Chapter 10

I was very proud of myself for not offering to tuck Zach in. It was a near thing. He looked so soft and sleepy. I just wanted to cuddle him. Ugh. He's. Straight.

I immersed myself in my plans for the Easter Sunday dinner service in two weeks. We'd decided on one sitting in the middle of the day during the same hours we served Saturday brunch. That way, our staff who celebrated could still spend time with their families.

I'd given Herbie's resume to Carrie, and she'd loved him from the moment she met him—as I knew she would. He would be starting dinner service on Monday.

I was writing up my agenda for my first staff meeting on Tuesday when my cell vibrated with a call. I looked at the screen and sighed. It was my mother. I was honestly surprised she'd waited this long to call me. I swiped to answer. "Hello, Mama."

"Miguel, what is happening with your sister?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my jaw. "Why don't you tell me what she told you, and I'll let you know if she's telling the truth."

There was a moment of stunned silence before she said, "Miguel Ramirez! Why are you speaking to me this way?"

"Because, Mama, I'm tired of defending myself to you and everyone else in the family. So, tell me what Isabella told you."

"She said you're refusing to babysit Diego and Sofia anymore."

"Did she tell you why?" I asked.

My mother huffed impatiently. "She said she asked you not to wear makeup in front of the children, and you refused."

"That's right, I did." I took a breath to steady myself. "Carlos had a meltdown because Diego got into Isabella's makeup and said he wanted to be like me. Carlos doesn't want his son to turn out gay. Because, of course, that's how that works." I paused in an effort to calm down. "I went through a lot of therapy to become comfortable with who I am. I'm not letting anyone take that away from me. Not even family."

"Miguel," my mother chided, "Carlos is looking out for his family. He said he tried to talk to you, and you threatened to call the police."

I barked out a bitter laugh. "You know, Mama, you should go ahead and adopt Carlos. He's the son you always dreamed about having."

"Miguel!"

I gripped my phone so tightly it hurt my hand. "Carlos came to my place of work," I ground out. "He yelled at me in front of my staff. He called me vile names, and then he put his hands on me. My friend, Zach, stopped him and threatened to call the police." I closed my eyes against the stupid fucking tears. "I'm done talking about this. You know where I stand, and I certainly know where you stand."

Her voice was quieter now. "Miguel, surely we can work this out. It's only for the children."

"No, Mama. It isn't only for the children. It will be for every holiday, birthday, wedding, christening, and any other family gathering. You'll want me to not wear makeup so I don't upset this or that relative. It will never end." I sucked in a shuddering breath. "I love you, Mama, but I'm going to take a break from the family for a while."

"What about Easter?" she protested.

I shook my head, even though she couldn't see me. "I'm going to spend it with people who love me for me."

There was a sharp intake of breath and a whispered, "Miguel."

I heard a noise in my doorway, and I looked up to see Zach standing there. By the look on his face, I guessed he'd heard at least some of my conversation with my mother. "I have to go, Mama. Goodbye."

I hung up and carefully set my phone down on my desk so I wouldn't give in to the urge to throw it against the wall. "Hey," I said, trying to hide the quaver in my voice. "How did you sleep?"

Zach came into my office and closed the door behind him. He walked around my desk until he stood beside my chair. He opened his arms and said, "It seems you could use a hug."

I couldn't even pretend to deny it. I turned my chair, stood, and walked straight into his outstretched arms. He pulled me close and held me wrapped in his strength, letting me borrow it for just a little while.

"I'm sorry you had to do that," Zach said quietly. "That must have been hard."

I nodded, my head still against his chest. I didn't trust myself to speak just yet. When I felt steadier, I gave him a quick squeeze and stepped back. "You give the best hugs. Thank you."

"Any time," Zach said. "Besides, I like hugging you. You're pocket-sized."

I poked him in the ribs. "Ha-ha."

He handed me the room key. "Thanks for letting me get some sleep. It really helped." He pulled out his cell. "So, what do you want from the diner?"

After I gave Zach my order, he headed out, and I went to change the sheets in the room he'd used. When I got back to my office, Liam O'Neil was sitting in my chair eating a sandwich. A takeout bag from the diner was on the desk with what I assumed was my food. "Hey, Liam," I said. I looked around, noting Zach's obvious absence, and asked, "Where's Zach?"

Liam swallowed his food before he answered. "He's outside talking motorcycles with Marco. Marco's Harley wouldn't start. Zach saw he was having trouble, pulled some gadget out of his trunk, and attached it to the motor. It turned out to be a dead battery. Did you know Zach has a battery charger in his car? Anyway, he got the bike started. So Marco cornered him, and now they're talking about Harleys."

"And I guess they sent you to get the food," I said as I opened my teriyaki chicken wrap and sat in the chair in front of my desk.

Liam nodded. "Well, I volunteered because Marco gave me puppy eyes."

I snorted, trying to imagine the big, bad ex-Navy SEAL giving Liam puppy eyes. "Speaking of tall, dark, and broody, you're awfully smiley and chatty this afternoon. When I saw you in the dining room this morning, you were playing and singing all the saddest of sad love songs."

