by LK Shaw
It was obvious the family had a system when they got together to eat. We all formed a line and slowly inched forward until finally Maisie and I got to the food. I made us both plates and followed the crowd. We all settled inside the family den where one long table that seated twelve for the adults and one small card table for the kids were set up.
I settled Maisie next to Cristina and slid nervously into the seat beside Estelle, Ines’ best friend and future sister-in-law. At first, it was awkward, while everyone chattered about family stuff since I had nothing to contribute, but eventually my body relaxed and I tried to enjoy myself. Ines always made sure to include me in the conversation. Through the entire lunch, I was acutely aware of the man seated across from me.
Chapter 9
Fucking Oliver. It had taken all I had to return to Michele and act like everything was okay, when in fact it was far from it. He and I had set up a code phrase to indicate when we needed to meet face to face. He’d sneak in the time and place, which was typically not for a couple days. We also had one when it was an emergency. During our brief conversation he’d used the emergency phrase, which meant we needed to meet tonight.
My attention throughout the meal had been divided between why Oliver would need to see me ASAP and trying not to be obvious about watching Michele. Finally, I pushed work out of my mind since there was nothing I could do until later, and focused on her.
She’d been quiet, hesitant, at first, but as time wore on, she opened up and was soon laughing at Victor and Manuel’s antics. My gaze kept coming back to her again and again. There was a sharp kick to my leg beneath the table, and I hissed under my breath at Ines.
“What the hell?" I mumbled out the side of my mouth.
"You're staring." She leaned over and whispered back.
I turned my head toward her and her eyes darted in Michele's direction and back to meet mine. Thankfully the other woman was busy talking kid stuff with Estelle, who taught elementary school, and didn't notice she was the subject of discussion.
“I am not." Okay, so maybe that was a lie, but I didn't need Ines pointing out the fact.
She smiled and stuck out her tongue. "Are too."
I rolled my eyes at her.
"You should ask her out," she said.
My food got sucked down the wrong pipe, and I coughed and choked to clear it. Half the table's eyes landed on me, and I waved off everyone's attention. I grabbed my water and took a drink.
"Excuse me?" I was going to regret asking her to repeat herself, but I was obviously not thinking straight.
"You heard me. I saw your reaction to her when she first got here. Then, inviting her outside with you. The two of you were looking pretty chummy when I came out to get you. Hand on hers. It was cute."
Only Ines would jump to the conclusion that I needed to ask Michele out based on a single touch. She did the same thing with Victor and Estelle. Granted, she'd been right about them being in love with each other, but still.
"Even if I was interested”—I tutted when she opened her mouth to speak—“if I was interested, I'm too old for her. I'm sure she has no interest in a guy my age."
She stared at me without a word. Just stared. Then, she smacked me alongside the back of my head. Conversation around the table stopped and everyone stared at us, Michele included.
"Ow," I said, rubbing it. "What the fuck was that for?"
The rest of the family took it in stride if the multiple eye rolls were an indicator, but the woman across from me looked around like she was in a house of lunatics.
"Children," our father chided from the head of the table. "We have a guest. Can you at least try to be on your best behavior? For a little while anyway. Please?"
"Sorry, papá," Ines said in a soft voice seemingly chastised.
I echoed her apology, but with less contrition. I hadn't done anything except get smacked. Finally the din of conversation rose again as everyone returned to their discussions. I turned to Ines, the back of my head still smarting. She packed quite the wallop for someone her size.
"Why did you hit me?"
"Because I was trying to smack some sense into you. You are not too old for Michele. You're mature and stable. Something that poor girl has never had in her life."
Mature and stable? Good god, she might as well have said I was middle-aged. “I have to have at least fifteen years on her."
"So? And by the way, I think it's only fourteen."
What was the difference? “I'm sure she has plenty of guys, younger guys, she can go out with."
"She doesn't, actually."
I hated the fact that I cared. "How do you know?"
"Because she told me. I don't know why you're so against it." She paused. "She's smart, ambitious, kind, and an amazing mom. Unless that's something you hold against her."
"Of course I don't," I said, ignoring her narrow eyed glare.
“I can't figure out why you won't ask her out. I call bullshit on the age thing."
There wasn't a chance in hell I was going to say this to Ines, mostly because I didn't want to get smacked again, but I was afraid to ask Michele out. What if she said no? Worse, what if she said yes? I was thirty-four years old, and I'd never had a single long-term relationship. I couldn't remember the last time I actually went out on a date. A glance at Ines told me she was still waiting for a response.
“I'll think about it." I needed to say something to satisfy her, although I doubted that would for long.
Her lips pinched.
“I will."
She let out a huff. "Fine, I won't push."
I snorted. Pushing was what Ines did best. Especially when she thought she was right. Luckily I didn't earn myself another pop to the head, although she did pinch my side under the table. I rubbed the sore spot.
Everyone finally finished eating. Victor and Manuel picked up half the dishes while Estelle and Marguerite picked up the other half. The four of them took everything into the kitchen and started loading the dishwasher or washing things by hand.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever been to a dinner like this where the men help clean up?" Michele had come to stand next to Ines, who laughed.
