Page 72 of Unmasking My Dark Knight

“Sure she would!” Mami answered for me.

Antonio nodded, then pulled my chair out for me.

I curtsied to him like I had just finished a ballet recital.

Why you ask? I don’t know. I was just anxious and weird, like when I failed my fourth driving test in junior year.

Mami stared at us lovingly. I thought she was going to kiss Antonio on the top of his head.

“I guess we’ll start now…” I said through my teeth, smiling. I gave her a quick look to let her know she needed to be gone. I wasn’t usually this rude to her, but come on… she literally was so rude to me when she treated me like a kid in front of Ro.

Was she really going to monitor this whole date?

She eventually got the hint as Antonio and I sat there for thirty seconds, silently holding the carving tools in our hands. "If you two need anything. Please let me know?" she said, losing her elegance as she nearly tripped on her Carolina Herrera dress while scurrying away.

I sighed and then spoke again once she was back at her end of the table. “She’s so exhausting. Sorry!”

“I get it, parents can be pretty overbearing,” Antonio said.

I felt bad for being a bit of a brat in front of him.

“I’m normally not that rude, I swear. It’s just⁠—”

“My parents have been calling me nonstop since I landed here in Pennsylvania. They want to make sure this meeting goes well,” he said, fiddling with the knife on the table. “Which I think it is so far… given how strange this is.”

I looked up at him. His shoulders dropped.

He looked more relaxed now that Mami was gone.

“You think this is strange, too?” I whispered, making sure no one could hear us.

“I mean, forcing two strangers to meet and get married? Yeah. It’s a little different than finding a potential suitor at a bar,” he laughed, taking a deep breath. “I’ve been hearing about the famous Ivy Jade since I was nineteen years old—the gorgeous Libra with long brown hair and size six shoes.” Antonio moved the pumpkin to the perfect spot and began cutting the top off.

“You know my shoe size?” My mouth dropped.

“I also know you have a Pomeranian named Nelly and that your favorite animal is a horse… even though you’re afraid of them.”

“I don’t trust anything that can kick with two legs while still standing up,” I said, totally shocked that Antonio even knew that about me. I thought he was just some gorgeous brain surgeon from New York who didn’t know my name.

“That’s totally fair. Honestly, even though this is strange, at least it’s convenient. I’m sure you understand how exhausting the same repetitive questions from parents can be. Like, ‘When are you going to get married?’ Or ‘when are you going to give us grand babies?’”

“It’s arduous,” I said, agreeing one hundred percent.

“It’s depleting, is what it is. I do brain surgery, but dating sounds even more challenging at this point, especially with a family that always pushes me in the direction they see fit.”

That was sad to hear. Lately, it’d been the same for me, too. “Well, I’m sure it’s hard to find time to date as a doctor, right?”

“Yes, and no. Life’s about making time, but I have a hard time wanting to date when really I'm supposed to be waiting for you... not to mention getting my degrees and completing my residency at the hospital. It's probably for the best anyway. Most of the women I’ve met were after my family's fortune, and at least you already come from money. We're similar in that regard.”

I nodded. Maybe we were alike. He was rich, his family was controlling, and he gave off the vibe that he would rather walk on glass than sit here carving pumpkins. I wanted to know how he felt. “You’re looking to get married, though, right?” I asked.

“Are you?” he threw back at me.

“Honestly?” I said.

“Honestly. Let’s pull the guts out as we talk, huh?” he said, taking my hand into his.

Antonio seemed really open and sincere, so why not be honest with him? I wouldn’t tell Mami, and I doubt he would either.