“She’s normally okay with strangers, but I think she’s totally smitten,” Alex said as I bounced Sofia on my lap after finishing my dinner.
“I think I’m totally smitten back. I mean, look at her.”
Joana and Alex looked at each other with such pride and love.
“No, no, no. Give her to me,” Isaac said, taking her from my lap onto his. “Who’s your favorite uncle, my little popcorn?” Sofia giggled. “Yes, that’s right; Uncle Isaac is your favorite. Aren’t you so smart? Yes, you are. Beautiful and smart, like your mommy.”
“You’re still doing the dishes,” Joana said. “Who’s up for dessert?”
A collective “me” got Sofia clapping her chubby hands.
We left Joana and Alex’s place after helping them clear up from dinner while Joana put Sofia to bed for the night.
“I can see how Sofia has you wrapped around her chubby little finger,” I said as we got in the car, heading toward Lisbon.
“Right! I think Joana’s parents were really happy they decided to have children quite young.”
“They’re a great couple.”
“I’m so proud of Alex. He’s always been so strong. Even after our parents kicked me out, he found ways to see me. He reassured me that whatever happened, we would always be brothers.” Isaac let out a chuckle.
“What?”
“Do you want to know how they got together?”
“I’m guessing it’s a good story.”
“Alex and Joana were in the same class at university. Alex worked in a bar in the evenings, so one evening I was keeping him company because I didn’t have anything better to do when this beautiful girl came in. She was all long, dark hair and big brown eyes. The bar was quiet, but after assessing her surroundings, she came to sit next to me. She was quite chatty, so I thought she was trying to flirt with me. I was about to tell her I bat for the other team when Alex came over and basically told her I wasn’t interested and that he’d love to take her out.”
“I take it she said yes.”
“She told him if he wanted to ask her out, he’d have to try harder, and then she left the bar. As it turned out, they’d both been secretly crushing on each other. She took the first step by going into the bar and pretending to be interested in me to make him jealous, and he fell for it.”
Listening to the story and seeing firsthand how much love Isaac had around him made me feel so happy for him. He thought his brother was the strong one, but I would disagree. He didn’t let all the shit from the past get in the way of him making a family, and fuck if I wasn’t proud of him for forgiving Mário.
* * *
I couldn’t take my eyes off Isaac as we went up to his apartment. He smiled every time our eyes met but didn’t let it linger.
There was no doubt we had amazing physical chemistry, but he was becoming a whole person in my eyes, which just validated the strange feelings I’d had at Christmas and why I had wanted to follow him to Portugal.
I realized then that I was fucking in love with Isaac, and there was nothing I could do about it. In a few days, I would be heading back to Manhattan, and he would stay here where he belonged, with his family, and doing amazing work for the Center.
When Isaac unlocked the door, I ran straight to my room.
My chest was tight and I was struggling to draw a breath. Tears ran down my face. I couldn’t believe after everything that had happened, I’d gone and let myself fall in love with him.
I stripped and got in the shower, hoping it would help wash away the anger I was feeling toward myself, as well as the tears.
Not long after, the shower door opened, so I looked up from where I was sitting on the floor under the water spray.
Isaac looked really worried. Also really naked. I had to look down and shake my head. All I needed now was to start having visions, too. I laughed. Maybe that would help me when I was miles away and could pretend he was there with me.
A hand stroked my head and rested on my neck.
“Why are you crying?”
I looked up and those blue-green eyes were staring back at me.
