“I get it, Ben,” Cord tells him firmly. “I promise to be on my best behavior with your mom. I’m taking her to dinner, and then I will return her to her apartment. I’ll give you my phone number, if you’d like it, just in case.”
Ben nods his head once and hands Cord his phone, which Cord takes and types in his name and number. I roll my eyes and stare at Ben with my mean mom face.
“Before you leave, I’d like to talk to you alone for a sec, Ma,” Ben says to me but doesn’t take his eyes off Cord.
Cord nods before telling me, “It’s fine, Ellie. I forgot something in my apartment, so I’ll just go get that and be back in a few minutes.” He smiles gently and turns to unlock his door.
Ben and I step back into my apartment and Ben slams the door behind us.
“He lives right beside you, Mom?” Ben chides.
“So what. What is the problem here, son?” I ask firmly.
“What do you know about this guy? It’s freaking me out that you are going out on a date with a guy you met yesterday, who lives beside you,” he says. “I don’t like this at all, Mom.”
I take his hand in mine before I reply. “Ben, I’m a grown woman, one who can make her own decisions. Cord is a gentleman and it isn’t really a date. I told you, I’m scoping out the job prospect.”
“It just worries me because you are so blind to how men see you, Ma. You look amazing right now, and there is no way Cord is having ‘friend only’ thoughts. Whether he’s a gentleman or not, he’s still a dude,” Ben replies.
I look up at his concerned face, pressing my hand to his cheek. This is all new territory. I never thought I’d have a moment in my life where my son felt the need to protect me from a date.
“I’ll be okay, honey. It’s just dinner as friends. You have Cord’s number, and if it makes you feel better, you can be here when we get back. I’ll text you when we are getting close to being done with dinner and you can come back.”
With that new suggestion, Ben nods and walks to the door just as Cord knocks. Ben opens the door, walks out, holds up his index finger to indicate he wants me to stay inside, and then closes the door behind him.
What in the actual fuck?
I walk toward the door quickly, and when I open it, I hear the ass end of the conversation.
“No worries, Ben. I’ll treat her with the utmost respect,” I hear Cord tell him.
“Can we go now, son?” I grind out.
“Yes, ma’am. Text me like we talked about,” Ben says to me with a smile, before he heads down the stairs in front of us.
“Well, that was awkward. I’m sorry, Cord. I didn’t know he was coming over or I’d have spoken to him about this earlier,” I tell him quickly. “This whole thing is new to all of my boys.”
“No worries, love,” he replies with a smile. “Wait, did you say ‘all of my boys’? How many kids do you have?” His eyes get big and I chuckle.
“The twins, whom you’ve met, and then my baby just left for college. The twins are twenty and Destry is seventeen,” I reply with a huge smile.
“You are close to your boys,” he says, not in question.
“Yes I am. They’ve been my whole life since they were born,” I affirm.
He smiles, holds his arm out for me to take, and leads me down the stairs to a vehicle, which is different than the car that was parked in my spot yesterday.
I laugh when he opens the door for me and he looks at me quizzically.
“How many cars do you have, Cord? Is that why you needed my extra spot?” I giggle.
“Ah, yes, I’d say I have a passion for vehicles. I have three. The BMW you saw yesterday, this one, which is a Range Rover, and then I also have a Ford F250. A car for every occasion,” he laughs out.
It makes me kind of nervous that he has all these expensive vehicles. He must be rich; but why would he live in a tiny apartment if he has that kind of money?
The drive to the restaurant is quiet, and when he pulls up in front of the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen, my anxiety about this night skyrockets.
“This place is amazing,” I say, looking up to take in the whole view.
A young man about Destry’s age comes rushing out of the building, dressed in a suit.
“Mr. Cordero, I’ll take your keys and park your vehicle,” the young man says as Cord slips him his keys and a tip.
“Thank you, Drake,” Cord says.
