“Quit staring at your girlfriend’s ass like an idiot and help me bring these hot pans out to the deck, asshole,” his eldest brother, Angelo, said, grimacing while holding the edges of a hot aluminum foil pan.
And so it begins.
Gwen looked back and smiled, pretending to not hear what his brother said, which was impossible because he’d yelled it. She said, “Can I help with anything?”
Angelo turned his charm on and said, “No, my love, you’re a guest. Let us serve you. Everything’s hot and we were just waiting for you to arrive.” He handed the hot pan to Chris and gestured with his thumb in the direction of the enclosed back deck as he took Gwen’s hand and slid it around his elbow and started flirting with her. Two other brothers, Paolo and Stefano, closed in as well on her other side and in front while Chris stood there with a steaming pan.
Divide and conquer.
Julián chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll stay with her. Go put that down before you get burned.”
Isn’t that the fucking truth? He followed his sister Alessia out of the back door onto the covered back deck that was his mother’s pride and joy, and placed the pan on the huge table with all the others. The table practically groaned it was so heavy laden with food. Various relatives, both men and women, greeted him as they started peeling foil off the pans. His mouth watered and his stomach growled at all the aromas.
Almost every person there who was old enough, and some who weren’t, worked in the chain of family restaurants his family had started in Texas. His parents oversaw the whole operation but ran the business from their restaurant in Junction, while his brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins worked in restaurants scattered through the Texas Hill Country in Kerrville, Medina, Bandera, Wimberley, and Dripping Springs.
Chris and one of his brothers and a couple of cousins were the only ones who hadn’t gone into the family business. It wasn’t because Chris didn’t like to cook or the restaurant business in general. He loved them but he couldn’t stand the constant family drama.
He groaned when he recognized his Grannie’s homemade ravioli and hoped there would be some left by the time he ate. When he came back inside, his brothers Pietro, Sergio, and Roberto had joined the horde surrounding Gwen, as well as a couple of his cousins. Feeling a little territorial at the Italian high beam charm they were directing at her, Chris elbowed his way to the center where she stood smiling and chatting with Julián.
Happy relief but not desperation shone in her eyes when she saw him and she immediately reached for him. “Like I was saying, my path crossed with Julián on numerous occasions on the rodeo circuit over the years and we became good friends. Unfortunately, I never came across your brother in the time he was riding bulls before he injured his knee. I’d have remembered him if I had.”
“Yeah, I remember something about his bum knee making him quit the bull riding. Doesn’t seem to me like you need your knees in bull riding like you would in football or soccer,” Roberto said, his eyes glinting with challenge as he glanced at Chris.
Opening salvo.
He knew he should ignore Roberto’s comment. Of all his brothers this was the asshole he’d never gotten along with. He was only a year older than Chris and the only one besides Chris who wasn’t married.
Gwen looked directly at Roberto. “Actually, Roberto, bull riding is the most dangerous sport in the world. Riders have to be in top physical condition, whether they’re large or small, and he needed his knees as much as his hands or any other body part. I’ve looked at his stats and if his knee hadn’t been an issue, he had the potential for making it to the World Championship. I’m glad he didn’t wait until a bull crippled him. You should YouTube his competition videos. He was poetry in motion, riding sixteen hundred pounds of wild bull.” She cast a cursory glance up and down Roberto’s lean physique and smiled beguilingly as she added, “Not many men can do that.”
Roberto gritted his teeth like he wanted to get mad but his eyes twinkled as she held his gaze as though recognizing a worthy competitor.
Within his hand, her fingertips gently stroked him and she smiled up at him, her eyes taking on the turquoise hue of her top and jewelry.
“Everything all right?”
“Yes. I was just talking about barrel racing. One of your brothers recognized my name.”
Roberto chuckled and said, “Now I’m curious. Maybe instead of YouTubing this pug ugly bastard, I’ll YouTube you so I can see if you’re poetry in motion.”
