“NO!” she said with a bark of laughter. “It wasn’t a challenge. I was just…sharing something personal. It’s your turn.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.” He grinned, and she knew he wasn’t going to let it go. Ryan would push her boundaries. Let him try. Her sister had been pushing since the day she was born. “I, on the other hand, spent a good part of my afternoon swearing at a copier.”
“That wasn’t personal.”
“It got pretty personal with the copier. I mean, I called its mother a bitch, then accused it of fucking her.”
The sip of limonada she’d taken almost came out her nose. Instead, she went into a coughing fit. Ryan placed a hand on her back and patted gently. Warmth radiated from his touch, and heat rose in her cheeks as tears leaked from her eyes. Once she got her breathing under control, she took another sip.
“I’m sorry, Elissa. I didn’t mean—” His face was pale with shock, all traces of humor gone.
“No, no, it was funny, but I need to clean up. I’ll be right back.” She gave him her best smile as she hopped down from the barstool and went to the ladies’ room.
Looking in the mirror, Elissa was surprised the worst effect of the incident was smeared mascara. She took a paper towel and dabbed at her eyes, wiping away the mess, and gave herself a stern glare.
What the hell are you doing?
Her reflection had no defense. Elissa had expected she’d meet some nice guy who wouldn’t sweep her off her feet but would be patient enough to develop a deep and abiding relationship. She wasn’t a woman who got swept off her feet. She’d made sure she was sensible enough to not expect sweeping. And yet…
Not only was he sexy as hell, but he was smart, with humor lacing even his sharpest comment. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, even when she’d believed he was an entitled jerk. And he was, sometimes. Everyone had bad days, but she hadn’t seen a whiff of that guy since the first time they met.
“Oh, fudge nuts.”
She was falling for him. Elissa wasn’t a risk-taker. It was what made her a skilled accountant. She conserved resources and was careful about who she let in her life. Ryan threw her for a loop. Every cell in her body yearned for him, even those brain cells she was so proud of. But a small voice in the far corners of her mind screamed caution. She couldn’t predict what would happen, and it would end her if her heart broke.
Elissa was getting ahead of herself. It was just hot dogs. She straightened her shirt, washed her hands, and returned to the table.
twenty-four
want me to ask her out for you?
Ryan couldn’t keep himself from staring after Elissa as she walked to the ladies’ room. He hadn’t meant to cause her to choke. He was trying to disguise his nervousness with humor. Ryan hadn’t been nervous around a woman since he was seventeen. He knew exactly how they’d react, especially when they learned who his family was.
Elissa was like no other woman he’d met. His usual charm never seemed to make a dent, but when he was authentically himself, she opened up. She didn’t care who his family was. She only seemed to care how he treated others.
“Hey, man!” a familiar voice said from the opposite direction of his stare. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
Iz clapped a hand to his shoulder. Shit, what were they doing here? They usually stuck closer to home. He tore his gaze away from where Elissa had disappeared. Iz had gone all out tonight. Their golden-brown skin was highlighted with sparkly powder on the cheekbones and gold eyeshadow. Short, black hair with an off-center red streak complemented the red silk shirt Iz wore. And their nails were painted like a ladybug—red with black dots.
“Hi, Iz. Got a hot date?”
“How could you tell?” They laughed as they took the seat to Ryan’s right. “Don’t you remember? I said I was coming here to catch the game.”
Now that Iz mentioned it, he vaguely recalled a conversation in the last couple of days discussing this fact. Son of a bitch. There went his plan to charm the pants off the lovely accountant.
“Where’s Mateo?” He resigned himself to an interrupted date.
“He’ll be here soon,” Iz said. “Teo is on call, and someone called about forty-five minutes ago.”
The two of them were good together. Iz was kinder and more patient with Mateo around, with Ryan and with their family. Iz didn’t have a mean bone in their body, but Teo had taught them to slow down and appreciate people more. And Teo had come out of his shell, more confident and less defensive when meeting new people.
Iz’s love could do that. While most of the DeMarco family were short on praise and long on criticism for his accomplishments, Iz had his back. They had encouraged his creative pursuits, usually sitting right next to Ryan’s Nonna. Always in the audience at the school plays, applauding his attempts at photography, giving constructive feedback on his writing. Ryan didn’t know where he’d be without Iz and Nonna. No, he did know. He would be the first-class asshole he’d come off as during his first date with Elissa.
Movement down the hallway drew his attention—Elissa. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Iz’s glance followed his. A smile twitched up the corner of his friend’s mouth as they leaned toward Ryan.
“She’s pretty. Want me to ask her out for you?”
An old joke from middle school, when an unsure thirteen-year-old Ryan had begged his best friend to ask out the prettiest girl in their class for him. It had gone about as well as any adult could have predicted. The young lady in question had giggled and walked away, leaving a heartbroken Ryan in her wake, and an amused Iz. Who never let him forget it.
