wedding.”
He looked at her closely. “You OK?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding a bit surprised. “I really am.” She got to her feet. “So… let’s go see Eric. I hope he’ll have a few ideas.”
“Maria?”
She glanced at him.
“You did good, baby.”
“Yeah?”
“Hell, yeah.” He grinned as her phone started to ring again. “Bethany?”
“Yep.” She switched the phone off completely. “My shift ended thirty minutes ago, so I can turn this off now without any guilt.”
“Awesome. So we go see Eric and then what – back home?” He used the word ‘home’ easily, naturally; the truth was that he felt like he was at home when he was with Maria, and he didn’t care if she knew it.
“I want to cook tonight,” she said. “You interested?”
“I’m interested.”
She peered up at him, hearing layers and depths and folds in those two words. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
Maria pulled out every ounce of courage that she had. “So am I.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
Dillon swallowed hard. “So let’s go sort out the flowers and then we’ll go home and do something about all this interest. OK?”
“Yes,” she whispered, already afraid and intrigued about what the approaching night would bring. “OK.”
**
“Do you know Gabi well?”
Dillon looked up from chopping the vegetables for the salad. “Gabi? Yeah, well enough, I guess. I mean, I’ve been working at Dangerous Curves for two years and she’s been there for three. I don’t talk to her much when I’m bouncing and she’s cleaning, but we do chat.”
“What’s she like?” Maria said.
Dillon’s brow furrowed. “You really don’t know her, do you?”
“No, not really.” Maria stirred the pasta sauce and averted her eyes. “I mean, we’ve been talking on the phone maybe once every couple of weeks, a bit more now that this has happened, but we’re still not close.”
“I thought you spent Christmas together?”
“Yeah, two days of it. Then she had to go back to work.”
“Yeah, well, she works a lot.”
“So she’s hard working?”
“Oh, man, that’s putting it mildly.” Dillon grinned. “She never stops, never takes a day off. Sometimes she pulls sixteen-hour shifts at two different places, cleaning her ass off the whole time.”
Maria nodded and took a sip of wine. “What else?”
“Uh. She’s smart, for damn sure, but she’s quiet about it. In fact, she’s quiet all the time. Keeps her personal business to herself.” Dillon hesitated. “We didn’t even know she had a half-sister until all this shit with the Fallen Angels happened and she told us she was worried about you being targeted.”
“Yeah, we agreed to not say too much about each other yet.”
“How come?”
“In case we decided we didn’t actually want a relationship in the end. It would be too awkward to have to explain to everyone why two sisters who’d just found each other didn’t want to have anything to do with each other.”
“Why would you decide that?” Dillon tossed the veggies in to a large bowl.
She was silent for a while then she sighed. “To be honest? I was the one holding back.”
Dillon looked over at her, thought about that. Gabi had given him a very rough run-down of Maria before he’d arrived here, and so he knew some basic details. He knew that Gabi’s Dad had had an affair and that Maria had been the very unwelcome result. He’d never acknowledged her; in fact, he’d never even admitted to being the father at all. It was a hugely asshole move, in Dillon’s opinion, and Gabi damn well knew it. She’d been angry when she’d told Dillon about it – she was well aware that her father had behaved badly.
It only got worse, of course. Maria’s Mom had been unable to deal with a baby on her own and had given Maria up as soon as she was born. Maria had been put in to the system and she’d never come out. She’d never been adopted, so she’d just been shuffled from foster home to foster home for
He looked at her closely. “You OK?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding a bit surprised. “I really am.” She got to her feet. “So… let’s go see Eric. I hope he’ll have a few ideas.”
“Maria?”
She glanced at him.
“You did good, baby.”
“Yeah?”
“Hell, yeah.” He grinned as her phone started to ring again. “Bethany?”
“Yep.” She switched the phone off completely. “My shift ended thirty minutes ago, so I can turn this off now without any guilt.”
“Awesome. So we go see Eric and then what – back home?” He used the word ‘home’ easily, naturally; the truth was that he felt like he was at home when he was with Maria, and he didn’t care if she knew it.
“I want to cook tonight,” she said. “You interested?”
“I’m interested.”
She peered up at him, hearing layers and depths and folds in those two words. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
Maria pulled out every ounce of courage that she had. “So am I.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
Dillon swallowed hard. “So let’s go sort out the flowers and then we’ll go home and do something about all this interest. OK?”
“Yes,” she whispered, already afraid and intrigued about what the approaching night would bring. “OK.”
**
“Do you know Gabi well?”
Dillon looked up from chopping the vegetables for the salad. “Gabi? Yeah, well enough, I guess. I mean, I’ve been working at Dangerous Curves for two years and she’s been there for three. I don’t talk to her much when I’m bouncing and she’s cleaning, but we do chat.”
“What’s she like?” Maria said.
Dillon’s brow furrowed. “You really don’t know her, do you?”
“No, not really.” Maria stirred the pasta sauce and averted her eyes. “I mean, we’ve been talking on the phone maybe once every couple of weeks, a bit more now that this has happened, but we’re still not close.”
“I thought you spent Christmas together?”
“Yeah, two days of it. Then she had to go back to work.”
“Yeah, well, she works a lot.”
“So she’s hard working?”
“Oh, man, that’s putting it mildly.” Dillon grinned. “She never stops, never takes a day off. Sometimes she pulls sixteen-hour shifts at two different places, cleaning her ass off the whole time.”
Maria nodded and took a sip of wine. “What else?”
“Uh. She’s smart, for damn sure, but she’s quiet about it. In fact, she’s quiet all the time. Keeps her personal business to herself.” Dillon hesitated. “We didn’t even know she had a half-sister until all this shit with the Fallen Angels happened and she told us she was worried about you being targeted.”
“Yeah, we agreed to not say too much about each other yet.”
“How come?”
“In case we decided we didn’t actually want a relationship in the end. It would be too awkward to have to explain to everyone why two sisters who’d just found each other didn’t want to have anything to do with each other.”
“Why would you decide that?” Dillon tossed the veggies in to a large bowl.
She was silent for a while then she sighed. “To be honest? I was the one holding back.”
Dillon looked over at her, thought about that. Gabi had given him a very rough run-down of Maria before he’d arrived here, and so he knew some basic details. He knew that Gabi’s Dad had had an affair and that Maria had been the very unwelcome result. He’d never acknowledged her; in fact, he’d never even admitted to being the father at all. It was a hugely asshole move, in Dillon’s opinion, and Gabi damn well knew it. She’d been angry when she’d told Dillon about it – she was well aware that her father had behaved badly.
It only got worse, of course. Maria’s Mom had been unable to deal with a baby on her own and had given Maria up as soon as she was born. Maria had been put in to the system and she’d never come out. She’d never been adopted, so she’d just been shuffled from foster home to foster home for
Similar Books