"We were a family of five boys and a girl. We don't follow the weird, unwritten rules that seem to say that women should cook and clean up after their men. Plus, I don't think either Landon or Estelle would put up with that. They're both far too independent for that misogynistic crap. In our family, men and women are equal partners."
The amazed expression remained on Michele's face. What kind of family did she grow up in that she was so surprised by this? My curiosity ran rampant. Damn Ines for putting the idea of asking Michele out in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Mama?" Maisie appeared at her side. "Can I go outside with 'tina and play on the swing?"
Michele glanced over at us with a question in her eyes. Ines looked around. "We're going to be a while cleaning everything up and putting the food away. Plus we need to let lunch digest before we can dive into cake. The kids can play for a while. Burn off some energy."
“I'll go out with them," I spoke up, causing the two women to turn to me. I avoided Ines' gaze.
"Thank you," Michele said to me before turning to her daughter. "Yes, sweetie, we can go outside."
"Yay," Maisie hollered and then raced across the room yelling even though my niece was standing right there. "Let's go swing, 'tina."
The three kids took off through the house with cries of excitement.
"We should probably get out there before they start fighting over who gets which swing," I said.
I ignored the wink Ines sent my way, thankful that Michele hadn’t seen it. The two of us once again headed outside. We took our previous spots at the table. The sun had finally moved behind the house, so I closed the umbrella. I didn’t need the wind they were calling for tonight to catch it and overturn everything later.
Maisie crawled up into the swing and Cristina was pushing her gently while Nicholás
climbed the miniature rock wall. My eyes darted to Michele sitting next to me. A small smile graced her face as she watched the kids play. We sat silently, while I racked my brain trying to think of something to say. It was times like this that I wished I was more like Victor— he could talk to any stranger he passed on the street.
I cleared my throat nervously. God, I hated this awkwardness. “So, Ines tells me you just graduated nursing school.”
Michele pulled her eyes away from the kids and focused on me. I felt the punch of her attention hard. “I did. Well, with my LPN anyway.”
“LPN?”
“Oh, sorry,” she said, abashed. “Licensed practical nurse. It’s a stepping stone to becoming a registered nurse, which is my ultimate goal. I wanted to get out of Sweet SINoritas as soon as I could so I got the fastest degree that would help me get my foot in the door somewhere. I’m working in a nursing home while I keep studying for my Bachelor’s.”
It couldn’t be easy with a fulltime job, going to school, and being a mom. “That’s really great. You’re juggling a lot and seem to be doing it well.”
She laughed with a little head shake that seemed self-conscious. “I don’t know about that, but thank you for saying it anyway.”
“I mean it.”
“Well, thank you.”
Several screeches made us both jerk our heads in the kid’s direction, but they were laughing and running around the yard chasing each other. Michele continued to watch them while my leg bounced and my fingers tapped the table.
“Would you like to go out for coffee tomorrow?” I blurted out. Smooth, Rodriguez.
The question hung in the air.
“Mama! Mama! Look at me,” Maisie hollered. Both Michele’s and my attention jerked to her daughter who was almost to the top of the nearly six-foot rock climbing wall.
Chapter 10
Oh, shit. Heart pounding, I took off running down the deck and across the yard, Pablo right behind me. My voice caught in my throat, but I didn’t want to yell and startle Maisie. We reached the jungle gym at the same time my daughter pulled herself up onto the platform. She turned, her smile huge, and waved down at us in glee. My heart continued beating with the speed of hummingbird wings, and I willed it to slow. She was fine.
“Mama, did you see me climb?” She was bursting with excitement at her accomplishment. I didn’t want to scold her for scaring the hell out of me, because of how proud she was of herself.
“I did. You climbed so high. I’m glad you were careful. That looked scary.” I smiled to soften my words.
This was a side of Maisie I’d never seen.
She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t scary. It was fun. I want to do it again. Mister Pablo, catch me.”
Before I could blink, she jumped off the platform and right into his arms. He caught her with no effort at all. Maisie laughed. The second he set her on the ground, she was back to the wall, her fingers grabbing, and her feet moving, from rock to rock as she made her way back up to the top. She had no fear. Twice more she did it, and twice more he caught her. His niece and nephew joined in. No sooner did her hands touch the wall for a fourth time than Ines hollered from the open doorway.
“Who’s ready for cake and ice cream?”
All three kids screamed, “Me”, in unison and took off toward the house, leaving Pablo and me standing there. Tiredness settled in my bones from just that short bout of play, and all I had done was watch the kids jump and shout. What continued to amaze me was how Maisie responded to Pablo.
“Well that was fun,” he said next to me.
I didn’t sense any sarcasm in his tone.
“I’m so sorry she just kept jumping on you like that.”
Those eyes of his studied me, his head tilted just slightly off center. “Why do you always seem to apologize for the things Maisie does? Or things you do, for that matter?”
“Sorry.”
“Like that.”
I winced, and attempted to meet his gaze again, although it was more his right ear that my eyes landed on.