The hint and threat was undeniable in Roberto’s eyes. He’d love nothing better than to take Gwen from Chris. Julián chuckled in amusement, possibly catching his meaning. Roberto had a way about him that seemed to attract most women like bees to honey, but Gwen didn’t seem overly impressed. Her only reaction to his comment was a slight furrowing between her brows.
Chris slid an arm around Gwen’s waist and nuzzled her ear before he said, “They have the food set up outside now if you’re hungry.”
She gently rubbed her hip against his and whispered, “I’m starving.”
Chris cleared his throat to cover his soft groan and stroked the top of her ass cheek, trying to ignore the tingling in his cock. His sisters would be ruthless if they spotted him with wood that afternoon. He clenched his jaw as he led her with the others out back.
“Oh, this is incredible!” Gwen gasped as she looked around. The enclosed deck was his mother’s sanctuary and her favorite spot in their home. The structure which ran the entire length of the back of the house was completely closed in with tall glass windows from one end to the other, giving it a greenhouse effect. On the east end of the porch his father had built a container garden for his mother filled with many of the herbs they used in their restaurants. He could recall how she’d perch on the edge of the raised bed and work in the soil for hours, tenderly cosseting her plants, at peace when she was surrounded by chaos.
The memory made him smile as his mother approached with three white china plates in her hands. She gave them to Chris and said, “Gwen, as our guest of honor, we’d like you to serve yourself first. The others will get everything else set up at the tables so you take your time. Chris can tell you what’s what on the serving table. Please help yourself.”
Gwen nodded and smiled and went with him when he led her to the serving table. “Wouldn’t paper plates be easier? Less mess to clean up?”
Chris shook his head. “No, no. Not with these women around. I guarantee you the forces have already been marshaled and everyone has a task afterward. The dishes will be done in minutes. They don’t like paper plates. I think it’s because they own a restaurant. They wouldn’t serve their customers on paper and this is family so we eat off of the good china.” He pointed to the container holding semolina gold and handed her a serving utensil. “You’re in for a rare treat. That’s my Grannie’s homemade ravioli with sausage and spinach stuffing in sage butter. These are so good, you’re gonna take one bite and then you’re gonna die.”
She giggled at the put-on Eastern accent he adopted as he told her about the ravioli, and she put a tiny serving on her plate.
Sighing in disgust, he took the serving utensil when she handed it to him and whispered, “That’s not enough to feed a flea, darlin’. What? You wanna insult Grannie?” She giggled as he persisted with the accent that he’d be shot for if his relatives could hear him talking to her like that. He put a healthy serving on her plate and said, “You’re gonna thank me for that when you take the first bite, I promise.” He served himself and then handed the spoon to Julián who stood patiently shaking his head.
“Thanks, Guido.”
“My pleasure, Julió.
His aged aunt piped up suddenly. “Julió? Where’s Julió? Julió’s not here, is he?” She looked around from her seat in a rocking chair nearby and Chris smiled at her and replied, “No, Auntie Rosa, Julió isn’t here. I misspoke. Sorry.”
Gwen whispered, “Who is Julió?”
Chris grimaced and helped her
with a serving of his mother’s baked ziti as he softly replied, “Julió is her brother. He’s back in Jersey. Last I heard he was in prison. Restaurants weren’t the only family business back in the day.”
“Oh. Moving right along then. What’s this?” she asked, pointing at another dish. He explained and described all the foods he thought she might like, and once their plates were full, they went to a long table in front of the tall windows. Gwen and Julián took their seats. Out of habit at all family gatherings, Chris checked for the stability of his chair before sitting down. His mother served Gwen a glass of wine and placed ice-cold bottles of beer in front of Chris and Julián.
“You three go ahead and eat.”
“Okay, Ma. Thank you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Julián added as she smiled and patted his shoulder then sat down beside him.
“Julián, I’m so glad you came with Chris and Gwen. We need to find you a nice girl. I know some very pretty single girls—”
“Ma,” Chris interrupted over a bite of Italian bread. “Let Julián alone. He already has a very nice girl.”
