter. “I can take you. I insist.”

“But what about Alex? What if you miss the babies being born?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be in there when they’re born anyway. I’ll see them after.”

“But—”

“I’m taking you, Grace.” He grabbed the keys off the desk and turned off the monitor. “You ready?” The smile nearly did her in.

She nodded, smiling back. It was just a ride, damn it. So why did she feel ready to swoon?

CHAPTER 11

Most of the evening, hell most of the last few weeks, Sal had contemplated what, if anything he should do about his obvious growing attraction to Grace. Alex said he’d be okay with it but things would definitely be awkward for the other employees. Then there was the possibility of things not working out. What then? Would he be okay being around her once things were over between them?

He shook his head. The most glaring obstacle now was the fact that she was talking to someone. He’d been tempted more than once to ask Oscar exactly what she’d said and how the subject even came up. But it could only be one of two things. Either he asked her straight out, which he wouldn’t put past Oscar, or she’d brought it up on her own. She’d revealed very little about herself except that her friends were g*y, and that was something he sort of forced out of her with his completely out-of-whack accusations.

After setting the alarm, he finished locking up. Grace waited for him just outside. “Are you sure about this, Sal? It’s completely out of the way.”

“Not really. She’s at St. Mary’s.” Sal clicked the car doors open with his keychain. “Don’t worry about it.” He opened the passenger side for her. “I’m taking you home so get in.”

He saw her take a deep breath just before getting in the car. Sal had just turned the car on when he got a text from Sofia.

She just delivered the first one it’s a girl! OMG Good luck! Alex will go gray before he’s thirty! lol

Sal smiled, feeling a little choked up. “She had the first baby.” He turned to Grace. “A girl.”

The doctors had known for months the gender of both babies but Valerie insisted on it being a surprise so they had no idea. But the one thing they did know was the babies were identical. Which meant only one thing: Alex would be the father of two baby girls. Whoa.

Gracie smiled bigger than he’d ever seen her smile and she put her hand over her mouth. “Really? You’re an uncle! How exciting. Congratulations!”

“Thanks. It feels weird.” He texted Sofia back as it sunk in. A new addition to the Moreno clan and there would be another one any minute. “You wanna come with me to the hospital?”

Her smile disappeared and she blinked. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude. It’s just family right?”

Sal backed the car up. “You’re an employee which, if Alex has anything to say about it, means you are family now.”

The apprehension in her face didn’t disappear but Sal headed to the hospital anyway. The next text came about seven minutes later. When he got to a red light, he read it.

Second baby just born and they’re all doing fine. I’m crying! Auntie is SO going to have to come to their rescue when they discover boys!

He laughed. “Second one was just born. Wow, two girls. Damn, my brother is going to have his hands full.”

Grace smiled again, looking almost as excited as he felt. “Oh my Gosh. I had cousins in Mexico that were identical twins. They were boys and loved confusing people; only once they spoke you could tell the difference. One was so much shyer than the other, so no matter how much he tried to act like his brother, he never did quite pull it off.”

“Yeah, well Alex has it coming. I can see it already. They’re gonna drive him crazy.” Sal shook his head. “You have any brothers or sisters?”

“Just one. A younger sister.”

“Really how much younger?”

“She’s fifteen.”

Sal turned to her when he came to a stop again. “That’s pretty big gap. Are you two close?”

“Very. Sometimes…” She looked out the window on her side. “Actually, many times it feels like it’s just me and her against the world.”

That piqued Sal’s interest. It sounded a bit personal but he knew so little about her and she brought it up so he asked, “How so?”

“Ever since my dad died it’s been just her, me and my mother.” She continued to look out the window, a sign to Sal that the subject was not one she was comfortable with yet she continued. “Until my mom remarried that is. But even before then, my mom’s always been… difficult. So we’ve always stuck close together. There’s nothing we can’t get each other through.”

Sal knew it was a risk but again, she’d brought it up not him. “How long ago did your dad die?”

She finally turned away from the window and their eyes met for a moment before she stared straight ahead. “I was eleven. That’s when we moved to the states. My mother didn’t want to be in Mexico anymore. Since she was born in El Paso and was a U.S. citizen, she knew she had a better chance of getting a higher paying job this side of the border.”

They pulled into the hospital parking lot. “You said your grandmother owned a restaurant in Juarez right? Does she still?”