Chapter Five

Chapter Five

By the time dinner was done, Tia’s nerves were walking a thin line between irritation and terror. Marcella hadn’t been pushy about her feelings on the subject, but Tia didn’t miss the glint in her eyes. Now that she had four of the Santinis settled, and with Brando so far away, she would be happy to focus on Carlos. And she seemed to think Tia was a good choice for her son. Or maybe it was because with their work schedule, neither of them really had time to date.

The man in question just ignored the looks and seemed to enjoy himself. She could understand. It wasn’t hard to enjoy his parents. They reminded her of her parents, once upon a time. After the stress of Adrian’s injuries while serving, then his death, it had been too much for them. Everywhere in Arizona they looked, they saw memories of him. It hurt them while it comforted Tia. The last time she saw them, though, they seemed to have come back together, able to joke with each other.

“So, everything will happen in two weeks of course,” Marcella said.

“Two weeks?” she asked, her voice squeaking.

“Earth to Tia.” She looked at Carlos. “The benefit is in less than two weeks.”

She blinked at him. “It snuck up on me.”

Carlos glanced across the table at his mother. “What she means is that she really likes the idea of the benefit, but she hates the idea of a party.”

“You’re the face of the ranch. I think you should do it,” she said. She would not panic. Not in public at least. Tonight, while she was eating that cake she promised herself. Then she would panic. That is what the wine would be for.

“Carlos is going to be there—and in your dress uniform?”

He shook his head. “No. I have a tux.”

Marcella frowned, indicating her irritation. She looked at Tia.

“You should see him in his mess dress. There is nothing like a man in that uniform with the sword and all that.”

Marcella sighed and glanced at her husband. Tia knew that she hadn’t been speaking about Carlos as much as she had been thinking about her husband. Then Marcella turned to Carlos again.

“I think you need to wear your mess dress.”

This time, it came out a little more like an order. Carlos just smiled.

“I could, by code, but since it’s a fundraiser, I don’t feel right doing it. There will be all those embarrassingly big photos you are blowing up of me in my uniform. That will be enough.”

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.” She looked at Tia. “And you need to be there, Tia. This is in your brother’s name, and while he was Carlos’ best friend, he was your brother.”

Marcella Santini definitely didn’t play nice when she wanted something. Mentioning her brother left Tia with little choice. She couldn’t refuse, so she nodded.

“Great. Which means we need to go shopping.”

“Wait, what?”

“When I first talked with you a month ago, I told you it was formal. You said you would have to go shopping.”

Dammit. “Oh, but I’m not sure I have time.”

“Carlos told me you had time on Saturday, as he will handle the tours of the ranch.”

They gave monthly tours and usually they switched off. It was her turn, and by the smirk Carlos was giving her, he knew he had her trapped. Lord, shopping with Marcella. It sounded like a nightmare to her, and more than likely it would end up ruining the friendly feeling she got from the other woman. Her own mother had told Tia that she would never go shopping for clothes…ever again.

“Okay.”

“Great. It will be fun. I guess we should get going, Tony.”

“Yes, dear,” he said with a smile.

Marcella gave him a withering look, which just made Mr. Santini smile wider. They really were cute as a couple. Marcella ran everything and Santini stood ready to help, but he understood who was in charge.

After they saw them to the door, she looked at Carlos.

“What?”

“You are a dead man.”

He shook his head. “You knew you needed a dress, and my mother wasn’t going to let it go, Tia.”

“I hate shopping.”

“So does Elena, but apparently my mother is very good at finding what she needs and fast. You’ll be in and out of there.”

“Still, I might kill you.”

“Is that before or after we talk about the kiss?”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and shrugged. “There isn’t much to talk about.”

His smile faded, and that told her the barb hit its mark.

“Is that a fact?”

“We both had temporarily lost our senses.”

“Uh.”

“Now that we have food in us, our blood sugar is balanced, and no stupid crap like before.”

There was a long beat of silence, then his mouth curved up in an evil smile. “Maybe we should test that theory.”

She stepped back and ran into the wall. He always seemed so laid back and slow, but she had learned he could be quick when he wanted. He placed a hand on either side of her and leaned closer. She could feel the heat of him through their clothing.

“This isn’t funny, Carlos.”

“You know all you have to do is say no. But, you and I both know that you won’t because you want this.”

Dammit, he was right. She hated when he had the upper hand like this—actually, whenever anyone had the upper hand. Trying to gather her thoughts, she drew in a deep breath. Unfortunately, it only caused her breasts to touch his chest. His eyes darkened and her nipples tightened. Damn.

“That’s exactly what I thought. We can’t ignore it, Tia.”

“But I think we should make sure we are very careful.”

“Oh, I’m always careful.”

She knew from his tone he meant something different.

“Stop.”

He hesitated, then he nodded and stepped away. Cool air replaced his body heat. Immediately, she regretted her demand, but she bit her tongue to keep herself from calling him back. It would be embarrassing; although, it would feel really, really good.