“Oh! Well, you should’ve brought her! Is she Italian?”
“Ma! Let the man eat,” Chris said, trying not to laugh at the situation. Julián could barely keep a straight face. Chris’s mother offered again to introduce him to some nice Italian girls who were in attendance that day but he declined graciously, saying that his heart belonged to another. His mother finally backed off with an understanding nod.
Gwen got his attention by squeezing his knee. “Why did you check your chair like that? Looking at the underside and legs?”
“Long story made short?”
“Sure.”
“You sure you want to hear it? It involves me dating.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’ve dated. I’m shocked.”
“I really liked this girl in high school and I invited her over for supper with the family. We all had our usual places at the table where we always sat. They added a chair for her at the end but my brothers doctored up my chair beforehand.”
“Doctored it up?” Her eyes got big. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes. I sat down and landed in a heap on the broken pieces. It was very embarrassing. She laughed too and that made it even worse. She went on to date Roberto. She made him miserable and he broke her heart. So I guess it all sort of evened out.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Ma was pretty pissed about them ruining one of her dining room chairs.” And speak of the devil, his loving mother appeared again, ready to refill wineglasses, looking speculatively at Gwen and then giving him a wink and the waggly eyebrow.
When his mother was out of earshot and while the other family members were still at the serving table, Chris added, “I hope we can pull this charade off without blowing it.” He looked pointedly at Gwen’s hand which was resting casually in Julián’s lap.
She snatched her hand away and sat up straight. “Damn, I didn’t even realize I was doing that. Sorry, baby,” she whispered to Julián as she pooched out her lip. “You’re irresistible.”
Julián patted her arm in a brotherly fashion. “I keep catching myself reaching for you too, love. The feeling is mutual. You look especially beautiful today. It’s hard to not reach for you.”
Her eyes glowed but she cast them down after glancing at him and looked around the room. “Thank you.”
Taking advantage of his ability to do so, Chris leaned back and put his arm around her, slid his hand down to her ass, and squeezed. “I agree. You practically light the room up, darlin’. All my brothers are seething with envy, even the married ones.”
Unable to resist, he rubbed his palm across her derriere. When he heard a tapping sound behind him, he looked back and had to laugh as four of his young nieces and nephews squatted down in the grass under the window, pointing at what he was doing and snickering into their hands. They were obviously hiding from their mother who was currently scanning the room looking for them.
Chris gestured with a thumb at their mother and they all made motions locking their lips and hunkered down to hide. The oldest nephew, ten-year-old Eduardo, gave him a thumbs-up and waggled his eyebrows before disappearing into the bushes.
Gwen turned to look at what he was doing and he kissed her while he had the chance, and wolf whistles rose up around the room. Rosy color filled her cheeks.
Chris whispered, “Eat what you can now. I’m not sure you’ll get much chance in a few minutes.” He could already see his sisters grouping together whispering among themselves, and several of the brothers looked like they were just dying to get some ribbing in. Gwen had handled herself well so he didn’t worry quite as much but they still made him nervous, circling like sharks.
His Grannie came tootling up along their side of the table and nudged him on the shoulder. “I came to join you,” she said conversationally and then whispered, “and to protect you.”
Chris smiled up at his Grannie, loving her to death. He could always count on her. He moved over and helped her into the spot between him and Gwen, gladly giving it up for her. “They made you come and sit down, didn’t they?”
Grannie grinned. “My ankle keeps swelling when I stand on it.” She pointed to his mother and father. “They’re worried. I have a doctor’s appointment later this week.”
All the spots at the table filled quickly and soon the room rang with the sound of laughter and conversation. Everyone asked questions of Gwen but with Grannie sitting right there with them no one got in any cheap shots.
After the meal was over, Chris, Gwen, and Julián were standing in the living room talking to his brothers Mario and Salvatore when his sisters made their approach.
