AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He didn’t speak to me again until Francesca called Eduardo into the house to help her prepare lunch, and then the two of us stared at each other.
“How did you run into Carmen after all these years?” he asked. He picked up his water bottle and took a long sip, never stopping his frank assessment of me while he drank. Carmen said he ran crews of hardened construction guys. I could easily believe it.
I decided to skip over the part where I met her at an afterwork thing, and then low-key stalked her by taking deliveries to her work. It was pretty universal that guys did dumb things when it came to women, but I didn’t think that would go over well or be understood by someone who would not want to hear how beautiful, vivacious, or alluring his sister had been to me.
“Maria came into my shop with Amalia, and she strong-armed me into two dates from her little book in return for the honor of getting to prepare Amalia’s wedding flowers.”
“So, you really are a florist?” There was only curiosity in his voice, and that alone made my estimation of him go up a little.
“I am. I work with my older sister.”
“Hmm. Sounds like something Maria would do. She’s always trying to add names to that thing. She’s not making you do the flowers for free, is she?
“No.”
“Good. You and Carmen got set up on a date, then?”
“Yeah. Maria told me to pick, and I saw Carmen’s name in there.”
“How did Carmen take it?”
“She was grumpy about it. Suspicious of my motives. Which was fair.”
Eddie nodded. “More than fair. But she showed up for the date.”
“Yep. That was the night your dad fell and broke his ankle. We drove back here to help get him into the van, and Gia drove them to the hospital. Carmen and I stayed and talked through everything, and… we decided to be friends again.”
“And you’ve been going to bingo with her.”
“Yeah.”
“I appreciate that.” Eddie looked away, obviously embarrassed about expressing any gratitude towards someone he’d rather not have around. “Who was the other date with?”
“From Maria’s book? Dessie Hice.”
Eddie’s eyes widened, and he glanced around as if we might summon her with the mere mention of her name. “You went out with Dessie?”
“I take it you know her.”
“Yes. She’s terrifying. I went to school with her. All through my middle grades and high school. She asked me to Winter Formal senior year. My mother threatened to shave my head in the night if I turned her down. So, I said yes because my hair was awesome, and I obviously didn’t value my life enough. You see this scar right here?” He pointed to a small line just below his right eye. “She threw a binder at me. Last day of school.”
“Why?”
“Because I finally broke up with her. After Winter Formal she told everyone we were a couple, and I was too scared to disagree. And also, she was incredibly hot, and I had about three brain cells to rub together every time I was in her presence.” His eyes narrowed. “Did you kiss Dessie?”
I wasn’t sure if he was being protective of Dessie or Carmen, but either way, he had nothing to worry about. “No. Our date ended with her shoving her frozen yogurt into my shirt. But even if things had gone well… Look, I’m all about your sister. She’s it for me.”
Eddie scrunched his face up, rubbing the side of his neck. “Okay, good. That’s good. Let’s go change some lightbulbs. Assuming Carmen found the right ones.”
“Is she back?” I asked.
Eddie pointed. “She’s watching us through the blinds, making sure I’m being nice to you. We should stage a fight, just for fun. Can you block a punch?”
I laughed. “Only if I get to win.”
“Never mind.”
Easiest fight I’d ever avoided. I winked at Carmen and followed Eddie inside.
