Page 24 of Love or Leave

"Be nice," Antonio said.

"She makes it impossible," Maria said, shaking it off and turning to Cara. "So, how did you two meet?"

Cara made eye contact with Antonio and gave him a smirk. "In a garden."

Antonio huffed an unexpected laugh. He loved how subtly funny she was. "A rose garden at midnight. It was beautiful," he added.

Cara's face lit up and she held his eyes.

"Why does that sound like a lie?" Maria asked, a smile playing on her face as she looked between him and Cara.

Antonio shrugged. "It's all true."

"I don't know how beautiful it was," Cara said.

Antonio stared at her for a moment and loosened up the control he had over his mind, allowing his suppressed thoughts to run rampant for the first time since he'd met her that night.

Cara was quite possibly the most strikingly beautiful woman he'd ever seen in real life. The fact that she even questioned her beauty was beyond him. She was tall and curvy, with the softest, rosiest skin and the glossiest dark hair. She looked stunning now, all put together and glowing, but even when she was drunk in the bushes and he was untangling her hair from a thorn, she looked beautiful.

And he hadn't even mentioned how brilliant and funny she was.

"It's all true," he said, unable to peel his eyes off her. He wanted to touch her again. Hold her in his arms.

He reached for her hand.

"Hi, Tonio."

That voice, so familiar, stopped him in his tracks. He blinked away from Cara and turned to find Fran standing right next to him. His eyes met hers for a moment before darting up to her date.

He stared in silence, searching for words before Maria saved him.

"Introduce us," Maria said to Fran, with a nod to Blake.

Fran collapsed a little, as she always did under Maria's scrutiny, and Antonio was reminded of all the times she'd been upset throughout their relationship because she felt like Maria hated her.

He'd always taken Fran's side, always told Maria to back off. But he couldn't really blame Maria for being annoyed in this situation.

Hewas annoyed.

"This is Blake Hunter," Fran said, stepping aside as her date reached his hand toward Antonio.

"Great to meet you, man," Blake said, grabbing hold of Antonio's hand and shaking it. "Fran told me all about you two."

Antonio fought off the urge to bare his teeth, and schooled his face to a neutral position. "Great," he said, unsure how to respond to that.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your date?" Fran asked, barely even looking at him. Her eyes were focused on Cara.

"Yes," he said. "This is Cara." He placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her a little closer to his side.

Cara smiled and gave a little wave. "Hi."

Silence fell over the group for a moment. He realized he was staring at Fran, who was staring at Cara. He looked at his date, hoping she wasn't feeling anxious again, but instead of fear, he found worry… directed at him. Maybe even a little pity.

Was she worried about him?

He looked at Maria. Same look.

Jesus.

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