“So is Cord short for Cordero or is your name Cord Cordero?” I ask with amusement as he gently places his hand on my lower back and leads me inside.
He chuckles before answering, “Cord is short for Cordero.”
He doesn’t stop at the hostess area. Instead, he walks us directly to the back of the restaurant to a secluded table, nodding and smiling at people who acknowledge him.
“Come here often, do you?” I ask quietly. I should have known he’s a player. I mean, he’s hot as hell. Why wouldn’t he be?
“You could say that,” he replies with an uncomfortable smile.
He pulls out my chair and pushes it in as I sit down. Such a gentleman.
“Cord, how are you this evening?” A beautiful young woman comes to our table, not removing her eyes from him.
“Angelica, I’m wonderful,” he greets her by standing and kissing both her checks, before returning to his seat.
“Ellie, this is the manager of Saint, Angelica,” he smiles warmly.
Angelica holds her hand out for me to shake and I do while responding, “Nice to meet you, Angelica.”
A look passes between Cord and this woman and it makes me feel uncomfortable. There is a history there I think.
“If you’ll excuse me, where is the ladies’ room?” I request of Angelica, needing to step away to gather my thoughts.
She points in the direction of the restrooms but doesn’t respond. As I make it to the ladies’ room, I turn back and see Cord and the woman are having a rather heated discussion. Great. Just how I wanted to spend my evening.
As I finish up in the restroom and make my way out, I look up to make sure I’m not interrupting them, but see that Angelica has disappeared. When I get to the table, Cord stands and pulls my chair out for me again.
“Thank you,” I reply quietly.
“I can see the wheels spinning, Ellie. What’s wrong?” he asks with concern.
“Nothing really,” I answer.
“What’s with the long face then? Are you feeling okay?” he questions.
I take a deep breath, hoping this doesn’t come out the wrong way. “Look, Cord, we came to dinner as friends. I just didn’t realize we would run into an old girlfriend or whatever that was and make things awkward.”
He chokes on the water he is drinking, coughing so hard his face turns red. Oh shit, I’ve pissed him off.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” I tell him while pounding on his back.
He holds his hands up to stop the pounding.
I return to my seat and wait as he settles himself.
“Ellie, that’s my sister,” he rushes out, still trying to stop his coughing.
I watch as amusement settles on his face and I put my hands over my mouth and start laughing.
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out. “I saw you two talking earlier and assumed it was like a lovers’ quarrel.”
He fake gags and then shakes his head.
“I realize I said we’d come to dinner as friends, but I really would like to get to know you better, Ellie. There is just something about—” he says before being interrupted.
“Saint Cordero! How dare you keep this lovely creature from your brother,” I hear an amazingly deep voice say.
I turn to watch a man who looks almost identical to Cord walk towards our table. Holy hell, the entire family is beautiful.
And then it dawns on me what he just called Cord.
“Saint?” I whisper, watching as Cord’s face turns red in embarrassment as he smiles at me.
“What are
you doing here? I thought you had the night off,” Cord asks his brother, but hasn’t taken his eyes off me.
“I do, but I brought the girls here for dinner and Angelica just told me you were here on a date, so I had to see for myself,” he replies, smiling warmly at me.
“Angelica’s so nosey,” Cord mumbles, making his brother laugh.
“I apologize for my brother’s lack of manners,” he says with mischief in his eyes. “I’m Bishop.”
Reaching out to shake my hand, he gently pulls it up to his mouth and places a gentle kiss on the back, much like Cord did the first time we met.
“Stop flirting or I’m telling Sami,” Cord grunts out.
Bishop laughs loudly. “Go ahead, she’s getting the girls situated, and then she’s coming over to say hi too.”
“Shit,” Cord says under his breath. What the hell is going on?
Angelica returns with two glasses of red wine and appetizers of fried asparagus spears, thin sliced garlic bread with dipping oils, and side salads.
