your breasts all through lunch,” he said with a wicked smile and walked out of the storeroom.
* * *
His plan was to have lunch with Lucy but Blake conveniently derailed that idea. Now he was walking around town aimlessly and trying to avoid walking by whichever restaurant Blake had decided to take her.
Although he was pissed off on general principle, he wasn’t worried about Blake. As charming as Blake was with his “I’ll woo a woman the intellectual kind of way,” Antonio knew the man would have to be reborn as Rudolph Valentino himself to compete with him. There was nothing Blake could say to get Antonio out of Lucy’s mind or remove him metaphorically from between her legs. If Blake hadn’t come in and interrupted them, he would actually feel sorry for him.
Antonio found himself a nice park bench to sit down on and enjoy the weather. He leaned back and closed his eyes, channeling his thoughts to Lauren. He wondered how she was doing. He hoped to catch her for a chat when his brother wasn’t around and find out how she was really handling having another baby. He wasn’t surprised by her admission that Alejandro wanted another baby and that she conceded. Just after the twins were born, he’d paid them a visit and she’d said jokingly while making lunch one afternoon that she couldn’t go anywhere with three kids now. He knew she loved his brother and their family, but he also knew she struggled with childhood abandonment issues of her own. She was able to point out his need to be unattached to anything. Both of them felt that commitment was like being tethered to a pole. Her pole was Alejandro. Before, she could find an easy out and have them share custody of Zaria. Now there were three beings that would be affected by any decisions they made, and it scared her. She confided in him that she no longer feared that Alejandro would leave her for another woman. She knew he was happy: he had the family he’d always wanted. But what she couldn’t fathom, throughout all of this, was why she was the woman he chose.
“Lauren De Soto speaking,” she said casually into the phone.
He’d dialed her office number and hadn’t even realized it. “Hey gorgeous.”
“Well, well, well. The prodigal brother-in-law surfaces,” she said affectionately.
“How are you? How is my new niece or nephew doing?”
“Fine. Just fine.”
“Are you eating graham crackers and tuna fish again?” He laughed. That was her main craving when she pregnant with the boys.
“No, this one loves ice cream. Your brother makes me a big bowl of ice cream every night.”
He envisioned them sitting on the couch, Alejandro feeding her. His brother loved feeding his wife. “Been getting enough sleep?”
Lauren sighed. “I’m fine. I’m an old pro at this pregnancy thing. How’s the love life?”
“Well, I had dinner with a slam dunk and bowed out, and ended up on the doorstep of the artist who can’t decide whether or not she likes me. She wasn’t home.”
“And how are you getting her to warm up to you?”
“Well, that night you sent me a text when I was in the emergency room, she took me home to take care of me since I hurt my wrist catching her.”
“That was such bullshit Ant. How much did it end up costing you? Feigning injury to get a little sympathy?” She laughed.
“Well, it worked.” He laughed too.
“I suppose it did. So what happened?”
“Still working on it.”
“You sound a little confused,” she said.
“I went to talk to her today and things didn’t go as planned. She had the nerve to be on her way to a lunch date with some geeky writer who has a crush on her.”
“Yeah, silly her, keeping her options open.”
“Hey!” he protested. “The least she could do is be held up in her store thinking about me.”
“Oh, so you wanted a mirror image of what you are doing now?”
“At least.” He laughed.
“Sounds like she beat you to your own punch.”
“I guess,” he
* * *
His plan was to have lunch with Lucy but Blake conveniently derailed that idea. Now he was walking around town aimlessly and trying to avoid walking by whichever restaurant Blake had decided to take her.
Although he was pissed off on general principle, he wasn’t worried about Blake. As charming as Blake was with his “I’ll woo a woman the intellectual kind of way,” Antonio knew the man would have to be reborn as Rudolph Valentino himself to compete with him. There was nothing Blake could say to get Antonio out of Lucy’s mind or remove him metaphorically from between her legs. If Blake hadn’t come in and interrupted them, he would actually feel sorry for him.
Antonio found himself a nice park bench to sit down on and enjoy the weather. He leaned back and closed his eyes, channeling his thoughts to Lauren. He wondered how she was doing. He hoped to catch her for a chat when his brother wasn’t around and find out how she was really handling having another baby. He wasn’t surprised by her admission that Alejandro wanted another baby and that she conceded. Just after the twins were born, he’d paid them a visit and she’d said jokingly while making lunch one afternoon that she couldn’t go anywhere with three kids now. He knew she loved his brother and their family, but he also knew she struggled with childhood abandonment issues of her own. She was able to point out his need to be unattached to anything. Both of them felt that commitment was like being tethered to a pole. Her pole was Alejandro. Before, she could find an easy out and have them share custody of Zaria. Now there were three beings that would be affected by any decisions they made, and it scared her. She confided in him that she no longer feared that Alejandro would leave her for another woman. She knew he was happy: he had the family he’d always wanted. But what she couldn’t fathom, throughout all of this, was why she was the woman he chose.
“Lauren De Soto speaking,” she said casually into the phone.
He’d dialed her office number and hadn’t even realized it. “Hey gorgeous.”
“Well, well, well. The prodigal brother-in-law surfaces,” she said affectionately.
“How are you? How is my new niece or nephew doing?”
“Fine. Just fine.”
“Are you eating graham crackers and tuna fish again?” He laughed. That was her main craving when she pregnant with the boys.
“No, this one loves ice cream. Your brother makes me a big bowl of ice cream every night.”
He envisioned them sitting on the couch, Alejandro feeding her. His brother loved feeding his wife. “Been getting enough sleep?”
Lauren sighed. “I’m fine. I’m an old pro at this pregnancy thing. How’s the love life?”
“Well, I had dinner with a slam dunk and bowed out, and ended up on the doorstep of the artist who can’t decide whether or not she likes me. She wasn’t home.”
“And how are you getting her to warm up to you?”
“Well, that night you sent me a text when I was in the emergency room, she took me home to take care of me since I hurt my wrist catching her.”
“That was such bullshit Ant. How much did it end up costing you? Feigning injury to get a little sympathy?” She laughed.
“Well, it worked.” He laughed too.
“I suppose it did. So what happened?”
“Still working on it.”
“You sound a little confused,” she said.
“I went to talk to her today and things didn’t go as planned. She had the nerve to be on her way to a lunch date with some geeky writer who has a crush on her.”
“Yeah, silly her, keeping her options open.”
“Hey!” he protested. “The least she could do is be held up in her store thinking about me.”
“Oh, so you wanted a mirror image of what you are doing now?”
“At least.” He laughed.
“Sounds like she beat you to your own punch.”
“I guess,” he
Similar Books
