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Camilla fell silent, but her devious smirk remained intact. Abby would have liked the other woman if she didn’t make her so uncomfortable. Every time she looked up, she found Camilla assessing her with her dark eyes. Eye’s that were far too similar to Damian’s. It was like the other woman was trying to look through her. As much as she was enjoying Arlet’s warmth and cooking, Abby was ready to escape the watchful gazes of Camilla and occasionally, the reserved Joseph. Did they know something she didn’t?
“I pursued Abby after she disturbed my peace on a balcony,” Damian shared with a small smile. “And also after she called me a pompous ass.”
Abby erupted into a fit of coughing and reached for her napkin. “Damian, did you have to share that part?”
His mother and Camilla snickered.
Joe grinned. “You might be on to something, Abby.”
“I had no idea you had a sense of humor, Joe,” Damian said.
Abby held up a hand. “I learned very quickly how wrong I was. So, we’re good.” Only they really weren’t. She’d learned that Damian was much more than just a self-important jerk. Suddenly, she wanted to flee the dining room, if only to drop her pretense for even a few minutes.
“You okay?”
The whispered inquiry came from Damian. He looked upon her with such concern that she wanted to hate him for it. If he behaved like the monster she knew he was, it would make her life so much easier. “Fine. Just fine.”
He didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t push. To Abby’s relief, she was no longer the center of attention. Chatter filtered around her which she only half listened to. Damian’s next comment with its tone caught her full attention and she glanced up.
“Again? Mamá, you don’t have to invite Joe to every dinner.” His expression was dark as he glanced Joe’s way. “And you don’t need to spend so much time with my mother.”
There was a long awkward silence. Camilla’s low, “Oh, shit,” hovered in the atmosphere before all hell broke loose.
“We’re not discussing this now,” Arlet said. “We have a guest.”
“So, Joe is more than a guest?”
“He’s your longtime friend, Damian.”
“Precisely,” Damian said, hitting Joe with a cold stare.
Abby felt sorry for poor Joe who turned a bright shade of red but kept his chin high and shoulders squared. She would hate to be on the receiving end of one of Damian’s lethal glares. With a shudder, she realized that she may very well be on the receiving end of his wrath—and soon—were he to discover what she was up to.
Joe scowled. “Damian, perhaps you and I can hash things out later.”
Abby prayed Damian would relent. The last thing she wanted was to be a party to his family drama. She had her own family drama to deal with. Plus, she was sympathetic toward Arlet and Joseph. They were nice people. She could tell. It was refreshing to be among genuine people.
“There’s nothing to hash out, Joe. All you have to do is find some other woman to fool around with instead of my mother.”
Arlet sprang to her feet, threw her napkin onto the table, and let loose a flurry of angry words in Spanish. Damian spat out something that sounded equally as angry and took off after his mother when she stormed out of the dining room. Joe let out a sigh and reluctantly stood up. “Please, excuse me, ladies.” He received condoling smiles from both Camilla and Abby.
Abby, uneasy with being left alone with a stranger, suddenly took keen interest in her fingernails.
“Awkward, huh?” Camilla’s tone rang with amusement.
With a huff, Abby glanced her way. “Beyond awkward.”
Camilla chuckled and sat back. “So, Abby, did you understand a word of what was said just now?”
“Not really. I do understand that there’s a lot of anger, though.”
“Oh, yeah. That whole Arlet and Joe thing has been simmering for some time now. That was totally expected, but I didn’t think things would boil over tonight with you here. I thought that hot head, Damian, would keep his shit together with his girlfriend present.
“I'm not ...” Did she really want to attempt to explain her and Damian’s relationship to his cousin? “Hot head? He usually seems pretty calm to me.”
“You just got a glimpse of the angry teen he once was.”
Abby sat up and gave Camilla her full attention. Maybe the woman could spill some secret about Damian that she could use against him. “Oh? Did he get into lots of tussles?”
