Page 49 of Along Came Amor
“Whoa!” Roman braced his legs as he caught the boy, who at ten was all long limbs held together by rubber bands. It was hard to believe this kid had only been in his life less than two years.
“Yadi, cuidado con tu tío,” Jasmine said in mild warning as she joined them in the entranceway. “Hi, Roman.”
As Yadi slid back down to the floor, Roman leaned in to kiss Jasmine on the cheek. “Thanks for having me over,” he said.
“Thanks for being flexible.” She shot him a grimace. “We’re both on production diets. I hope you’re okay with high protein and low carb. Although of course we have French fries for this little monster.”
At the word “monster,” Yadiel bared his teeth and emitted an exaggerated growl.
“I’m okay with whatever you’ve got,” Roman said easily. He let Yadi drag him by the hand into the house.
“Ashton’s outside at the grill.” Jasmine paused in the arched doorway that led into the kitchen. “Yadi, you want to spear the vegetables on the skewers?”
“Yeah! Stabbing vegetables!” The boy bounded into the kitchen ahead of her.
“I’ll try to keep him occupied for a bit,” she said. “Let you two chat without a shadow.”
Roman nodded his thanks and slipped through the sunroom and out the sliding glass door to a covered patio area. There was a low table, outdoor chairs with dark gray cushions, and a grill. Beyond, the surface of a turquoise pool sparkled in the early evening sun.
The sight of it immediately brought to mind the last time Roman had been in a pool.
With Ava.
Whom he hadn’t heard hide nor hair from in three weeks.
“Nice pool,” he said, coming up behind Ashton.
Ashton turned, breaking into a smile. “I thought you were Yadi,” he said, setting down the tongs to give Roman a quick hug. “Thanks for coming by.”
“Not a problem.”
Fifteen years ago, they’d been tearing it up in South Beach. Now, Ashton was opting to stay home on a Saturday night with his son and soon-to-be wife, grilling chicken cutlets in a guayabera shirt and ratty cargo shorts. Hard to believe this was the same guy who’d once done tequila body shots off a model’s bare stomach.
But then, Roman wasn’t the same person he’d been back then either.
Roman eyed his friend, noting the differences since the last time they’d seen each other. “You’ve bulked up.”
“Working with a trainer. El novio de la prima de Jasmine.”
Roman raised an eyebrow. “Got anything you want to tell me? Maybe a certain superhero franchise came calling?”
Ashton’s mouth twisted in a smirk. “No se nada.”
“Riiight.” Roman crossed his arms and dialed up the sarcasm. “You’re training with Jasmine’s cousin’s boyfriend to puton twenty pounds of muscle, but you don’t know anything about it. All right, don’t tell your best friend. I see how it is.”
Ashton grinned and elbowed him. “You of all people should know how NDAs work.”
Roman sighed. “Wish I didn’t, sometimes.”
Ashton’s brow creased. “¿Qué pasó?”
Sometimes Ashton was too perceptive for his own good, but Roman didn’t have an easy answer for what was wrong. He just shrugged. “Nothing specific. Just tired of the grind.”
“How’s Dulce’s apartment hunt?”
Roman blew out a breath. “She’s looked at a few places but says she hasn’t fallen in love with anything yet.”
“She’s still not letting you help?”
