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Reina beamed. “Look at him being so solicitous to his baby’s mother.”
Sam’s face flamed scarlet. “He just really likes feeding people.” She turned to me. “Anything’s fine.” But before I could walk away, she mouthedpizza, plain as day, as she rubbed her stomach.
“You got it,” I said.
The freezer was well stocked with pizzas of every variety, and I put two in the oven while I mixed some margaritas to go along with them. I made one without alcohol for Samantha so she wouldn’t feel left out and cut up the last mango while I waited for the pizzas to be good and crispy.
Ivan came back into the kitchen, and I pointedly looked at his knuckles for blood. He shook his head. “Since they’re not worth anything to us, I took care of them for you. No reason to have them on the property any longer. I’ve got somebody with a boat who’ll come around as soon as it’s dark, and we can get rid of them.”
“Thanks,” I said, honestly grateful they weren't my problem anymore. I had enough as it was.
Ivan helped me carry the food and drinks out, and we modestly accepted the girls’ mock applause when we set it all down on the table. Seeing Samantha look so relaxed eased some of my worries that she was still completely miserable here. Something shifted in my heart when she gave me a true smile after I set the mango down in front of her. That should have given me pause, but it was only because I’d been more worried about her being hurt by the way I’d brushed her off that morning. It had been a bit childish, even though my reasons were sound.
I smiled back at her, and certain that Reina and Ivan were distracted by helping themselves to the pizza, I brushed a few strands of her hair behind her shoulder.
“Baby safe,” I said, nodding to her margarita.
“I didn’t think you’d be giving me alcohol,” she said with another smile.
The conversation flowed smoothly, and thankfully Reina and Ivan had a rich enough life that it never once touched on anything having to do with the family business. I learned a few things about Sam that I didn’t know before, like that she liked history museums better than modern art galleries and won a poetry contest in fourth grade. It wasn’t just the alcohol from my extra strong margarita pitcher that had us all laughing and talking. They seemed to really take to her.
I kept viewing it as an outsider might see us. Just a cozy evening with two couples, nothing out of the ordinary. While I knew it wasn’t that, I was happy to see Sam so relaxed and carefree after nearly getting mowed down by our enemy’s oversized monster truck, which I had stashed in Ivan’s garage until we could figure out what to do with it.
After the two pizzas were reduced to crumbs on the trays, Sam and Reina moved over to the lounge chairs now that the sun had gone down and a breeze had made it more bearable outside. Ivan and I stayed at the table, and I divided the last of the margaritas between us.
“Be careful,” he said after a short moment of companionable silence.
“What?” I asked, tearing my gaze from Sam. “Why?”
I expected him to warn me of more possible attacks, but he only chuckled and shook his head. “The way you’ve been looking at your surrogate all evening makes me think this is more than just a business arrangement. At least on your side. So, be careful.”
“I’m not looking at her in any special way,” I argued. “I’m a little concerned about her after what she went through yesterday, that’s all. She’s not used to that sort of thing like we are.”
“Sure,” he sarcastically agreed, his eyes full of a maddening know-it-all gleam.
“I have to keep my baby safe,” I said. “You’d do the exact same thing.”
“Of course.”
My cousin was pissing me off with his annoying teasing. He’d grown soft over the years of being blissfully married and saw everything through that lens. He didn’t know shit about Sam’s and my situation. Looking at her in what way? I barely glanced at her.
Now I had to spend the rest of the evening forcing myself not to look in her direction at all.
Chapter 20 - Samantha
After weeks of being surrounded by gruff, surly men, being able to talk to another woman was heaven. Especially another mother. Not that I was going to be a mother, but someone who had gone through a pregnancy and birth. Now that I had a tiny little bump and had stopped feeling so sick all the time, it was really beginning to hit home that I’d be pushing out a baby sooner than later.
At first glance, Reina was a little bit intimidating, wearing a designer sundress that was still flawlessly crisp after the long drive down from Miami. The fact I was hiding out in her beautiful home and wearing her swimsuit made me feel at a disadvantage, even without being faced with her confident elegance. But she was warm and accepting, interested in the surrogacy, but never prying, and most of all, not judging either my or Leo’s decision to do things differently than most.
She was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed, especially after letting my feelings get so hurt after Leo’s brusque demeanor this morning. One second we’d been cuddled up together, and the next, he was trying to get away from me like I was a leper. Yes, I’d been having regrets again, but I would keep them to myself at that time. I guess I’d gotten a taste of my own medicine, and it had been bitter.
At least he seemed over it when he made me the special margarita and cut up a mango just for me, and his smile had been more like himself. I shouldn’t have been stressing about him wanting to distance us because that was exactly what I wanted. What was best for both of us. Wasn’t it?
After dinner, we moved away from the guys to speak more freely about girl stuff. I asked Reina to tell me every gory detail of her daughter’s birth, and she spent the next twenty minutes regaling me with a tale that made my blood run cold. Pain beyond description, embarrassing loss of control, screams that she couldn’t believe were coming from her own mouth.
By the time she was done, I had my hand over my mouth, certain my eyes were bugging out of my head.
“How can you talk about it so calmly?” I asked.
