His words made my cheeks flush, and I stood to greet my mother and brother. Jason’s wife and kids had left right after the service ended, needing to run errands to get ready for the week. But he’d stuck around, and a small part of me wondered if it was because of Todd’s recent appearances. As Damien turned around to greet them, my brother sucked in a sharp breath. “Holy fuck, that’s Damien Ramos.”
“Jason,” my mother chastised, but her words held a little mirth, “don’t talk like that.”
“Sorry, Ma,” he spluttered, shooting his arm out toward us. “But do you know who this guy is?”
“No,” she said, slowly perusing Damien. “Should I?”
“Mom, Jason, this is my friend, Damien. He had some free time this morning and joined us for worship.”
He stood and held out his hand to greet my family. My mother took it reluctantly, barely touching him with the tips of her fingers. My brother was another story—he clasped Damien’s hand with both hands, shaking it vigorously. “Mr. Ramos, I’m a huge fan. I’ve been following you for years.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it, but it’s just Damien.” He leaned down to meet my eyes. “You should come out for a game sometime.”
“Are you serious? Yeah, Mr. Ram—I mean, Damien. I’d love that.”
As my mother asked Damien his thoughts on the service, Jason continued to stare at him with stars in hiseyes, in complete disbelief that one of his favorite baseball players stood in our church’s community room.
I nudged him in the side. “You okay over there?”
“No,” Jason answered. “I’m freaking the fuck out. How on Earth do you knowtheDamien Ramos?”
I rolled my eyes. “My roommate is friends with Parker Drobrek. I’ve become friends with a lot of guys on the team.”
“Yeah, but this is different. It’s one thing to hang out with them after a game. But he’s here…meeting Mom.” My brother’s eyes widened impossibly larger as he stared down at me. “Are you dating Damien Ramos? Please say yes. Actually, no, I don’t really want to picture my favorite player with my sister, even if it means tickets for life.”
I smacked my hand against his shoulder, and he let out a little oomph. “First, stop calling him by his full name. He doesn’t need any help in the ego department.” My head turned, and I caught Damien smirking at me. My cheeks heated at the unspoken words in his gaze. “And second, we’re just friends.”
“Right,” Jason chuffed. “Hate to break it to you, Bri, but friends don’t look at each other like that.”
I tried to argue, but the words refused to come out. Damien’s dark eyes had pinned me to the spot; even if I could’ve broken away, I didn’t know if I would. Being here with him, having him in my life, seemed right, more than it had ever been before. I’d always been on the outside, the member who never quite fit in with everyone else. But with Damien beside me, I didn’t care about anyone else’s comments or judgments. As long as he kept looking at me like I was special to him, no one else in the room mattered.
“So,” my mother’s accented voice carried over our conversation, “Ramos doesn’t sound Greek.”
Damien shook his head. “It’s not, Mrs. Sideris. I was born in Puerto Rico, but I’ve been living here for almost fifteen years.”
She nodded, but her eyes held no warmth. “Then what exactly are you doing at our church?”
“I’m here to support, Bri,” Damien said. “It’s nice to meet you both. Brianna has told me a lot about you.”
She scoffed at his comment, judgment written across the faded lines of her face. It twisted something deep within me—shame my mother took everything at such face value. After all, she’d done the same thing with Todd. She saw his style, took in his family, and decided he was worthy. And yet, he’d turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Damien might not seem like her ideal man for her daughter, but he had the biggest heart out of everyone I knew, and I hated her a little for not being able to see that.
My mother arched her brow, looking over at me. “You never answered your brother’s question, Brianna. Are you dating this man?”
I squeaked out a lackluster “no” at the same time as Damien said, “yes”. I turned and glared at him, finding nothing but humor reflected at me. Swallowing my pride, I turned back to my mother. “It’s complicated, but right now, we're just friends.”
“That’s enough.” She held up her hand. “This is not the time or place to discuss the complications in your love life.”
“Ofcourse, Mom.”
Damien and Jason started talking about the Hawks, and my mother came right over to me, taking my arm in her hand. She twisted me away from the rest of the crowd and lowered her voice. “This is highly inappropriate. What would you have done if Todd had been here? You can’t drag some stranger into our lives just because you’re upset about his wedding. Be more mature than that, Brianna.”
Her tone was properly chastising, and I tucked my chin, hating that it just took a few words to pull me right back into my childhood. I was about to offer a muttered apology when Damien stepped in front of me. “Don’t speak to her like that.”
My mother’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“Do not speak to Brianna like that. She did nothing wrong. If she wants me here, this is where I'll be, even if you think it’s inappropriate.” He lowered his voice. “As for that idiot ex-husband of hers, I wish he’d come. I wish I had a chance to look him in the eyes and thank him for making the biggest mistake of his life.”
“How dare you?—”