No. She didn’t need this complication.

“Wow, there is so much going on behind those eyes,” Carlos said.

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head and said nothing.

“Truth is, I think when you get your senses cleared up, you’ll start thinking straight again,” she said.

“Get my senses cleared up? I had no idea that’s what people were calling it these days.”

It took her a second or two to realize what he was talking about. “You’re incorrigible.”

She turned to leave, but he stopped her by cupping her face and kissing her softly.

When he pulled back, her head was spinning. From a simple, sweet kiss. This man was definitely trouble.

“What was that for?”

“We both need to think. With us both involved in the business, it’s smart to make sure that we don’t screw that up. But one thing is for certain: I want you, and no matter what I do about it, I am probably always going to want you.”

A cleverer woman would probably come up with a funny quip, but she wasn’t able to.

“I should go.”

He nodded.

“Bye.”

She hurried out the door. It was cowardly in a way, but it was also self-preservation. Carlos tempted her to do so many bad things, when she knew that all of them could end the work they had done for the ranch. She needed a clearer head before she made a decision that could change both of their lives.

Tia just hoped that when the time came, that she could think with her head and not her heart.

Carlos laid in bed later that night unable to sleep. He hadn’t been able to get the kiss out of his mind. His body was still humming at the memory.

“Get over it, Santini,” he said.

His body ignored him. If his parents hadn’t shown up, there was a very good chance he would have been starting at least round two by now.

It had been a long time for him. Not something new, at least since he’d grown up. He hadn’t been the seducer like his brother Dante, and he definitely didn’t irritate women enough to sleep with him like his older brother Anthony. The youngest of the bunch, Fernando, was still young, but the baby face of his attracted women. Then there was his twin, Brando.

Brando and he were night and day, and not just with their hair color. Their personalities were different. Brando had met his wife, Kaitlin, in college years ago and, thanks to a chance encounter, had the opportunity to romance her into marriage. He had loved her from afar, but didn’t act on it until later. It had never been like that with Carlos.

He had never had a big romance, not really. He was sure he’d thought Annabel Frazier broke his heart in the eleventh grade, but now it was barely a blip on his memory. In fact, it took him a moment or two to even remember what she looked like at the time of their “relationship.”

There was the Santini Curse, and he had scoffed at it. He didn’t really believe in it. He attributed the long marriages in his family to the way they had been raised. You don’t get married unless you are completely committed. It was just the Santini way. There was only one person who no longer had a mate, and that was Brennan. The accident that had killed his wife had left his cousin devastated, because everyone knew Santinis matted for life.

Why the hell was he thinking about marriage? It was the second time that day. Damn.

His phone buzzed, and he looked at the caller ID. His brother Brando.

“What are you doing calling me so late?”

“Uh, were you sleeping?”

“No.”

“You do remember we’re still in Hawaii, right?”

Damn, he had forgotten. Brando and Kaitlin had had a fast wedding, and hadn’t had time for a honeymoon. So they had come just two days before the wedding and were staying for another week.

“Yeah. So what are you calling me for?”

“I love you too, bro.”

He chuckled. “No. I just thought you would spend all your time with that sweet wife of yours.”

“She’s sleeping. She does a lot of that, and I have insisted on naps. I wanted to give you a heads up. Looks like Nando has some orders coming down.”

Their youngest brother had spent more time overseas than he had in the US these last few years.

“Where to?”

“Not sure yet, but he heard it was a step up and maybe more time in an office. He’s not happy about that, of course.”

Carlos chuckled. “He wants to make rank; it is the way of the world.”

“So, how are things at the ranch going?”

“Well. Mom came over with some tamales tonight, and we discussed the benefit some.”

“I wish we could make it.”

“I wish you could too, but we understand.”

“We?”

“Tia and I.”

There was a beat of silence. “Oh, so it’s Tia and you? As in a couple?”

Fuck. Being a twin was cool sometimes, but damned if Brando always caught him.

“No.”

“No?”

He sighed. “Not yet.”

“Ha. I knew it.”

“You knew what?”

“When I met her. She’s the one.”

Because he had been thinking along those lines in the last few hours, he shifted in the bed and tried to come up with a retort.

“Carlos?”

“Still here.”

“Something wrong?”

“No.”

“Not having any issues?”

That was the Santini code word for PTSD. With so many of them serving, they’d had more than one brush with the condition. It was easier to ask about it in public that way. No one in the family looked down on the condition, but it was easier to handle being asked about issues than specifics.

“No.”

“Then, it’s the woman.”

Dammit. He hated when his twin was right.

“Let it go, Brando.”

“Nope, not going to happen.”

“It’s bad enough Mom is needling in.”

“Come on, tell me. You know I’ll just get it out of you one way or another.”

He had been the first one Brando had told when he’d made the decision to get married. Although it wasn’t that serious yet. Maybe. Damn.

