“I told you a cute morning in bed with the newspaper, coffee and breakfast might work,” Annie adds.
“Annie, I hate to break your naive heart but that’s not what Carm had in mind.” Bella grins.
“Ew.” I stop the waitress and order myself a drink. She scans the table and then heads over to my three brothers and Ethan.
“So, how serious were he and Sierra?” Val whispers.
The guys’ attention is all on the television by the bar, their conversation shifting to football, talking fantasy leagues and how much their leagues cost.
“Over a year.” I raise my eyebrows.
“That’s a long time.” Bella bites the inside of her mouth. “But,” she reaches over and touches my hands, “you’re sacrificing your own happiness.”
I squeeze Bella’s hands for her concern. “Who knows where it would’ve gone with us. We were in the early stages.”
“I think it’s admirable.” Annie puts her arm next to us. “But he is adorable.”
“You want in?” Carm asks and my attention shifts to the other side of the table. “I think we need another to make it even and Val won’t let Ryder play.”
“I’d rather him not gamble yet,” she chimes in with a roll of her eyes.
“It’s not really gambling,” Carm says.
Dom gives Carm a look to say, ‘shut the fuck up.’ Knowing Dom, he’s already said as much as he could to try to get his stepson to play in the Fantasy Football League.
“We’ll spot him,” Carm eggs him on.
“I said no, and my word is final,” Val says.
Carm holds up his hands. “Whoa, Mommy Dearest. Chill.”
Val’s icy glare hits Carm and he cowers like he always does. I stifle a smile.
“You really need to teach me that look,” Bella says.
“Well, we’ve got Ethan to join our pool now.” Carm recovers quickly. “And no you don’t need to learn that, babe.” He blows her a kiss and she blushes.
“I don’t know,” Ethan says.
“Come on. You said you were in a league before. If your buddies want in, we just have to make sure we have equal numbers. We have a killer draft night in a private room. It’s a great group of guys. You won’t regret it.”
Leave it to Carm, the convincer.
I lean forward on the table to see past Annie and Enzo. “Carm. He’s my co-worker.”
“Relax Blanc. I like him.” His attention turns back to Ethan. “What do you say?”
Ethan looks down at the table at me. There’s no way he’ll agree to this. But he puts out his hand and shakes Carm’s. “I’m in.”
“UGH… why?”
Everyone’s gaze shifts to me. The girls understand that he’s weaseling into my life when we’re not anything. How will Sierra take this?
“Should we rock, paper, scissors it?” Carm asks and I want to take my napkin and shove it into his mouth.
“No. You know I don’t do that immature act to see who wins,” I snip.
Annie squeezes my leg under the table, silently saying to keep my shit together.
“You should come to a Sunday dinner,” Carm continues and my mouth hangs open.
“Carm. We’re not dating,” I say between clenched teeth.
“They’re not dating,” Enzo repeats and then his head flies to mine again. “You’re not?”
“No. He’s Sierra Sander’s ex.”
Enzo waves me off. “We heard.”
Carm turns to Ethan. “She must’ve been a hard one to handle.”
Ethan laughs. “Demanding as hell.”
“She used to come into our bedrooms when she’d be over to play with Blanca.”
He cannot be serious. “There are so many problems with what you just said.”
“What?” Carm asks.
“She wasn’t over to play.” I put play in quotations. “And she had a crush on you guys. Try growing up with these three as your older brothers. It was not easy.”
“Sorry man, Blanca’s girl code all the way,” Carm says with what sounds like disappointment.
Ethan’s gaze finds mine and I wiggle in my seat.
The waitress returns and takes our orders and the conversations switch back to football for the guys and work for me. We talk about the baby coming, Annie and Enzo’s upcoming wedding, Bella and Carm’s vacation next week.
Halfway through lunch, my eyes linger and I find Ethan in a game of rock, paper, scissors with my brothers. They’re all laughing and having a great time. You’d never think Ethan only just met them.
Annie leans over to whisper in my ear. “He’s like the fourth Mancini brother.”
I say nothing but my heart is screaming, he’s mine.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ethan
To say I was terrified when Blanca said we were having lunch with her brothers is like saying I’m cool coming face-to-face with a black bear. But they were all cool and seemed to know a little about what transpired between us.
Carm was the most outspoken and joining their Football Fantasy League is probably a bad decision, but it’s a way to keep me in Blanca’s life.
Once lunch is finished, I eye Blanca to see if she’s ready to head back to Cliffton Heights, but she’s laughing with the girls. I try to be discreet while watching her because there’s nothing better than Blanca’s smile. It has the ability to light up an entire room.
“What’s your plan?” Carm’s forearms rest on the table and he leans forward.
My vision quickly falls away from his sister. “What do you mean?”
“You look at her like I look at my hottie at the end of the table. Sierra cockblocked you. What’s your plan?”
“Stay out of it, Carm,” Enzo says.
“This lunch ambush wasn’t my idea.” Carm looks offended.
All their eyes land on Val, who’s too busy talking about indigestion and swollen ankles to notice.
“She’s a romantic,” Dom says like that’s just the way it is.
“As is Blanca.” Enzo tips his water glass at me before taking a sip.
“Which makes me ask… what is your plan? Bounce some ideas off us.” Carm leans back in his seat.
My vision shifts once again because Blanca laughs so hard she almost spits out her drink. Bella continues to tell whatever story it is that’s entertaining all the women.
“Look at my girl down there. Probably telling some story that doesn’t paint me in the best light, but she loves me regardless of the stupid shit I do.”
“See that look?” Enzo points to Carm. “That’s you right now in case you were wondering. That’s why he wants to know what your plan is because if you don’t come up with one, he will. And trust me, you do not want to go with whatever Carm’s plan is.”
“Trust us on that one,” Dom says, and the three brothers laugh like it’s an inside joke. “Besides, if you don’t figure something out soon, you’re gonna lose your shit. I know I would.”
“I fear I already did right before we ran into you.”