Megan scoffed and slid a worried look at Teddy before she spoke. “You let yourself believe it because he made you believe it. Maybe not on purpose, but no man brings a woman flowers if she’s just sex to him. He doesn’t invite her to go on outings with his kid if he doesn’t have feelings for her.” She looked at Teddy once again, apology in her green eyes. “I’m sorry but you know it’s true.”
Teddy lifted her hands up, palms facing out as she shook her head. “You won’t get any arguments from me. His actions aren’t matching his words, that much is certain.”
“Sounds to me like he’s feeling things he doesn’t want to feel, and trying to convince himself otherwise.” Hannah spoke with authority and that grabbed my attention. “Antonio is convinced that he doesn’t want or need love after things went sideways with Trishelle. He believes it, but he’s not living it.”
I rolled my eyes and took another long sip of margarita. “No. I know what you ladies are trying to do and I appreciate it, but it isn’t necessary. I made this bed and I am fully capable of getting out of it, washing the sheets and turning the page.”
Hannah let out a loud guffaw of laughter and shook her head. “I think you’re mixing your metaphors, Gus.”
“Doesn’t matter. I had a good time with Antonio while it lasted, and I got some really good sex out of it. That’s what matters.” My dry spell was broken, and I got out just before my heart got broken. “We both got what we wanted out of it.”
“Oh god, shut up, please!” Teddy shuddered. “I’ll remind you that’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I remember. But he was my lover,” I reminded her with a smile.
Teddy gagged and smacked a hand over her ears. “I’m not listening to this.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not like I’m telling you how well he uses his tongue.”
Megan and Hannah laughed gleefully.
Teddy pounded her fist on the table and glared at Hannah. “Is this how you feel when I talk about Cal.”
“Yep. Exactly. Well not exactly, because you’ve actually told me what he does with his tongue.” Hannah gave her own shudder and pretended to throw up.
“If that’s the case, I’m sorry. So, so sorry.” Teddy flashed a sympathetic look at me and sighed. “I’m sorry my brother is a jerk Gus.”
“He’s not.”
“He is,” Teddy insisted and refilled my glass. “And we’ll keep drinking until you agree.”
I accepted the full glass and took a huge gulp, happy and relieved that I didn’t have to go through this alone. Pleased that I had people in my life who could and would take care of me when I needed it.
It was more than I ever had before.
Antonio
“Oh look! There’s another princess! Daddy can I take another picture, please?” Rosie bounced up and down with more excitement than one child should be allowed to possess, and tugged on my windbreaker until she had my full attention. “Pretty please, Daddy?”
I looked down at her with a laugh. “I haven’t said no yet, why would I start now?” I’d already spent forty bucks just on photos of Rosie and other Renaissance Fair royalty. Queens and Princesses and even a Duchess, all in their best royal finery to match hers.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Rosie took a step back and smiled up at me before she darted off towards the kiosk with Queen Magenta.”
“Looks like you made a good pick.” Augusta leaned in close, her green eyes focused on Rosie as she spoke animatedly with the queen in pink. “Rosie is just bursting with happiness. Have you ever seen a child so happy?”
“Not this happy,” I assured her. “Are you having a good time?”
“I am, actually. It’s nice to see a little girl having the time of her life surrounded by people who are just like her, obsessed with royalty. And I can’t deny the delight I’ll experience later when I get a gargantuan turkey leg.”
Her words made me laugh, which made me relax a bit. Augusta was subdued all day, present but not fully. She smiled and laughed in all the right places, but the smile, the laughter, never reached her eyes.
“Gotta love a woman who isn’t afraid to eat.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Definitely not a problem I have.”
I reached for her hand and twined our fingers together until we were palm to palm. “I’m grateful for it. It would be bad form for a chef to be seen with a woman afraid to eat.”
Augusta leaned back and arched a reddish-gold brow in my direction. “But we aren’t being seen together, so your reputation is perfect intact.” The words were right, a little sassy and a little flirty, but they felt…off.
I shrugged. “You never know who’s watching.”
“Oh, look, Scotch eggs!” She extricated her hand from mine with such ease that I almost didn’t feel the distance between us, but it was there. It was definitely there, I just couldn’t figure out why.