“I threw
them out. They clashed with your hair.”
He laughed. “I do love you.”
“And I love you. I’ll try to be better at reading your mind so I know when you’re more upset than you’re letting on. I honestly didn’t realize the breakup was bothering you so much or that you were dwelling on that stupid kiss.”
“I’m an asshole,” he said. “I shouldn’t assume you know what’s going on in my head.”
She reached out for his hand. “You can tell me, you know. It’s never going to change the way I feel about you. It might make me love you even more.”
He lifted a brow. “To know I can’t handle my personal shit? That will make you love me more.”
“Yep,” she said, squeezing his hand. “It makes me feel needed, and you know how obsessed I am with feeling needed.” She winked at him, and he burst out laughing.
“I might not show it as well as Clinger—”
“Clinger?”
“AKA Nikki, but I do need you, Mel. Don’t ever let something stupid I say drive you away. I never want that no matter how twisted my insides get sometimes.”
“They wouldn’t get so twisted if you’d just let it out,” she said. “Now, can we order? I’m starving over here.”
He pushed the complimentary chips and salsa in her direction and signaled the waiter that they were ready to place their order. Melanie decided on cheese enchiladas. Apparently her adventurous side had taken a hike sometime during their little spat. So Gabe ordered three entrees he’d never tried before—the three Melanie had originally been considering, because she had excellent taste and he was feeling a little reckless.
“Hungry?” Melanie asked when the waiter walked away.
“I am,” he said, selecting a chip from their basket and dunking it into salsa.
“Are we going to try Amanda again before we head home?”
He crunched on his chip and asked, “Are you okay with that?”
“I should probably be worried that you’re apparently stalking Jacob’s ex-girlfriend, but I don’t think you plan to kidnap her. At least not when I’m with you. So, yeah, we should stop by to see if she’s home.”
“I hope she knows why Jacob’s acting so erratic. If we know the cause, maybe we can fix him.”
“Someone needs to get him fixed. The jerk should not procreate.”
Gabe snorted. “You only say that because you’ve never seen him with his daughter. That little girl is his entire universe.”
“I don’t understand how any guy who considers women his personal all-he-can-eat buffet can treat a daughter with respect.”
“Woman who don’t demand respect don’t receive it.”
“You’re referring to Nikki, aren’t you?”
“I’m referring to all the women who will do anything to bed him.”
“And do you treat the women who want you with same disregard?”
He looked to his left and then to his right. “My line is a bit shorter than his. After all, I am just the drummer.” A pang of longing twisted his gut. Or maybe it was the spicy salsa. “Or rather, I was just the drummer.”
“You still are.” She sipped at her margarita, her gorgeous hazel eyes never leaving his face.
“Just the drummer,” he said, with a grin.
“You know you’re important to the band,” she said. “But if you want someone to fangirl all over you, you should whine to Nikki.”
“I’m not whining.”
“But you should whine. To Nikki. If you’re feeling down, she’ll lift your spirits to the clouds. I guarantee it.”
“Is that the real reason you keep her around? As an ego fluffer?”
“Try it,” Melanie said, brightening as the kitchen arrived with way too much food for their small table. “You’ll like it.”
As usual, the meal was fantastic and the company even better. Now that Melanie had met one of his sisters, he could share stories about their childhood and how he’d always felt like he was trying to live up to the images of his older siblings. His sisters had always been extremely competitive.
“One Father’s Day they decided to get Dad ties. He has always dressed rather tame—being a physics professor and all—but on occasion he’ll wear an over-the-top tie. So Jennifer got him a tie that lit up with bright LED stripes that periodically changed color and Leslie got him . . .” Gabe laughed as the memory sprang vividly to mind. “. . . a tie with a dog’s ass. It had a tail that wagged in response to clapping. His students had a grand time with that one.”
Melanie laughed. “Oh my God. I cannot imagine him wearing something like that.”
“My sisters based their victory on how many times he wore each tie, so of course he had to wear them both regularly and equally. I wonder how hard it was on my parents to have such ultracompetitive children.” He’d never thought about how their sibling rivalry might affect his parents. He’d always been caught up in the contest.
“So what kind of tie did you get him?” she asked.
“I’m the black sheep, so I didn’t get him a tie at all.” He winked at her. “I cheated and bought him a new fishing lure.”
Melanie stole a triangle of his duck quesadilla and nibbled on one point. “Did he wear the lure around his neck when he taught class? He didn’t leave you out, did he?”
“No. He took me fishing, and of course I insisted we go every time he wore a sister’s tie that year, so win-win for me.”
“You’re such a rebel.” She fed him a bite of her delicious creamy enchiladas, her gaze riveted to his mouth as he accepted her offering. “I guess I’m glad I was an only child. I got more parental attention than I could ever want.”
“I’m sure that was tough at times too.”
She shrugged. “Can’t really complain. I never had to wonder if I was loved.”
“I never wondered that either. I just never felt like I was the best.”
“You’ll always be their best son,” she pointed out. “No matter what you do.”
And he wasn’t sure why that had never occurred to him. “That’s why we need four kids, two boys and two girls. Let the sibling rivalry begin.” He expected her to laugh, but she kept her gaze on her plate. He was starting to learn her cues, and this one said that something was bothering her. “I might be able to handle a couple more, but twenty-four is definitely the max.”
“Twenty-four?” Her eyes went wide. “You’ll have to knock up a couple dozen groupies if you want that many.”
“But I want only you to have my babies,” he said.
She relaxed her shoulders slightly. He guessed she was worried about the paternity test, and when she asked when he’d get the results about Lindsey’s baby, he knew he was right.
“Three to five business days,” he repeated what he’d been told at his appointment. “I can even look it up online.”
“And it’s accurate? The baby hasn’t even been born yet.”
“I guess some of the baby’s DNA gets into the mother’s bloodstream, and they have a way to separate baby DNA from mom DNA. That’s why Lindsey had to give blood, not just a cheek-cell sample.”
Melanie nodded and then invaded his dinner again to sample the delicious pork cooked in a banana leaf that he was glad he’d ordered.
“Help yourself,” he said, capturing her fork with his.
She glanced up. “I’m sorry. Does it bother you to share food? I’ll stop.”
“I have no problem sharing my food,” he said, capturing the bite she’d been after on his own fork. “But allow me.”
He lifted the morsel to her mouth and carefully fed her the bite. She covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed. “Fantastic. I’ve never had such authentic Mexican food before. Everything is so flavorful and aromatic.”
Gabe grinned.
“What are you grinning at?”
“I’ve never dated a woman who would use a word like aromatic in everyday conversation.”