“Hmm, have you talked to him?” I took the stairs down toward where I heard Killian cooking and humming in the kitchen. I placed my butt on a stool and watched my fine ass man cook for me. His back was littered with scars from the IED blast he survived but it didn’t take away from his handsomeness even one iota. And he treated me the same regarding the scars on my arms. He didn’t bring attention to them, but he also didn’t shy away from touching me there.
“¡Por supuesto! ¡Yo hice! ¡Simplemente me ignora!” She went off in Spanish, losing me completely. Liliana tended to revert to Spanish when she was angry or overly emotional.
“Sis, you said that in Spanish, now tell me again after you’ve taken a breath with me. Okay? Inhale fully and hold it at the top.” I could hear her quick inhalation. “Now release it slowly.” She did as I said. “Better?”
“Sí, gracias. What I was saying was, yes, I told him he was irritating me, and he just ignored me. Which he does, all the time. Again, like I’m una niña, a child!” She clarified, but I happened to know that niña meant child. “He just ignores me and looks at me with that smug smile on his face and tells me I’m cute when I’m mad!” Her voice rose.
“Cute?”
“Sí, it’s infuriating,” she spat, as though she was ready to pop off and punch the guy.
“Honey, he told you that you were cute when you were mad?” I had to clarify.
“Sí, are you listening to me?” Then I heard a noise that sounded like she was banging her hand against the phone. “Is this thing on?”
I laughed heartily. Freakin’ Liliana was a hoot. And totally and completely clueless when it came to men who were interested in her.
“Yes, I’m listening. I’m all ears, in fact. And what I’m hearing is that your bodyguard likes you,” I stated directly.
She made a pssshaw sound and I could so easily imagine her jerking her head back in affront, her curls bouncing all over the place as she narrowed those pretty eyes and perfectly arched eyebrows.
“This is simply not true, mi hermana.”
I groaned and then came up with a great idea to prove my point. “Hey babe,” I called out to Killian. “If a guy tells a woman that she’s cute when she’s mad, what does that mean? Hold up, Lil, I’m putting you on speaker phone.” I pressed the speaker button and held the phone out. “Okay, Killian, what does it mean?”
“I’m no expert but if it were me, I’d assume that the guy is into the woman. Cute is another way to say pretty in my experience.”
“See! That’s my take too. Lil, the guy is into you.” I smiled at Killian who shook his head and continued to cook the bacon for our grilled sandwiches.
“He is not into me! All you sisters all goo-goo gah-gah for your men think everyone is in love with everyone. Estúpida. Simone asked me a similar thing yesterday. Aye! And now here he comes, pulling up his blacked-out SUV acting like he’s the President of the United States. Dios mío. I’ve got to go.”
“Wait, wait! You didn’t tell me whether or not you’re into him too?”
“And I’m not going to! Adios,” she said and then hung up abruptly.
I grinned at Killian who turned around with a big smile on his face.
“She’s into him.” I chuckled.
“Definitely into him,” Killian agreed.
“It will be fun to watch that giant Omar take on the Sprite. Hope he has insurance. That little fireball has teeth!”
Killian snickered as he placed two thick wedges of cheese, bacon, and two red juicy slices of tomato onto each sliced and buttered focaccia bread. “My money is on the Sprite. Or wait, I mean on the bodyguard winning the Sprite. Really does it matter as long as it all works out?”
I shook my head, got off my stool, and went over to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Nope. As long as two good people find one another, I’m happy to watch it play out.”
“Me too.” He craned his neck around and kissed me briefly, then went back to work on the sandwiches.
I held on to him from behind, resting my cheek to his back thinking about how I could help my sister bag the man of her dreams, even if she was being sassy and standoffish about it. Liliana deserved to find happiness and