“Gwen, I’d like to introduce you to my sadists—I mean my sisters, Alessia, Caterina, and Simone. Girls, this is Gwen Henderson.”
Alessia grinned at Chris and said, “Ma is looking for you.” All three gave him big toothy grins. Yup. Sharks.
Chris nodded at Julián who stayed right by Gwen’s side as the girls greeted her and started pelting her with questions. He strained to hear as he walked away, but they were all talking at once and so loudly.
Like Blitzkrieg. Hit her all at once. He caught Gwen’s eye and she winked at him. He stopped to watch her, risking his mother’s wrath for keeping her waiting. Standing there in a pool of light, she glowed with a beauty that made his eyes hurt. From her snazzy turquoise blue cowboy boots, to those curvy legs and hips, to her drool-worthy upper half, she was the total package. An angel in denim. And she was handling his crazy family like a pro. But he didn’t doubt that the challenges were yet to come.
He entered the kitchen and helped take out the trash, and then break down the tables, and then take out more trash. When he went in search of Gwen, he found her in the living room surrounded by his brothers and one of his sisters, looking at a wireless tablet. Gwen said something as she pointed at the tablet and then everyone grimaced all at once. Julián was having a conversation with his father close by and Chris got his attention. Julián offered to get his dad another beer and he excused himself.
“I think you should stay with Gwen,” he said when Julián drew close.
“She’s doing great and if I stick too close to her they’ll wonder what’s up. You should’ve seen her, Chris. She’s holding her own with those assholes. She plays their own game right back at them, flirting while speaking her mind. She cut Roberto off once already when he tried to flirt and got Pietro and Salvatore pissed off at him. I think she’s okay but I’m staying close enough to keep an eye on her.”
“What are they looking at?”
“Lorenzo got his tablet from his truck and they’re watching some of her races and even found a few videos of you from your bull riding days. You really were pretty good,” he added as he clapped his hand on Chris’s back and went to the kitchen for more beers.
Just then, he felt a tugging on his pant leg and looked down at one of his youngest nieces, named Angeli
na after her grandmother. Her mother was busy in the kitchen and her father, his brother, Carlo, was busy watching a video with the others. He smiled down at the toddler who was just like her namesake, a little angel, as she reached up to him to be held.
As he lifted her gently into his arms, he murmured, “Oh my goodness. Does heaven know they’re missing an angel?”
The little two-year-old smiled up at him, showing that she’d inherited the flirting gene from her father. Like with the other kids, she was impossible to resist. There wasn’t a single kid in that room that he hadn’t rocked to sleep or played with on the floor at some point in their lives. Kids were easy.
Her mother had dressed her in a frilly, ruffled lace dress, and patent shoes which were now terribly scuffed. The little hellion must’ve had a busy afternoon, as her big yawn attested to. She looked about ready to conk out as the sun began to set.
“Did you miss your nap this afternoon?”
Her mother, Maria, came over to check on them and patted Angelina’s back as she laid her head on Chris’s chest. “I couldn’t get her to lie down earlier. She was too excited about seeing her cousins.” Maria paused to look up at Chris and softly said, “It’s good to see you looking so happy, Chris. Gwen seems very nice, though I haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise. She’s got spirit and style. I like that.”
Chris put his arm around her and gave her a hug. “Thank you. I got lucky.” It was on the tip of his tongue to say he fell in love with her at first sight but he didn’t. Maria might mention it to his mother, who might repeat it, and from there, everyone would know. If Gwen was still planning on leaving in March it was best to not share that detail.
“Good thing we’re staying here tonight. You okay with holding her for a while?” Maria asked as she smiled at her daughter who was now sound asleep. “Let me finish and I’ll get her from you in a few minutes.”
“Sure, sure. Take your time.” Chris made his way over to the unoccupied recliner next to his father’s and carefully sat down with her and got comfortable.
His father smiled and said, “Little Angelina was like a tornado earlier. I see she’s finally worn herself out.”
Tangled in Divine [Divine Creek Ranch 14] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 21
