“Oh, he felt the heat, all right,” Dante answered for him, smirking. “I think that’s why he was distracted. Noah’s got a girl on his mind.”
“For Christ’s sake, Dante. Will you just shut up already?” Noah clenched his fists, wishing he could punch his troublemaking brother.
Gabriella perked up. “A girl? Oh, Noah, that’s wonderful. Tell us all about her.”
“Not gonna happen. Besides, it’s dead in the water. I asked her out and she said no.”
Gabriella sat up straight, which was hard to detect since she was a meager five feet three. “Why would anyone turn down my tall, dark, handsome, and intelligent son?”
“Maybe she has classy taste in men.”
“Dante Ralph Fierro! Your brother needs your support right now, not your insults.”
“Sorry, Ma.”
Noah was glad someone chewed Dante out, since he couldn’t punch him. At least not here.
Noah sighed. “Look, I was planning to talk to Misty after dinner about what I might have done wrong, if anything.”
“Me?” Misty asked. “Why? Is she a friend of mine?”
“No. It’s no one you know. I just thought you might be the best one to ask. You’re probably the most normal young woman here.”
“Excuse me?” echoed three female voices.
“No. Not normal. Just…well, she’s the one who has dated the most normally—I think.”
“You’re not making it better,” Sandra said.
“Sorry, Sandra. You and Miguel were high school sweethearts, so you never dated other people at all.” He rounded on Kristine and Chloe. “And you two are dragons. I’m not sure how that made your dating experiences different, but I’m sure it did.”
“You got that right,” Kristine said. “If Jayce hadn’t had paranormal hearing, he’d never have discovered my secret.”
Jayce leaned back as if he’d been slapped. “Never? You wouldn’t have trusted me enough to tell me at some point?”
“That’s not what I meant. In the early stages, I wouldn’t have told you—and not only that, it’s a miracle we made it to the later stages, since I refused to date fellow firefighters.”
“I never heard that part,” Gabriella said. “I thought it was the long distance you objected to.”
“We had a lot of strikes against us,” Jayce said. “But I’m glad we overcame them.” He leaned toward Kristine, who gave him a peck on the lips.
“So, what’s wrong with askin’ me, Noah?” Chloe interjected with her lilting Irish accent.
“Ha!” Ryan exclaimed. “You’re the worst one to ask. You had a chip on your shoulder the size of the Prudential Building, and it took me months to knock it off. And then there’s the interesting fact that you’re actual dragon royalty.”
“Sure’n you don’t mind livin’ in a castle, luv.”
“Okay, okay,” Gabriella spoke up. “Whoever can help Noah with his dating question, please just do it. The only thing I want in this world is for all of my sons to be happy.”
“And you know what that means,” Antonio said. “If you’re not married, you’re not happy. And if you’re not happy, Momma isn’t happy, and when Momma’s not happy…”
“Thennobody’shappy,” several voices chorused around the table.
“It can wait,” Noah said.
“Don’t put it off,” Luca, the youngest, said. “Ask her now. This is the most entertainment I’ve had since spring break. Besides, I might need to know what to do with a normal girl too.”
“My dating life is not entertainment,” Noah stated a little louder than he should have.
