Page 10 of His Forever

***

Later that day

“Mija? Are you okay? You’ve been quiet all day,” María-Luisa asked.

“What? Oh, I’m fine. Just getting into a groove, I guess,” she replied.

“Girlie, you’ve been quiet since Suri talked to you,” Chandra said, interrupting their conversation.

“Suri was here?” María-Luisa asked.

“Yes, she was getting her highlights touched up. Fair warning, Mamá, she has her sights set on Zeus again. Guess the grass wasn’t greener for her after all,” replied Chandra. Marleigh, meanwhile, remained quiet on the subject.

“My mijo is a smart man and he will not fall for her false wiles again,” María-Luisa declared. “Not when he has someone like Marleigh on the horizon.”

“What? Me? Uh, María-Luisa…”

“Call me Mamá, everyone does.”

“Okay,Mamá,he’s a really nice guy but it’s too soon since I broke off my engagement for me to think about another man in my life!”

“The heart knows what the heart wants,” María-Luisa said, a small smile on her face.

Realizing she would get nowhere with the older woman, she shook her head, smiled at Chandra and then waved at the two of them as she left for the day.Wine. I need lots of wine tonight. Heading through the front door, she crashed right into something solid and looking up, saw Zeus. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she told him, trying to pull away from where his arms had automatically gone around her waist.

“Ah, mi siempre hermosa, I am not sorry since this puts you right where I want you for now,” he said as he leaned in and brushed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Heart thumping wildly, she looked up at him, unsure of what to say or do. His very nearness affected her in ways that she hadn’t examined, she just knew that Colton had never made her feel this way.

Seeing the look on her face and the way her pulse jumped at his words, he let her go but held the door. “Were you…were you going in?” she finally asked.

“Kind of, I was hoping to catch you before you left to see if you would like to grab a bite to eat at the diner. Tonight’s my late night and I don’t like eating by myself if I can help it.”

“Did you just move our dinner date up three days?”

“Nope. Still planning to take you to dinner on Friday as well. Today would be a bonus for me to be able to eat dinner with a pretty girl and hear about her day.”

Smiling at him, she reached out her hand and grabbed his and said, “Lead the way, then, because I am definitely hungry.”

***

As they walked into the diner, he watched as it seemed like all eyes were on the two of them for a few minutes, before everyone went back to their own meals and conversations. Finding a booth in the back, he walked alongside her with his hand lightly on her back, enjoying the feel of her beneath his hand.

Once seated, the waitress came over and took their drink orders and told them the daily specials, which they both ordered. Promising to be back with their drinks in a few minutes, she left the table and without thinking, Zeus reached for her hand. “For some reason, despite the little bit of time we’ve known one another, I like holding your hand,” he told her at her questioning look.

She looked at their hands and then at him saying, “Mine are so small compared to yours. And I’ve never been much of a hand holder, but this feels right.”

“So how was your day, mi siempre hermosa?” he asked her.

“Uh, it was interesting.”

“How so?”

“Well, your mom wants me to call her Mamá, she said that all the girls do. And she likes the flyer I created for the facials. I’ve already got several days scheduled, so I need to remember to order some more product when I get home. Oh, and uh, I met Suri today.”

Just as he was going to answer, the waitress brought their drinks and some fresh rolls, letting them know that their orders would be out shortly. Letting her hand go, he buttered two rolls and placed one on a plate in front of her. “Do you…how did that go?” he finally asked.

She sat back and sipped on her water while she thought of her interaction with his ex-wife. “It was rather interesting, if you want the truth. Chandra’s the one who told me who she was when I got back from getting the donuts and coffee this morning. She told Chandra she is back and I gather she has her sights set on you again, just so you know.”There. Now he knows and he can choose to handle it however he wants.