“I wasn’t asking, angel.” My tone was no-nonsense.
Diego’s breath hitched. His pupils dilated. He looked torn between fighting me and giving in.
“We talked about this,” I reminded him gently. “You gave me permission to intercede when you got too caught up in your work or in your own head. You asked me to make those decisions for you. Do we need to renegotiate?” I held my breath, waiting for his response. Diego was stubborn enough to say yes to spite me even if it wasn’t what he wanted. He took so long to respond, I thought that was exactly what he was going to do. Finally, he deflated.
“Fine. I could go for a walk. But only because this morning was leg day and they’re feeling stiff.”
If that was what he had to tell himself to be okay with obeying his Daddy, then I’d take it.
“Great!” I held out my hand, all too aware of how overeager I sounded, but I didn’t give a fuck. “Let’s go.”
Diego huffed but took my hand anyway. “C’mon, angel, let’s see if there’s anything in the kitchen we can scrounge up for a picnic, and we’ll eat outside.”
“Yeah, okay,” he conceded. “I could eat. Not too long though, right?”
Instead of answering, I tapped my lips, silently asking for a kiss. “Are you trying to distract me?” Diego asked. He was trying to sound serious and failing.
“Is it working?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Yes.”
“Yes, it’s distracting you, or yes, I can kiss you?”
He licked his lips. “Both.”
“Good.” I leaned down, my lips lightly brushing along his jawbone and then to his mouth. His lips parted with a gasp, and I took advantage of the opening, gently pushing my tongue inside, more questioning than anything else. Diego let me, opening up, his hand resting on my shoulder for balance.
I pulled away too soon. It was always too soon when I had to separate from Diego, but he grabbed my hand with a small, sweet smile. The kind reserved only for me.
We made our way downstairs and into the kitchen, raiding the fridge for a small picnic. Thankfully, it had been nice the last few days and not unbearably hot as summer wound down. I’d spent enough time wading through humid jungles during my career; I didn’t need to feel that way now in semi-retirement.
We managed to get outside without seeing anyone. Luca and Skye were in his office working, while Maverick and Brooks were out conducting reconnaissance for another potential job. We didn’t say much to each other, but the silence was comfortable. We ended up at our favorite gazebo that overlooked the sprawling gardens on the property. They were something that Luca’s grandmother had been very passionate about and one of the few things his mother had kept up when she’d been in charge of the estate. Luca had fond memories of his grandmother, the only parental figure in his life who was ever truly there for him, so her gardens were meticulously attended. I wished we spent more time in them, but they were always restoring.
I set up a blanket over the slabs of the gazebo while Diego pulled out the containers of salads and sandwiches we had put together. We hadn’t even sat down and I could already see some of the tension oozing out of him. Even though he wouldn’t talk about it, I knew he was taking Ramirez’s death hard. If anyone was to blame, it was Luca and me. We should have noticed something . . . anything. The guilt of failing him when he’d come specifically to me for help would always sit with me, but assigning blame to anyone wouldn’t bring him back. The only thing we could do was honor his sacrifice by keeping Everett safe and getting to the bottom of this.
I settled down on the blanket and tapped the spot next to me. Diego easily walked over and sat against my side. I shivered in pleasure at the contact before making our plates.
Diego was lost in his thoughts, but he didn’t seem to be spiraling, so I let him be, content to just be with him and enjoy the beautiful weather.
He rested his head on my shoulder as I fed him strawberries and chocolate chip cookies. Then, when the food was gone, we packed up and lay on the blanket, holding hands.
I turned my head to look at Diego. He was staring straight up, a small smile on his lips. “I love you, angel.”
He twisted to look me in the eyes. “I love you too. Thanks for doing this. I didn’t realize how much I needed it.”
I squeezed his hand. “Any time. I needed it too.”
We fell quiet again, and before I realized it, my eyes began to drift close.
It was the spasming pain in my back that woke me up. My eyes flew open, my mind immediately assessing, my body ready for afight. Except, there was nothing going on but me being old and an aching back. Note to self, I was past the age where falling asleep on the wooden planks of a fucking gazebo was acceptable. Hell, how long had I been out?
I gingerly rolled up to a sitting position, which only made the twinge worse.
“Fuck.”
“Are you okay?” Diego was next to me, so close that our sides were touching. His dark hair was falling out of his ponytail, and his eyes were still adorably sleep crusted.
I tried to smile at him, but it came out as more of a grimace. “I’m fine. I guess I’m past the sleeping on the ground portion of my life.” I rubbed my back, trying to massage out the kinks.
