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Teddy
I stepped inside Antonio’s place and frowned. It was quiet. Eerily quiet, other than the low hum of music that probably originated from the kitchen.
“Hello?” Usually, Rosie was at the door, with my brother frowning behind her and reminding her not to answer the door on her own. Today, there was none of the chaos I looked forward to.
“Back here, Teddy.”
I kicked off my sneakers and made my way through the living room, strewn with a stray doll here, a crown there, and what looked to be easily forgotten coloring books and crayons. Rosie must be napping.
“Hey, is Rosie all right?”
Antonio looked up from his cutting board with a frown, leather apron stained with liquid. “What do you mean? What have you heard?”
It was my turn to frown. “Nothing. She didn’t greet me at the door, and it looks like she passed out in the middle of a hardcore play session.” The little girl bounced from one activity to the next with the same enthusiasm for each one, as if they were all her favorites.
Antonio’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Dammit, Teddy, you about gave me a heart attack.” He motioned for me to take a seat at the counter and I did, trying to ignore the camera set up behind him. “It’s not on,” he offered with a grunt. “Rosie is having dinner with her friend’s family tonight, they’re trying out some buffet in Springfield.”
My eyes widened in surprise. This was a big deal for Antonio, only I knew if I made a big deal about, he would brush it off or ignore it. “Wow, a buffet? I’m jealous.”
His lips pulled into a lopsided grin. “I can’t keep her locked up with me, no matter how much I want to do just that. She needs to experience life, and tonight, I let her go.”
“Good for you, Papa. You’re doing the right thing, Antonio, if that helps.”
“It does.” He shrugged. “But I keep waiting for the phone to ring with bad news.”
“But the phone hasn’t rung yet, so how about we think about all the fun she’s having. All the greasy foods she’ll get to try that you’ll be forced to fancify for your audience.” I knew his worry wouldn’t go away easily—hell, the first time Rosie had an asthma attack in front of me, I nearly had one myself. “Why have I been summoned to your lair if there’s no adorable niece and no food to be eaten?”
He flashed a toothy grin and pointed at me. “That’s where you’re wrong. There is food, and I’m glad you wore a clean T-shirt because I need you to be on camera.”
“What? Come on, Antonio. No.” I hated appearing in his videos because I couldn’t help but read all the comments and remember the nasty ones. They haunted me for weeks and I didn’t have time for that. “Why?”
“First of all, how do you think I feel with all those guys talking about how hot, how fuckable my kid sister is? If I can handle it, so can you.”
“What are you talking about? It’s always snarky comments about how I think I’m hot shit or need more concealer. Everyone’s a damn critic.”
“You’re reading the wrong comments, then. Don’t read them, I just need your opinion, Teddy.”
I folded my arms and stuck my chin out like a petulant child, and I wasn’t at all ashamed. “Not gonna happen.”
“Fine.” The answer came easily, too easily, but a few moments later I knew why. “But I have blue, white, and yellow corn tortillas to go with four different types of salsa: tomato, mango, pineapple habanero, and grilled salsa verde.”
“You evil man,” I growled at him. “Using my love of chips and salsa against me?”
Antonio shrugged, an unapologetic smile on his face. “Who better to give an honest critique?”
“Fine.”
“Thanks, Teddy. These are for you to taste off camera, and then we’ll go through and film it the second time around.”
My shoulders sagged in relief and I took a blue corn chip and dunked it in the pineapple habanero salsa. “Yum.”
“You’ll have to be more talkative than that.”
I glared. “Don’t be a smartass.”
“Can’t help it, I’m a genius.” He laughed at his own joke. “What’s new with you? How’s the Cal job going?”
I shrugged, ignoring the eager look in his eyes. “Pretty good. The house has good bones and Cal had workable ideas to make the space his. I think in another week, maybe ten days, the job will be done.”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking, which leads me to believe there’s something going on.”
My brows dipped low. “You never ask about my jobs, why is this one suddenly worthy of an update?”
Antonio sighed heavily while he arranged different bowl and plate combinations for the video. “Because you used to have the biggest crush on Cal, and now you can barely stand to be in the same room with him. This job has to be difficult for you.”