Liam ducked his head and his cheeks turned pink. "You saw that, huh?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask you what was wrong, but you seemed like you wanted to be alone." I tilted my head. "So, what happened?"

Liam put down his sandwich. He blew out a breath and said, "Marco did something…not great, and I walked out on him."

My hackles went up immediately. "What did he do?" Then my stomach dropped. "He didn't…hurt you, did he? I mean, physically."

Liam shook his head vehemently. "No. He would never do that. What he did was pretty bad, but I don't want to get into it now because they'll be here soon looking for their food."

"Okay," I replied, "But you have to tell me later."

Liam smiled. "I will. Maybe we can go out to lunch this week."

"Sounds good. So…judging by the big smile on your face and the love bite on your neck, you two made up?"

Liam's hand went to his neck, and he blushed again. "We did." His smile got even bigger. "He told me he loved me."

My mouth dropped open. "That's great! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks," he said.

"Where's my food?" Marco said as he walked into the office.

Liam smirked. "I brought it in here so you would have to come join me instead of talking about motorcycles all day."

"Brat," Marco said.

"Yep," Liam replied.

I looked behind Marco. "Where's Zach?"

"He's washing his hands. They got a little greasy when he was working on my bike." Marco walked over to Liam and kissed him. "Hey, baby."

The look of joy on Liam's face when Marco kissed him was a sight to behold. My heart squeezed. I wanted that someday. Even as the thought entered my head, Zach walked into the room. My heart sped up and I felt myself blush. Zach smiled broadly when our eyes met. "Hey, Miguel."

I cleared my throat. "Hey, Zach, I heard you got to work on Marco's Harley."

Zach's grin got even wider. "Yeah. It was just a low battery, but it was sure nice to get my hands on one."

"You need to talk to my friend, Tommy," Marco said. "He owns a Harley repair shop in Neptune."

Zach sighed. "I don't have the certification to work on the late-model Harleys. I just have the one for the older models."

Marco shook his head. "I'll bet anything he'll offer to send you to school for it. You have good instincts. I'm telling you, just talk to him. Tell him I sent you." He held out his hand. "I'll give you my number. Text me, and I'll send you Tommy's contact information." Zach handed Marco his phone and the texts came in a short time later.

The four of us sat in my small office, ate, laughed, and generally had a good time. I finally stretched and checked the time on my phone. My eyes bugged out. "It's after four-thirty."

Liam stood. "Shit, we have to get going if we're going to make it to Andrea's on time. I need to run back to the cottage to get my dice and Player's Handbook."

"Player's Handbook," Zach repeated. "You play DD?"

Liam grinned. "I just started playing again. It's been a while. Do you play?"

Zach shook his head. "Not since high school."

"Maybe you can join us next weekend. I'm sure Andrea would welcome you."

"I can't next weekend," Zach said. "I have National Guard training."

Marco looked at him in surprise. "You're in the National Guard? How long have you been in?"

"I joined right out of high school," Zach replied. "It'll be twelve years in June."

"Sergeant or staff sergeant?" Marco asked.

Zach smiled. "Staff sergeant. Motor pool."

"Are you going for warrant officer?" Marco asked.

Zach shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know how much longer I want to stay in."

"All right, Mr. Navy SEAL," Liam snarked. "You two can talk about soldier stuff the next time we get together."

"Not a soldier," Marco grumbled.

Liam kissed him on the cheek. "I know. I'm just teasing you. But we do have to go."

"Don't forget to call Tommy," Marco said as they headed out the door.

After they left, Zach helped me clear up the trash and put my office back to normal. "Thanks for the help," I said when we were finished.

"No problem," he replied.

"So, what are you doing on your day off?" I asked.

Zach smiled crookedly. "I'm watching Cody for a few hours. Allie had to get a second job because the daycare doesn't pay enough, and she couldn't get a sitter for tomorrow."

I wanted to protest because that meant Zach wasn't getting any time off this week, but I kept my mouth shut. This was family, and he was always going to take care of his family. "I could stop by if you want some company. I wouldn't mind getting my toddler fix."

Zach looked surprised. "Sure, if you want. I don't know how exciting it will be."

"You have a keyboard," I said. "We can have a sing-along."

He laughed. "All right. That sounds like fun."

"Excellent. I'll bring snacks."

He rolled his eyes. "Not too many. Allie will have my hide if Cody gets all pumped up on sugar."

I sighed dramatically. "All right. I'll be good."

His lips twitched as he fought a smile. "I'll hold you to that." He went to leave but then turned around. He bit his lip nervously. "About Easter Sunday. Allie and I usually do something together because we don't really spend time with our parents if we can avoid it. They haven't cared about holidays in years anyway. This year, Allie is spending Easter with her friend, Marissa, who has a daughter Cody's age. I was wondering if you'd like to do something. I was thinking of coming here for dinner. Would you like to join me?"

Zach's earnest expression and the light blush on his cheeks just about killed me. How could anyone say no to that face? "I'd love to."

His smile lit up his face. "Great. That's great." He gestured with his thumb toward the door. "I have to get to the bar. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. I'll be there." I closed my eyes and sighed. I really had to squash that little spark of hope that lit up, or I was going to get my heart broken.