Mateo follows suit and then giggles as he kicks and splashes. Good thing I packed a change of clothes for him, just in case, because he’s going to get wet.
With dark hair and black-framed glasses, Milo is every bit as handsome as Nico. I’ve noticed before that he’s all sweetness and lacks his older brother’s rough edges. He’s the sort of man I ought to be attracted to, not the one described as “toxic” by his own family members.
“So you live here, too?”
“Yep. My big brother is good to me.”
For some reason, hearing that makes me feel a tiny bit better about what I seem to be getting into with Nico. “What do you do?”
“Computer stuff.”
“He’s a nerd,” Nico says when he steps onto the pool deck, freshly shaved and showered, dressed in khaki shorts and a Cuban guayabera shirt. He smells good. Really, really good.
“You wish you were a nerd like me,” Milo responds.
“I’ll pass on that.”
“And yet, you’re more than happy to get my free services for your business.”
“And you’re more than happy to have free rent at my house.”
Despite the back-and-forth, I can tell they’re close, and I like seeing the devoted-older-brother side of Nico.
“Don’t listen to him,” Milo says. “I’m the only one who ever cleans around here. If it wasn’t for me, this place would be a pigsty.”
“That is not true,” Nico says.
“It’s absolutely true, and you know it.”
“Whatever you say, bro.” He rolls his eyes at me. “You guys ready to go?”
“I am, but we might have trouble getting Mateo to leave the pool.”
“Hey, buddy, want to go ride the bike?”
“Bike!” He struggles to stand, but Milo is right there to help him up and onto the pool deck.
Before I have a chance to stand, Nico has picked him up and smoothly grabbed the sandals. I can tell Milo is as impressed as I am by the way Nico tends to Mateo.
“See you over there,” Nico says to Milo as he heads inside.
“I’m right behind you.”
“Thanks for playing with Mateo,” I say to Milo.
“No problem. He’s a cutie.”
“I think so, too.”
“See you at my mom’s.”
“It’s okay that I’m going with Nico, right?”
“You should know by now that everyone is welcome with our family.”
“Your family is very special.”
“It is. We’re blessed, and we know it.”
Nico returns to the door. “You coming, Sofia?”
“I’m coming. Thanks again for the coffee and for playing with Mateo.”
“Sure thing.”
His warm smile ought to make my heart flutter, but it does nothing other than fill me with a sweet feeling of friendship. When I look at Nico, however, his expression has grown stormy. Is he annoyed? And if so, why?