“I’m not sure, but there’s something there.”

“Yeah, I figured. Mom talks about her all the time.”

“She does?”

“Yeah. She says how she admires her, blah blah.”

“You do know she was my trainer, right?”

There was another beat of silence. “You mean when you made it out to the ranch the first time?”

“Yeah. I thought you knew.”

“No, man. I knew you had a female trainer, but I didn’t know her name was Tia. You weren’t really talking to any of us much in those days.”

That just showed how dark those days had been. Being twins, Brando and Carlos had always been close. If they hadn’t been able to talk because of the job, they made sure to text as often as possible. Carlos still remembered ignoring more than one message from his twin, and he still felt guilty about it years later.

“Is there some reason you can’t be involved with her?” Brando asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Like a client-trainer thingy?”

“She’s not my trainer anymore.”

Then he heard the snort and realized Brando was just screwing with him.

“Oh, fuck off, Brando.”

“Did you kiss mom with that mouth?”

“Hm.”

“What?”

“Tia said something like that to me a few days ago.”

Brando chuckled. “Sounds like she would fit right in with the Santinis.”

“Don’t start on me. It’s bad enough Mom played hardball tonight with Tia, but I know Dad suspected something when he showed up.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Shit. He hadn’t meant to reveal that little tidbit. “Nothing.”

“Come on. Don’t make me call Dad.”

“He won’t tell you crap.”

“Oh, but Elena can get him to tell her anything.”

Dammit, that was true. Being the only girl in the family, Elena had a special connection with their father. He hated to use clichés, but his sister had their father wrapped around her finger. And if she really wanted to know something, there was a chance his father would tell her.

“So, you can let me know, or you can let me go through Elena. If Elena knows, so does everyone else.”

That was true. She had a pretty big mouth. Add in Dante, her twin, and her husband, JT, who was Anthony’s best friend, and it would make its way through the family. Hell, it would probably make it to the English side of the Santinis before he heard about it.

“Mom and Dad showed up for dinner. I forgot they were coming.”

“Please tell me you two were naked and there’s video of Mom’s reaction.”

“I don’t know why you don’t leave the Marines and start up a stand-up career. You’re so damned funny.”

“Come on.”

“We weren’t naked, but I didn’t have my shirt on. Because it was hot.”

There was silence.

“Shut up. I had it off before Tia showed up.”

“So, you were waiting for her.”

He didn’t respond to that. “Anyway, I know it was pretty obvious to Dad what had been going on.”

“And just what was that?”

He opened his mouth to blast his brother, but he heard his sister-in-law in the background.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Carlos,” Brando said.

There was a sound of a struggle, then his sister-in-law was on the phone. “Hey, Carlos.”

“Kaitlin. How are you feeling?”

“I’d feel better if my husband hadn’t been so danged loud and let me sleep. I will point out he insisted that I take this nap.”

“You can never trust him. Believe me.”

“Is he giving you problems?” she asked. Kaitlin understood brothers. She had five of them.

“No, I was not,” Brando said from the background.

Carlos smiled. “He was being mean to me.”

“Brando Santini. You should be ashamed of yourself. What was he being mean about?”

“He was needling me about my single status.”

“Now that you mention it, I do have a really good friend who should be back soon.”

“Let me guess, the blonde with brown eyes. The one who was your maid of honor?”

“Yes.”

He snorted. “Yeah, no. I don’t poach.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was under the impression that Aeden and your friend hooked up.”

“Hmm. Then, what about this Tia?”

Carlos heard his brother cackling in the background. Dammit.

“I thought you would be nicer.”

She laughed. “Don’t you know when women get married, they want everyone else to get married too?”

“So, we can all be miserable together.”

“Take that back or I’ll call your mom and tell her that you are looking to settle down.”

“Damn, you’re meaner than Brando.”

“I grew up with five heathens, who were always being mean to me. I had to play hard or go hide in my room.”

“So which brother was the worst?”

“Aeden. Definitely.” She sighed. “I’m famished, so I’m going to make your brother take me out to eat.”

“You take care of yourself and be sure to tell my brother if he screws up, I’m waiting in the wings.”

“Ha, you would be so lucky.”

“I would be. Bye.”

“Aloha,” she said with a giggle and the phone clicked off.

He laid in his bed thinking about his brother and his new wife. That baby on the way—not to mention, Dante was going to be a dad soon too. And for the first time in his life, he felt a twinge of envy. He wanted that…but he had a hard time picturing it. It had always been a vague idea of happiness.

Now, when thought of it, the picture was sharper and, for some reason, the woman in that goal resembled Tia.

Had he been in love with her all this time, or was this just a crush? Nope. It wasn’t that. It would be bigger, overwhelming. It was plain and simple attraction. They were both unattached adults with no reason to hold back other than the ranch.

With a sigh, he got up and decided to go down to do a little paperwork. Lord knew he wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, and he was getting sick of cold showers. Something was going to have to give, and give soon.