“Saint, how dare you come here on a date and not tell us,” I hear a sweet voice say. I turn my head to see a tiny little woman walking quickly toward Cord. He stands just in time to catch her as she launches herself at him.
“Damn, Sami, have you put on weight? You weigh a ton,” he laughs as he places her back on her feet and she slaps his arm. She may be the tiniest woman I’ve ever seen. I’m guessing 4’10” and maybe eighty-five pounds.
“Don’t be a smart-ass,” she jokes. Sami turns to me and smiles brightly.
“Hello there. I’m Sami,” she says happily, while pointing at Bishop. “I’m that one’s wife.”
I can tell already I could be friends with Sami. She has that genuine feel about her.
“Ellie. It’s nice to meet you, Sami,” I smile brightly at her. She looks at Cord and nods, like giving her approval, which makes me freak out a little on the inside.
“Well, now that you’ve met basically my whole family,” Cord says with humor in his tone, “can you all take a hike so we can enjoy our dinner?”
They all say goodbye and walk away, and I watch as Cord’s face goes from happy and smiling, to concerned and maybe a little scared.
“Sorry about that. If I’d known they would all be here, I’d have prepared you for that,” he begins. “They just aren’t used to me coming here for dinner with anyone else.”
I snap my eyes up to his, ready to question him further about that, when I notice he is staring at a picture on the wall with a faraway look on his face. I glance at the picture and see it’s a painting of a beautiful woman holding a large bouquet of flowers.
The moment feels too intimate for a dinner between friends, so I know I need to change the conversation quickly.
“So, Cord, do you know what MILF means?” I ask quickly.
And once again, Cord is taking a drink at that very moment, inhales sharply, and begins to cough and choke again.
Nice, Ellie.
I jump up to pat his back again, but he holds up his hand to stop me, and I can’t make out if he is laughing or trying to say something in between the coughs.
When the coughing finally settles down, he is definitely laughing.
“Did you just ask me if I know what a MILF is?” he snorts out.
“Yes, I did. Eli said something about it the other day but wouldn’t tell me what it meant. Said I’d have to Google it, but I keep forgetting to,” I smile, thankful I’ve managed to change his mood.
“What did Eli say?” he asks, still laughing.
“I’m not telling you unless you tell me what it means,” I retort.
“I don’t know if you really want to know that, Ellie.”
“I do want to know.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. It stands for something,” he laughs out.
“Okay, smarty-pants, what does it stand for?”
He watches my face closely, smiles, and replies, “Mother I’d like to fuck.”
And I immediately feel my face turn bright red and I lower my face into my hands. I hear Cord laughing, but I can’t bring myself to look up.
“And I’m going to guess from your reaction that you really didn’t know what that meant,” he chuckles.
I shake my head without looking up at him.
“Now, tell me what Eli said about a MILF,” he snorts when he says the word again.
“Oh no, no way. It’s too embarrassing,” I chide.
“Let me guess. One of your boys said something about one of their friend’s moms and referred to her as a MILF,” he implores. “Am I right?”
I shake my head and point my finger to my chest.
“He said his friends think I’m a MILF,” I choke out, and then laugh hysterically.
But I don’t hear laughter from him, so when my eyes meet his and find him staring at me with such a serious face, I’m afraid I upset him somehow.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him quickly.
He shakes his head like he’s clearing the cobwebs, and asks, “Why is that so funny, Ellie?”
“Look, Cord, I don’t kid myself into thinking I’m attractive to young men. I’m almost thirty-nine years old and have the body of a woman with three children. I’m sure the boys’ friends were just trying to get a rise out of them, which I’m sure worked. They are very protective of me,” I tell him.
He doesn’t smile, but assesses me like he’s waiting for me to cry or something.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.
“You really have no idea how beautiful you are, Ellie,” he replies with a small grin. I shake my head gently.
“Well, thank you,” I say with no feeling, quickly trying to figure out how to change the subject. “So, why do you go by Cord instead of Saint?” I question.
