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When he caught up to her, he wrapped an arm around her stomach from behind and hauled her against his chest. He whispered, “You aren’t going anywhere without me. I was a dick with what I said, and I’m sorry.”
She stilled. “You’re really apologizing?”
“Yes. Can we please try this dinner again? I’m really hungry and I know that you are as well.”
After a few seconds, she nodded and wiggled free of his grip. He only let her go because he didn’t want another argument or disagreement or whatever the hell you wanted to call it.
?
??I don’t ever think about Ramon, the way I do you,” she admitted. “Ramon is a friend, and I don’t have any regrets where he’s concerned, so please stop accusing me of wanting him. The only one I want is you. So deal with it.”
Eric blinked in surprise and then roared with laughter.
She’d told him.
Wanting her close, he wrapped his arm around her neck and brought her against his body. The feel of her hand as it slowly made its way around his back had a bolt of desire shooting through him straight to his swollen dick. The evening would be uncomfortable with how much she made him throb. It was his last thought as they entered the restaurant.
The maître d’ glanced up when they entered the restaurant, and he mumbled, “So they’ve come inside,” which gave Eric pause. The door they entered was glass so he had probably seen them, and their disagreement, clearly.
“De La Fuente,” he gave him his family name and smiled when the name registered with the maître d’.
Sylvia frowned and glanced up, but her silent question would have to wait to be answered. He wanted privacy before he discussed his family with anyone.
The maître d’ pulled himself together, and said, “Please come this way.”
Finally seated at the table, Eric offered Sylvia an explanation to the maître d’s recognition of his family name, “Three of my brothers have their names in the papers, often. I’m not sure which one he will have seen, probably all. It’s just one of those things. Wherever I go, the name is recognized.”
“I must live under a rock or something because I’ve never noticed.”
With a genuine smile on his face, he took hold of Sylvia’s delicate hand. “That makes me happy.”
She offered a small smile in return. “Will you tell me about your brothers? About your family?”
“Only if you agree to tell me all about you.”
She nodded, and kept her fingers tangled with his on the table, even through giving their order to the waitress.
“I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll start with the eldest, Dante. He’s a priest and lives in a quiet town outside of Denver.”
“I’ve met Dante on a few occasions,” Sylvia added, reminding him.
“I remember now. You’ve met Mateo as well, right? At Ruben and Rosie’s wedding?”
“That’s right,” she nodded slowly, “but we didn’t really talk so I don’t know much about any of your brothers.”
“Mateo is a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, so his name is in the paper a lot, more so when it’s football season. Then there’s Kasey who is a right-winger for the New York Rangers. He tends to be in the paper regardless of what season it is.” He chuckled. “They’re the youngest two before my father had the twins with Lucia, after our mother died.”
“What about the others?”
He paused while their entrees were placed in front of them, and the wine was poured. Taking a sip to wet his parched throat, he continued, “Aiden races on the formula one circuit, but I think he’s getting tired of that life.” He shrugged. “Then my half-brother, Diego is a firefighter in New York, and his twin, Emelia, our only sister, lives to drive Dante crazy.”
Sylvia paused while cutting into her chicken parmesan. “They don’t get along?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on with them to be honest. When our mother died, my father married, Lucia, our mother’s best friend. They married within a month of our mother’s death, and about seven months later, Emelia and Diego arrived.” He paused to let the implication of his father having an affair with his mother’s best friend sink in, and then continued, “Dante was the eldest and he left home to attend private school before Emelia and Diego were born. He’s never lived under the same roof as they have. So where my brothers and I finished our schooling at home with the young twins around, he never did. And where I feel protective of my young sister, I’m not sure Dante feels protective of her because she’s his sister.”
They fell into silence after his story about his siblings while they ate. He wondered sometimes about Dante and Emelia, but the ridiculous thoughts that bombarded him, he’d always shoved to the back of his mind. They may never have lived under the same roof, but they’re still siblings regardless of what he suspected his brother would like.
The mood had darkened and he needed to bring it back into the light.
