but dammit, it wasn’t long ago when he was hell-bent denying what I suspected. This awakening of his was complicated. If what he looked for was a quick fix to a whole load of confusion, I wasn’t willing to be the guinea pig in that scenario. Yeah, okay… he’d admitted it was me he wanted, but so what? Maybe he was searching for someone to trust, and once he gained confidence, his floodgates would open his mind and his ability to see men in a new light.
It was one thing for Rebecca to suspect, an entirely different thing if he confirmed. Whatever it was we were doing would be defined, and I hadn’t prepared myself for that when I’d left my apartment twenty minutes ago.
“Look. I just think you’re caught up in the aftershocks and you may regret admitting to something you are yet to fully understand yourself.”
He stared long and hard into my eyes before wordlessly disappearing into Rebecca’s room.
It took a few seconds for my feet to move as I robotically followed. While holding her daughter, Rebecca had said, “I can handle it, Cooper,” before seeing me and going silent.
“Everything okay?”
Rebecca nodded with a strained smile. “Absolutely.” Her mechanical response caused the human lie-detector trait that Marco always accused me of possessing to click on. “Come meet her.”
After kissing Rebecca’s forehead, I peeked at the pink bundle in her arms. “She looks just like Antonio.”
“With a lot more hair,” Rebecca said before pulling off the little knit cap on her daughter’s head.
Marco ran a soft palm over his baby’s chestnut lofty locks. “She’s bellissima.”
“She is gorgeous. You need to keep having babies. But this one came too fast. I didn’t have time to pick up flowers or a bear.” I flipped my gaze from Rebecca to Marco. “Or a bottle of hard liquor for you.”
“For now, I’ll settle for a strong espresso. Come get a cup of coffee with me,” Marco said out of the blue, and that was my cue that the siblings needed to talk without me present.
After getting a double espresso for himself and an iced latte for me, Marco motioned toward an empty table in a far corner of the cafeteria.
Once we sat across from one another, he jumped right to the point. “I’m worried.”
“So am I,” I admitted without argument. “But you first. Why specifically?”
“I’m worried Cooper’s life will never be the same.” Just as my mouth flapped open to speak, he raised a palm. “Non ho finito.”
“Okay, finish.”
“I’m also worried about Rebecca,” he continued. “She wants you and her brother to be happy, and she’s only focusing on things working out. But if things don’t, she’ll be crushed.” I nodded along, even though he bounced between English and Italian… something he did when frustrated. “As is,” he continued, “she’s beating herself up for not seeing the signs with Cooper.”
“That’s ridiculous. Cooper didn’t see the signs himself. Your wife needs to—” Marco’s hand rose again, this time in a silent reprimand, and I, sighing, waited for him to finish.
“And… I’m worried about you. You are like a brother to me. I want to see you happy.”
“That’s a whole lot of worry.” When he wasn’t impressed with my dazzling smile, I changed tactics. “Look… I wish I could negate any one of those points, but they are all valid. Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball that can predict the future. I don’t know what will happen.” The scowl on his face wasn’t at all surprising. “You of all people know there are no guarantees, Marco.”
He conceded with an unconvincing nod, and then he said, “You’ve changed.” I couldn’t blame him for his frank admission. I had changed. “Less wayward and more grounded.”
“Are you trying to say I grew up?” One could argue the more successful one became the more mature.
“No. I’m saying I’ve never seen you this way over a man.”
That last comment caused a huff. “What way? We only came together last night.” Sort of.
“Ricky,” he scolded while rolling the r in my name. “You’ve been on edge since Sam’s wedding. He’s more than just your best friend’s brother. I could see it all over your face whenever he’s near you. I could see it even when he’s not. You care about him.”
He was right. When all was said and done, I cared about Cooper. It wasn’t a casual thing for me. It wasn’t an agreement to help him figure things out. It was more… which meant, if I opened my heart