He smiles and shakes his head, knowing I’m uncomfortable and changing the conversation.
“When we were kids, we all got picked on a lot for our names,” he begins. “I eventually got tired of it and started going by Cord.” He doesn’t meet my eyes when he says this and it makes me wonder if he’s telling me the whole truth.
“And so when were you going to tell me you were the owner of the restaurant?” I smirk at him.
“I was going to tell you tonight at dinner, but I figured Bishop and Lil Bit let the cat out of the bag when they called me Saint,” he laughs. It’s not lost on me that he says Sami’s nickname with adoration. They must be close.
“Little Bit?” I smirk.
“Yeah, as if you can’t tell, she’s the tiniest thing, but don’t let that fool you. She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
I have no doubt about that. Bishop seems like a lot to handle.
“Have they been together a long time?” I ask timidly.
“Long enough to produce the five most beautiful little girls you could ever lay your eyes on,” he laughs.
“Holy shit, they have five girls?” I choke out.
He laughs while shaking his head.
“Lord help that woman. How old are they?” I ask with genuine curiosity.
“Well, the twins, Anna and Bella, are five. Rilee is three. Tessa is two, and the baby, Amaya, is seven months.” His smile is off the charts.
“Wow. Five kids five and under. She’s got her hands full,” I laugh.
“She sure does. They both do. Bishop is going to lose his mind when those girls are all teenagers,” he snorts.
I nod my head in agreeance. We both take sips of our wine and nibble on the appetizers and salads. It dawns on me that we didn’t order a meal yet.
“Are we ordering dinner too?” I ask.
“I already ordered for us,” he smiles at my frown. “Don’t worry. Ben mentioned you don’t eat meat. I ordered you a vegetarian pasta dish.”
I nod and smile.
“So, Ellie, tell me about you,” Cord questions.
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, you have three sons. Where’s their dad?” he inquires.
“We’re divorced. He lives on the other side of the city,” I reply vaguely.
“And how long have you guys been divorced?”
“Officially divorced for almost three months, but separated for six months before that,” I tell him, showing as little emotion as possible.
I watch as shock registers on his face, followed by what I can only describe as anger.
“Wait, so you were married a really long time, and then you guys just got divorced this year?”
“Yep. We were married twenty-one years,” I start to explain. “I was a stay-at-home mom the whole time. Justin is an executive in the fitness industry. One day, he came home after the boys had left for school and informed me he no longer loved me and was moving out. Six months later, he announced he was shacked up with a twenty-five-year-old fitness model who was pregnant with his baby. We divorced quickly and now they’re getting married. End of story.” I leave out the little tidbit about Justin “needing more.” I’ll take that one to my grave.
He shakes his head and looks furious.
“What a dick,” he rants.
I laugh out loud and smile at him. “Oh, Cord, you have no idea, but I can’t regret any of it or I wouldn’t have my boys.”
“Well, your ex is an idiot for letting you go,” he responds with a wink.
“Please. You don’t even know me. I could be a psychotic bitch and you wouldn’t even know it yet,” I argue.
“Nah, I’m a pretty good judge of character. It’s actually gotten me pretty far in life,” he remarks while looking back at the picture on the wall.
“What about you, Cord? What’s your story?” I question him.
“Nope, let’s finish up with you. What about parents and siblings?” he asks with genuine interest.
“My parents are still together, still live in the same house I grew up in, in Philly, and I’m an only child.” I shake my head, realizing it’s been a while since I spoke to my parents. It’s probably time for a visit.
“So, tell me about your family, Cord,” I request.
“Let’s see. I come from a big family. You’ve met my sister and one of my brothers. I have another brother, Deacon, who’s in the military and stationed overseas right now. I don’t get to speak to him often. Our parents are still happily married and retired in Florida. I own Saint, as you now know, and currently live in an apartment while my house is being built,” he finishes.
Defining Moments Page 6