“Don’t be sad, sugar. I’ll figure something out.”
“Okay.” I try to keep the emotion out of my voice because the last thing I want to do is upset him. He has enough to deal with already, and I don’t want to add more onto his shoulders.
“I love you, and I’ll call again later to check on you.”
“I love you too,” I say before he ends the call.
“Are you hungry?” Margaret asks, trying to distract me.
“Not really.”
When I go back to the table, I sit down and take another sip of my tea. I don’t want to be rude and not drink it, and maybe it will make Margaret less concerned if I don’t rush out of here in tears.
The landline begins to ring again, and I look over at Margaret in surprise. I’d shamelessly put the house number down on Kai’s letter, but there’s no way it’s him. I’m sure he’ll never call, but I couldn’t help myself. Apparently, I have no self-control when it comes to the man that saved me, but there’s no way he could’ve gotten the letter I sent yet. It’s too soon, and Dad didn’t mention anything about getting his. Not to mention Dad said Kai is still in solitary.
“Hello?” I say, after answering it.
“Sienna,” the person on the other end of the line says, and I know right away it’s not my dad. I also know it’s not Kai, because his voice was deep and commanding. “Hey, it’s Carlos. I wanted to see how you’re doing.”
Inwardly I groan. Dad must have told him to call me. He won’t force me to marry Carlos, but he’ll try and nudge the idea along.
“Oh, hi Carlos. It’s been a while.”
“Too long. I’ve missed the sound of your voice.” He sounds eager and like he’s going to say something else, so I interrupt.
“Yes, Margaret, I’ll be right there!” I shout, and she turns around and gives me a funny look. “Hey Carlos, I’m sorry, I need to go. Margaret is calling me for dinner.”
“All right, I’ll try you again later. I want to catch up.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you then.”
“Until then, bebita,” he responds before I quickly hang up.
“So now you’re hungry?” Margaret teases me, and I bite my bottom lip.
Oh, I’m hungry, but it’s not for food. And it’s not for Carlos either.