He chuckled. “Yep.” Glancing at his brother, he sorted through all the issues. “I don’t know where to start.”
“If you don’t, then I do.”
“Then go ahead.”
“You’re in love with that woman. Likely have been for years.” Luis said it so casually, the way someone would report the weather.
But the words hit him with the force of a magnitude 9.5 earthquake.
His brother gestured toward the pizza. “Have some. Chewing helps your brain work and yours doesn’t seem to be functioning very well.”
He picked up a pizza slice. Was hein lovewith Tracy? Sure, he loved her like a friend but that was different from?—
“It goes in your mouth.”
He bit into the pizza, which was warm and delicious, just like Tracy’s kiss. He loved kissing her, but that didn’t mean he wasinlove.
“I can tell this is a new concept for you. Haven’t you ever considered you might be in love with her?”
“No.” He talked with his mouth full, something he never did. This promised to be a night of firsts.
“Then let it roll around in that fevered brain of yours. Second question. Most of us can tell you’re hot for her body. Have you done anything about that?”
He nodded, finished chewing and swallowed.
“How was it?”
“Unbelievable.”
“For just you? Or for both of you?”
He stared at the fire as memories simmered like a bed of coals ready to burst into flames any second. “Both of us.”
“Bueno. Then let’s review. You’re in love with her and the sex is great. But for some reason you’re having beer and pizza with me instead of in her apartment down on one knee begging her to marry you. Why is that?”
“Because she’s not in love with me.”
“Yes, she is. I can see it. Mom can see it.”
Should he go into Claudette’s forbidden fruit theory? Nah, he liked his reasoning better. “It’s only been a couple of months since Sean dumped her. She was expecting to marry the guy. She might think she’s in love with me, but it’s logical she’s only on the rebound from Sean.”
Luis studied him. “That’s what you’ve been telling yourself, isn’t it?”
“There’s an eighty percent chance it’s true. Maybe more like ninety percent, since this is the first time she’s been dumped.”
“You’re such a nerd. I keep forgetting that.”
“And I keep forgetting you’re such a smartass. How the hell can you tell the difference between a temporary rebound crush and the real thing?”
“She didn’t look at Sean the way she looks at you.”
“I believe that. She told me she wasn’t sexually attracted to him. Or any of the guys she was involved with.”
“Whaaaat?”
“Look, this goes nowhere.”
“Understood.” Luis put down both his pizza and his beer.
