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“And this hasn’t gotten out yet? I’m shocked,” she said, eyes wide. “Aurelio must be keeping you a secret.”
I knew that was prudent.
But, somehow, it hurt more than I could have anticipated to be referred to as a secret. Like he didn’t want anyone to know I was around.
“It’s probably because they are, you know, planning something,” Sofia was quick to say, sensing my unease at the word. “They keep us out of the loop a lot of times until things are… done. No one wants the women or kids to ever be able to be questioned or anything like that.”
“That makes sense,” I agreed, trying to remind myself that it wasn’t my place to be hurt even if Aurelio was keeping me a secret. The man was giving me and my son a safe place to land and plan for the future. I had no right to be upset about how he handled the situation with his family.
“He must be absolutely loving having you here,” she said as she went back to her bags, starting to fold them all back up, except the two that, I imagined, had household supplies in them.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“I mean, this is his dream,” she said, shrugging. “A family. He loves kids. And this is like the best age,” she said, smiling at Judah. “Sometimes, the guys can get all squirrelly about the little babies. Like they’re afraid they’re gonna crush or break them or something,” she added. “But at this age, they’re sturdy and you can play with them.”
She said that with a wistfulness that made me think that she herself also had a dream of a family.
I knew from Aurelio’s story that she wasn’t married, but the warm look in her eyes as she looked at Judah let me know that it was definitely on her mind.
“He’s great with Judah. He gets down on the floor to play with him all the time. And sets him up like this when he’s cooking.”
“Uh oh,” Sofia said, shooting me a knowing little smirk.
“What?”
“Oh, I think you might just be dangerously close to falling for my big brother,” she said.
“What? No!” I insisted. Too quick. Too squeaky. There wasn’t a person alive who would believe what I’d just said.
“I mean, I think it would be amazing,” she said, shrugging. “If, you know, you guys are into each other that way.”
My memory flashed with the image of him with his face buried between my thighs, of me running my tongue along his cock.
Oh, we were into each other that way. That was for sure.
“Look,” Sofia said, tone more serious. “I get it,” she said. “You’re a mom. You need to think about your son first. But if you two are into each other in the fun way,” she said, “then I think it would be silly to fight it. I mean, I couldn’t think of a man alive who would be a better father to Judah,” she told me. “Or a better partner to you,” she added.
“He’s my brother and I might want to kick him in the bal—balloons,” she corrected, “for calling me Smush behind my back, but I have to admit that he’s like the best guy ever. Just something to keep in mind,” she said.
“I appreciate it. And I… I haven’t been here long, but I agree. He’s been incredibly kind and selfless.”
“So, we agree. Now, let’s get down to business,” she said, grabbing her phone. “What weekly goods do I need to add to my list now that you guys are here? Any special snacks for Judah or you? Bath stuff? Monthly period stuff?”
“I don’t want to make more work for you,” I insisted.
“You’re not. I’m already going to all the stores. It’s nothing to tack on a few extra things,” she said.
In that case, I rattled off some snacks for Judah, his bath products, and the ones Aurelio had bought for me as well as preferences for feminine hygiene stuff. I wasn’t due for a while, but I’d rather have it around in case.
“Perfect. Okay. I got all of that in my notes now. And I do a sweep around the house, usually, to check supplies. I can do that in your room or bathroom if you want. Or if you think that’s invasive…”
“It’s okay,” I insisted, used to that in Warren’s home, without anyone even bothering to ask permission. “I’m not supposed to leave the house for a while, so it would be good knowing someone else can pick things up without me bothering Aurelio.”
“Not to mention most men are useless about tampons and pads,” she said, shaking her head. “My mom once asked Lucky when we were teens to pick up tampons because he was out. He came home with a box of every kind of tampons the store had. We had, like, a year’s supply of them. I’m just gonna put the rest of this stuff away,” she said, then rushed off to empty her remaining bags.
“Okay,” she said when she was done. “I have to go get to the pet store before they sell out of mealworms.”
“Mealworms?” I asked.
