Page 12 of If the Suit Fits
“I brought my own bottle of pique sauce, just in case.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder. “It’s in my bag. You?”
“Not nearly as adventurous with my food.” She carefully assembles my sandwich, towering ingredients and colorful additions, and when it tilts, she fixes it again, reassembling the layers to make her creation structurally perfect. Then heading back to the pantry and taking out salt and pepper shakers, she adds both when I nod my approval. “I have my set menus and things I enjoy. I try new recipes now and then so I can add things to my go-to list. Butmostly, one could probably predict what I’ll eat on any given night.”
“Mmhm.” I slide the tip of my tongue along the front of my teeth. “So if I were to cook for you, would you freak out and feel bad because secretly you don’t want it, but you’re not brave enough to speak up, or…?”
“Probably.” She adds the top slice of bread and runs her knife through to cut the sandwich in half. But when it tilts again, she stabs the blade through and uses it as a stabilizing method. “But if you tell me your plans ahead of time before you’ve put effort into them, I’d probably be comfortable enough to say something.”
“Spice levels?”
She pushes the plate across her counter and peers up to meet my eyes. “White-girl spicy. I’ll choose the mild sauce every time. Eat.”
Content, I push off the wall and head to the counter to perch on a stool, resting one foot on the floor and the other on the bar at the bottom of the seat. Then I reach out and take the weaker half of the sandwich to save the poor woman from humiliation if her creation topples over. “Thank you.”
She leans her hip against the counter and pulls a strip of ham from the container to nibble on. “Did you have breakfast?”
“Mmhm.” I open my mouth and take a bad-manners bite. As in, way too big and not nearly sophisticated enough to please my mami. “I had coffee. And then I got busy working. Now I’m here.” I talk around my food and make a mockery of the manners Solana Ramos tried so hard to instill in her only son. “Can I cook our dinner tonight? Not too spicy.”
“Oh. Um…” Her eyes spring wide with panic. Because despite her ‘tell me in advance and I won’t feel guilty’ speech, she’s already falling apart at the seams. “I mean. Sure, if you wanted to?—”
“Did you have something else planned?”
“No, I?—”
I set my sandwich down and stare until she stops. Until her words fade away and her cheeks flame red. Then I raise a brow and force her to be honest. “Lying, for the sake of lying, is dumb. Do you already have something else planned, or are you afraid I’ll cook something crap and you won’t like it?”
“I already have something planned.” She tosses her half-eaten ham in the trash and avoids my gaze. “I already prepared a lasagna and salad. But we can do yours, instead. It’s fine if we?—”
“I like lasagna.” And because she looks like she might throw herself out the window to avoid this conversation, I pick up my sandwich and take another bite. “Lasagna is a favorite, actually. And since I haven’t put effort into my idea yet, nor did I go out and buy groceries, there’s no issue with going with your option.”
“You sure?” Her eyes dance with anxiety, burning my forehead while I focus on making this delicious sandwich disappear. “Because I can save the lasagna for tomorrow if?—”
“For fuck’s sake.” I shake my head and try with all my might to swallow the laughter bubbling along my throat.I fail. “You need more than a date next weekend, Mel. You need an intervention, and consistent lessons in standing up for yourself. You want lasagna? We’re having lasagna! It’s really that fucking simple. And since we’re going, the house rule is no fucking food in the bedrooms. No chips on the couch. Close the fucking window before the bugs come in. And stay the hell out of the bathroom in the mornings.” I nod toward the sink. “Can I get some water, please?”
“Oh, gosh! Of course.” She bounds around so fast that she slams her hip against the counter and limps her way to the sink. “I should have offered. I’m so sorry.”
She’s gonna need more work than I thought, so I shove the last of my half-sandwich between my lips and push up from the stool, stalking around the counter and stopping only when my chest touches her back and her skull connects with the underside of my jaw. “The answer,” I growl, taking the glass from her shaking hand and ignoring the pain in my face, “isfuck no, Ramos. You’re not my guest, you’re my employee. Get your own damn water.” I step to the right and drag her to the left with my finger in the loop of her shorts, moving her out of the way so I can finish the task on my own. Then I turn with my water and lean against the sink. “You were bred within those schools for good manners, huh? Stand straight, chin up, yes ma’am, no ma’am.” I wash the remnants of ham and salad down and run my palm over my new sore spot to massage away the pain. “What did they do to the girls in your world when you misbehaved? Tie you to a lamppost and tear your skin with a whip?”
“Worse.” She rubs the back of her head. “They weredisappointedin us. And made their displeasure known publicly and loudly amongst our peers.”
I drop my hand and chuckle. “God forbid. You sure you wanna go to that wedding, Princess? It’s clear you’re not ready to stand up to that nonsense, even with a guard dog attached to your arm.”
“Guard dog?” Surprised, she looks me up and down again. “I didn’t hire a guard, Nick. I hired a date. An adoring fan, even.”
“I can be both.” I push away from the sink and make my way back to my sandwich. “I can be the most attentive boyfriendyou’ve ever fake-dated, the best-looking motherfucker in a suit, and I can smash their skulls in, too. Since it’s clear I’m going to want to. You spend so much time second-guessing and trash-talking yourself… I’m worried they’re gonna agree and pile on just to be cocksuckers. The second they do, I’m gonna do the thing I do.”
“T-the thing you do?” Her eyes flicker between mine. “What’s the thing you do?”
“Protect those I love.” I grab my sandwich and take another massive bite. “And as your attentive, devoted, adoring boyfriend for the week, it’s clear I loveyou. Or at least, that’s what they’ll believe.” I flash a smile and snicker when breadcrumbs fall from my mouth. Her eyes, of course, follow them down and focus on the mess I’ve made of her otherwise pristine counter. “As the love of your life—this week—it’s my duty to defend your honor and cause pain to anyone who thinks it a good idea to talk shit about you. In fact, ifyoutalk shit about you, I’ll be forced to act.” I rest on my elbow and snag an extra slice of ham from the container, only to toss it into my mouth while Mel’s falls open in stunned disbelief. “Be careful with the things you say and think about yourself this week, babe. I’m on guard dog duty.”
She stares. And considers. Stares a little more and flicks her fingers because she’s dysregulated and doesn’t know how to handle it. But when I only grin and eat like everything is fine and dandy, she huffs and stomps out of the room. “Dinner’s at seven. Shower’s free between now and then. Help yourself. Bring the hot sauce if you think my cooking will be too bland for you.”
“Thank you, Princess.” I grab the leftover tomato and bite into it like an apple. “I love you.”
FIVE
MELANIE
He ate my lasagna in record time, asked for seconds, and then picked from my plate, too. He drank my wine and said nothing about how it’s fruity and girly and not something a man would drink—though in his defense, he never once hinted that he would prefer something else. That was simply my own hang-up and what Iassumedhe’d prefer.
