Come What May - L.K. Farlow Page 0,46

practically reels me straight to the door like a fish on the line.

Inside, the mouthwatering aroma is even stronger. “Hey there, sweets, you got a reservation?”

“I’m meeting a friend.”

The hostess twirls a strand of her bottle-blonde hair around her finger. “Is she here already?”

“He,” I correct, scanning the small space for Simon. “And yeah, I see him.”

I slide past her without another word, and head for Simon. Cash, Drake, and my brother are here with him.

“Mateo.” Simon stands as I approach. “Glad you could make it, man.” We do the back-slap-man-hug thing.

The other guys quickly greet me and our server swings by and grabs my drink order.

“Y’all come here often?” I ask, reading over the paper menu.

“Once a month,” Drake tells me. “Try the brisket.”

Cash shakes his head. “Man, fuck the brisket. Get the pork.”

“You’re both wrong,” Simon says. “The burnt ends are where it’s at.”

I exchange a glance with my brother, knowing we’re both going to get the potato cakes with runny eggs and burnt ends.

Once our orders are placed, my brother knocks his knee into mine under the table. “How’d last night go?”

All three of the other men turn to look at me. “Big plans last night?” Simon asks.

“He had a date,” Arrón tells them. “With Seraphine.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to check on her.”

Shit. My heart thunders in my chest. “It, uh… it just happened, you know?” The thought of losing him as a friend sucks, but Seraphine’s worth any bridge I might burn. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Like I didn’t already know.” He narrows his eyes and glares at me before grinning. “But I’m glad it’s you. Magnolia thinks you’re good for her. And if my Goldilocks approves, I do, too.”

“That means a lot to me.”

“But if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.” He jabs his plastic spork my way as he speaks. It’s probably not as threatening as a knife would be, but he gets his point across.

“Back to last night though,” my brother urges. He’s probably dying to know since I recruited him to help me set everything up at the shop.

“It was… perfect. Better than perfect…” My words fall away as doubt presses against my newfound contentedness.

“I feel like there’s a but,” Cash says.

“I mean, shit.” It is a struggle to compose my thoughts into intelligible words. “I didn’t plan on her, you know? She kind of blindsided me. I’ve only taken her on one date and—” My words die in my throat.

“What?” my brother asks. “What is it?”

“Dios mio carajo creo que la amo.”

Simon and Arrón both suck in harsh breaths.

“Well, Jefecita called that one.” My brother smirks as he leans back in his chair, without a single care in the world.

“Translation please?” Drake asks, his eyes wide in confusion.

When I don’t reply, Arrón does for me. “Dipshit just realized he’s in love.”

Denial sets in and I shake my head. “No. That’s crazy, right? We’ve been on one date.” Even as I say the words, I know my truth. I love Seraphine Reynolds.

“I don’t know, man.” Cash shrugs. “I pretty much fell for Myla Rose on the spot.”

Drake laughs. “My Azalea addiction pretty much started before puberty.”

I turn to Simon and he nods. “When you know… you know.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Seraphine

Mateo and I texted on and off all weekend. We played our own little version of Twenty Questions. It involved some semi-scandalous pics—and, well, my phone definitely has a new home screen.

One I found myself shamelessly staring at many times over the last two days.

But now, it’s Monday morning and I’ll be seeing him in person for the first time since our date.

Nerves flutter all throughout me, battering my insides like birds trying to fly while caged. Is he going to be the same Mateo he was before our date, or will he be the affectionate and touchy man from our date? Or worse yet, will he become the picture of professionalism and treat me like his employee?

I guess I’m fine with any of the above; it’s more so the not-knowing that has me fretting.

Which is why I’m wearing my best armor—makeup. The look is subtle, almost natural-looking, but it is highlighted and contoured to perfection. My brows are sculpted, my liner winged, my lashes full, and my lips glossy.

It also happens to be the exact way I wore my makeup on our date. So, even if nothing comes of my little power play, Mateo’s reaction will be worth how early I woke up to look like