myself.”
“Well, I think
it’s great,” Carolina said in a tone that might have convinced someone who
hadn’t known her so long. “You two have been friends for so long. We all have.
That’s nice that your friendship turned into—more.”
Rain glanced at
Daphne. She didn’t seem to be buying Carolina’s fake enthusiasm either. He
could tell by the way she wouldn’t meet either of their eyes and the stiffness
in her posture. Daphne chose to focus her gaze on Manny instead. Being friends
with both of the women so long, he was pretty good at reading their body language.
And Daphne’s body exuded guilt.
Daphne said,
“Yeah. It’s really been…beautiful.” The way she said “beautiful” made Rain want
to cringe.
“Don’t hold
back on our account,” Carolina said. “You’ve seen how sickening we are with the
PDA.” There was a bit of a challenge in her eyes as she added, “Feel free to
express yourselves.”
Ah great , Rain said. Hoping Carolina
didn’t suspect it was all a show, and hoping Daphne wouldn’t pummel him too
badly later, he said, “I told you she’d be cool, Daph.” He rubbed his hand over
her shoulder.
“I just wanted
to take it easy on you, sweetie,” Daphne said. “You had that nasty groin injury
last week, and I wouldn’t want you to get too carried away and overexert
yourself.” She gave him a sweet smile, but he could swear she was choking back
a laugh.
“How considerate
of you, honey,” Rain said. He guessed he deserved that.
The server came
over to take their orders. Carolina and Manny ordered a
seafood paella to share. How sickening. Sharing food? Really? It was
like they were trying to win an award for most nauseating couple. Daphne
ordered something with a name he couldn’t pronounce much less remember. Rain
ordered a steak medium rare. Maybe ordering the steak at a seafood place was a
mistake. He didn’t know, didn’t much care. He was much more interested in
watching every move of the couple across the table so he could come up with new
and better reasons that Manny was a lame substitute for him.
After the
server left, Manny and Carolina bent their heads close together and murmured in
Spanish for a few moments. Rain spoke English, Thai, and Japanese fluently. He
only knew the little bit of Spanish that Carolina had taught him. And they were
talking too quickly and quietly for him to be able to tell what they were
saying.
When they
looked up again, Carolina’s eyes were all love glazed. Rain studied his water
glass and tried to keep his face neutral. Letting the bitterness show would not
be sexy.
“How do you
guys like Puerto Rico so far?” Carolina asked.
“It’s
beautiful. I can’t wait to hit the beach tomorrow,” Daphne said. “What plans do
you two have for tomorrow? Wedding things?”
Carolina
wrinkled her nose in a way he’d always found adorable and said, “My last
dancing lesson before the wedding.”
Manny laughed.
He sounded like a manic horse.
“Oh yeah.”
Daphne nodded. “I heard you’re trying to teach Carolina to salsa. How’s that
going?”
Manny grinned.
He looked at Carolina, and they both burst out laughing. Manny said, “Not
well.” They started laughing again.
“Hey. I never
had interest in learning before,” she said.
“Baby,” Manny
said, putting his arm around Rain’s Carolina. “You have to be the only Puerto
Rican who can’t Salsa.”
“It’s a Cuban
dance.”
“Doesn’t
matter.”
She laughed and
shrugged. “So take away my membership card, okay?”
He laughed and
kissed the tip of her nose. Rain clenched his hands into his fists beneath the
table, but forced himself to maintain an expression of polite interest. He’d
never win Carolina over by being a jerk and letting Manny come out looking
better.
The
conversation then turned to Salsa and Merengue and all sorts of other things
Rain had no interest in. He was content to sit back in his corner and think
sulky, petty thoughts about
“Well, I think
it’s great,” Carolina said in a tone that might have convinced someone who
hadn’t known her so long. “You two have been friends for so long. We all have.
That’s nice that your friendship turned into—more.”
Rain glanced at
Daphne. She didn’t seem to be buying Carolina’s fake enthusiasm either. He
could tell by the way she wouldn’t meet either of their eyes and the stiffness
in her posture. Daphne chose to focus her gaze on Manny instead. Being friends
with both of the women so long, he was pretty good at reading their body language.
And Daphne’s body exuded guilt.
Daphne said,
“Yeah. It’s really been…beautiful.” The way she said “beautiful” made Rain want
to cringe.
“Don’t hold
back on our account,” Carolina said. “You’ve seen how sickening we are with the
PDA.” There was a bit of a challenge in her eyes as she added, “Feel free to
express yourselves.”
Ah great , Rain said. Hoping Carolina
didn’t suspect it was all a show, and hoping Daphne wouldn’t pummel him too
badly later, he said, “I told you she’d be cool, Daph.” He rubbed his hand over
her shoulder.
“I just wanted
to take it easy on you, sweetie,” Daphne said. “You had that nasty groin injury
last week, and I wouldn’t want you to get too carried away and overexert
yourself.” She gave him a sweet smile, but he could swear she was choking back
a laugh.
“How considerate
of you, honey,” Rain said. He guessed he deserved that.
The server came
over to take their orders. Carolina and Manny ordered a
seafood paella to share. How sickening. Sharing food? Really? It was
like they were trying to win an award for most nauseating couple. Daphne
ordered something with a name he couldn’t pronounce much less remember. Rain
ordered a steak medium rare. Maybe ordering the steak at a seafood place was a
mistake. He didn’t know, didn’t much care. He was much more interested in
watching every move of the couple across the table so he could come up with new
and better reasons that Manny was a lame substitute for him.
After the
server left, Manny and Carolina bent their heads close together and murmured in
Spanish for a few moments. Rain spoke English, Thai, and Japanese fluently. He
only knew the little bit of Spanish that Carolina had taught him. And they were
talking too quickly and quietly for him to be able to tell what they were
saying.
When they
looked up again, Carolina’s eyes were all love glazed. Rain studied his water
glass and tried to keep his face neutral. Letting the bitterness show would not
be sexy.
“How do you
guys like Puerto Rico so far?” Carolina asked.
“It’s
beautiful. I can’t wait to hit the beach tomorrow,” Daphne said. “What plans do
you two have for tomorrow? Wedding things?”
Carolina
wrinkled her nose in a way he’d always found adorable and said, “My last
dancing lesson before the wedding.”
Manny laughed.
He sounded like a manic horse.
“Oh yeah.”
Daphne nodded. “I heard you’re trying to teach Carolina to salsa. How’s that
going?”
Manny grinned.
He looked at Carolina, and they both burst out laughing. Manny said, “Not
well.” They started laughing again.
“Hey. I never
had interest in learning before,” she said.
“Baby,” Manny
said, putting his arm around Rain’s Carolina. “You have to be the only Puerto
Rican who can’t Salsa.”
“It’s a Cuban
dance.”
“Doesn’t
matter.”
She laughed and
shrugged. “So take away my membership card, okay?”
He laughed and
kissed the tip of her nose. Rain clenched his hands into his fists beneath the
table, but forced himself to maintain an expression of polite interest. He’d
never win Carolina over by being a jerk and letting Manny come out looking
better.
The
conversation then turned to Salsa and Merengue and all sorts of other things
Rain had no interest in. He was content to sit back in his corner and think
sulky, petty thoughts about
Similar Books