“It’s just a bad habit I haven’t broken, I guess.” Which made me feel ashamed. I didn’t need to apologize for Maisie. Not ever. I needed to do better.
“The only way that could have become a habit was if there was someone wanting you to apologize in the first place,” Pablo said.
This time, I did look him full on. He didn’t appear happy. In fact, there was a tightness around his mouth, his lips pinched. Almost as though he were angry.
“There was this guy I used to date. Turned out he didn’t like kids.” I shrugged. “Or maybe he just didn’t like my kid.”
“He’s a fucking idiot.”
I blinked at Pablo’s vehemence.
“Maisie’s a great kid, and you don’t ever have to apologize to me about anything she does. Not if she talks so much she barely takes a breath. Or if she jumps off a jungle gym a hundred times and wants me to catch her each one. Not ever. Understand?”
Words stuck in my throat. Jonas had seemed like such a good guy at the time. Charming. Kind. He’d treated me really well, and I lapped up his attention. At first, he and Maisie seemed to get along, but little by little he was nagging about her being too loud. Too messy. Too annoying. Every time, I kept apologizing, like she was the problem and not him.
I finally managed to nod.
“Now, before they send out a search party to drag us in for that cake and ice cream, you didn’t answer my question from before.”
How could I have forgotten? A new hyper awareness of the man standing next to me tickled my senses. His smell. The heat of him despite the warmness of the air around us. Just the sound of his breathing hitting my ears. I replayed his question. Coffee? With him? Tomorrow?
“I’m sorry, I can’t tomorrow.”
“Sure, no problem.” His lips barely tipped up on one side. “Is there another day that works better for you?”
I racked my brain trying to picture my calendar in my head. Tomorrow was a double. Sunday regular. Monday? Monday? Was I off Monday? Crap.
“Monday might work, depending on what time. I’ll have to check my work schedule just to make sure. I also have to check with Maisie’s sitter. I mean, if that fits your availability.” I stumbled over the last, because I just assumed that he’d be able to make it.
Thankfully, he didn’t take offense. “My schedule is probably a lot more flexible than yours. Why don’t I give you my number? Call me once you know your schedule for Monday. If that doesn’t work, maybe we can try another day?”
My cheeks felt hot, and not just because we were in the middle of summer. “Okay.”
“Great. You ready to head inside? If we’re lucky they may have left us a sliver of cake.”
“Yeah, I should probably check on Maisie. No doubt she’s bargaining her way to more dessert. She got her sweet tooth from me, I’m afraid.”
“That’s good information to file away for the future. If I ever need to bribe either one of you, I know your weakness now.” Pablo waggled his brows with a devious smile that gave me a whole lot of dirty thoughts. He didn’t need to bribe me to do anything. All he’d have to do is look at me the right way, and I’d do almost anything he asked. But the fact that he was speaking of the future sent a shiver racing through me.
I needed to bring it down a notch though, and not read into things. I mean, he was Ines’ brother. No doubt we’d run into each other again at some point in time. He probably didn’t mean it the way my wishful thinking brain interpreted it.
We strolled side by side back to the house. I almost swore his hand brushed mine once, but it didn’t happen again, so I more than likely imagined it. But the heat from just that brief touch stayed with me through cake and the opening of presents. Before I left, Pablo gave me his number, and I gave him my address. Then I thought of nothing else on the drive home but calling to confirm our date.
Chapter 11
It came as no surprise that the minute Michele and Maisie left, Ines cornere
d me. I’d stayed in the family room, picking up all the destroyed wrapping paper and shoving it in the garbage bag, hoping for a few minutes of privacy. It was dumb of me to think it would last long. Within two minutes, Ines strolled in trying to look innocent and failing.
"You and Michele sure spent a lot of time together today."
"Don't you have anything better to do than stick your nose in my business? I'm sure Brody or Zoey need you for something."
"Nope," she said with an exaggerated popping sound. "They're both doing just fine. You on the other hand…"
“I'm doing just fine, thanks."
"Ohhhh, do tell." She sat in Dad's recliner, leaned back, and crossed one leg over the other as though she had no intention of going anywhere. Which, knowing Ines, she didn't. Not until she'd weaseled every bit of information out of me.
With a sigh, I stuffed the last bit of paper in the white, plastic bag, and turned to her. "Since I know you're going to nag me to death, I asked her out."
That had her sitting up straight and practically bouncing in the chair. "And?"
"And she had to check her work schedule."
Her smile drooped a bit, but then the corners turned back up. "So it wasn't a no?"
"It wasn't a no.” I held back my own grin.
"This is so exciting. I knew you two would be perfect for each other."
I held up my hand. "Whoa, let's take it down a notch here. We haven't even gone out yet. There's nothing that says it will go past coffee. Besides, you know what it's like trying to date and be a cop. Not everyone can handle it for a lot of reasons."
Ines waved me off. "Michele is made of stronger stuff than any of those other random chicks you dated. They weren't girlfriend material."
A little offended at her words, I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the implication that Michele was. "Random chicks? Really? Some of them were very much girlfriend material, thank you."
Her lips pursed in distaste. "Then they would have lasted longer than a date or two, wouldn't they have?"