A Santini's Heart (The Santinis Book 10) (13 page)

“Be serious. You don’t have stinky stuff in your refrigerator. You’d have to keep food on hand for that.”

“I’m going. I have time before my next client to make it out there and back.”

He frowned, but said nothing else before turning and walking away. The fact that he had given up so quickly on the fight sort of surprised her.

“He’s worried about you,” Nando said as he sat down at the table with a sandwich. She thought Carlos ate a lot until she met Nando. The man never seemed to quit eating.

“He just wants me to stay here.”

“That’s not all he’s after. And you know it.”

She glanced at the younger man. Being the youngest of the family was never easy. There had only been her and Adrian, but still, it had been hard. Having four older brothers and one older sister could not have been easy. That was why, just every now and then, he would make a comment that would give her pause.

“Yes, I do, but I need my space. It makes me itchy being away from my own surroundings.” Not to mention the fact that she was falling in deeper with Carlos. She didn’t need to lose her head over the man, but it was happening and happening fast. “And I don’t think the danger is around anymore.”

“I agree. If it was a drug addict, they aren’t going to sit out there and wait on you. Add in that there have been no videos posted tells me nothing is going on. Carlos can’t think rationally when it comes to you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t be obtuse, you know he’s halfway in love with you. I can look at the situation rationally, but he can’t because you are involved. He cannot let anything happen to you. Ever.”

“What?”

He studied her. “You really don’t know? No Santini would get involved with someone at work, especially a partner, if he wasn’t serious. Just be gentle. As my mother likes to say, Santini men are hard-headed and soft-hearted for the women they love.”

She was still stuck on the halfway in love with you comment when Carlos came stomping back in.

He stood there for a long second, then he crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay. You can go home.”

She didn’t say anything at first. First, he was damned sexy when he was mad. Second, she couldn’t actually believe he gave her a freaking order.

“Oh, how gracious of you.” She didn’t even try to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

“But, I want to go with you right now. Just to be sure.”

Tia wanted to argue. She opened her mouth to argue, but Nando cleared his throat. She didn’t look at Carlos’ brother, but it reminded her of his comment.

“Sure.”

Surprise moved over his face, but he didn't smile. He just gave her an arrogant nod. “Let’s go.”

He turned and walked out of the room. She looked at Nando, who was smiling at her.

“I told you. Just falling down the hill into love. I can’t believe I’m the only single one left in the family.”

She sighed and grabbed her purse. When she made it out the front door, she found him sitting in her truck. So, he was at least going to let her drive. Taking her time, she walked around the hood, then climbed into the driver’s seat.

“I still don’t agree with you,” Carlos said.

“Okay.”

“You would be safer here.”

“Be reasonable. You and Nando need some time alone. If there is anything out of place, I’ll come back.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Thank you. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

She heard it there in his voice, the concern and the affection. Santini men might have soft hearts, but she had always thought hers was hardened. That was until Carlos used that tone.

With a sigh, she started up the truck. He might want to protect her from whoever had been on her property, but her big question was…who was going to protect her from falling for Carlos?

T
he day
of the benefit arrived, and Tia found herself locked into a room with Marcella and her sister-in-law Joey. Marcella had always struck Tia as, well, not pushy, but definitely assertive. Joey was a whole other level. Like General Patton kind of level.

She wasn’t a large woman, but she commanded the room, that was for sure. From the moment Tia met her, she had been overwhelmed by the small dynamo. It was easy to see why she was seen as the matriarch of the Santini family. She was dressed in a dark red gown. It complemented her skin tone, as well as set off her eyes. Her personality just added to the package.

The two mothers did what they did best, mother. They helped her with her hair, which Marcella had insisted she wear down. Then, they started in on her makeup.

“Here, this color,” Joey insisted as she handed her some lip gloss.

“I do know how to put on my own makeup.”

Joey smiled. “Indulge me. I didn’t even get one daughter out of my bunch.”

She set the lip gloss down. “I need to get my dress on first.”

“Of course,” Joey said with a smile. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“You always think about colors, Joey.” Marcella looked at Tia. “She’s an artist so it’s her first thought.”

“True.”

“I’ll be right back.”

She hurried into the next room. Being with the two women had been a little overwhelming at first. They must have sensed it, because their easygoing banter, along with their stories about Santini children, had put her at ease. It had been so long since she had had a day like this with her mother. Granted, she had never really gotten ready for something like this, but her mother had been with her during the barrel racing years. They had spent a lot of time in small rooms, doing her hair and makeup for the ceremonies.

The wistful yearnings for her mother to be here rose up once again. She should have given her parents more time to make it to the benefit. She hadn’t expected to miss them tonight, but she was kind of wishing they were there. It was her fault that they weren’t here.

Pushing aside her melancholy thoughts, she unzipped the bag that held her dress. It still took her breath away. Even in the bathroom it sparkled and shone as if it were a designer dress for someone who was about to walk the red carpet. Tugging off her shirt and pants, she then slipped the dress over her head. As with the first time she tried it on, she enjoyed the way the material slid over her flesh.

She zipped up the back, then turned and faced the mirror. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The door swung open and revealed Joey and Marcella.

“Oh, Tia, you look gorgeous,” Marcella said.

“You do. I would have killed for that height,” Joey said.

Tia glanced at her. “You don’t need it with your personality.”

The moment she said it, she worried she’d stepped over the line. But Joey threw back her head and laughed.

“Oh, lord, you
do
fit in with the Santinis.”

Marcella stepped forward. “I have something for you. I have these, and they will be perfect with your dress.”

She handed Tia a pair of teardrop earrings. A sapphire sat in the center surrounded by diamonds.

“Oh, Marcella, I can’t wear these.”

She nodded. “Yes you can. Just borrowing for tonight. I saw them when I was packing my stuff up this morning, and it struck me how beautiful they would look. Put them on.”

Tia knew she shouldn’t, but it was hard to resist them. Add in the smile Marcella was giving her, and she just couldn’t say no. She slipped them on then looked in the mirror. They sparkled just like her dress, but with the sapphire, it added another level of glamour to the entire outfit.

“See, I told you,” Marcella said. “I can’t wait for Carlos to see you.”

“The man isn’t going to know what hit him,” Joey said.

* * *

C
arlos stood
on the far side of the room from the entrance and scowled when another group of people turned out not to be Tia.

“What is taking them so long?” Carlos asked.

“They’re women,” his father said. “Isn’t that right, Papa?”

Carlos looked at the two brothers. His father and his three brothers were all pretty close in height, and bore a strong resemblance to their father. Dark hair, although both of them were a little gray around the edges, dark brown eyes, and tough exterior that spoke of their time in the Marines. They had both worn tuxes, as he did, instead of their mess dress.

“Don’t try to incriminate me,” Papa said.

“You know it’s true.”

“Yes, but I’m not stupid enough to say it. And let’s be honest, you are only saying it now because Joey and Marcella aren’t in earshot. Thank God Nando and Gee aren’t here,” he continued, naming the two youngest of their families. “They both tell on us all the time.”

Carlos was laughing when he looked toward the entrance and saw her. Everything in the world seemed to stop, except her. She was standing there in a gown that seemed to be made of stars. Each time she moved, it sparkled under the lights. A cascade of auburn curls dripped over her bare shoulders. She hardly ever wore her hair down, and definitely didn’t fix it that way. So many curls…so many ideas.

She was gorgeous.

“Lord,” was all he could say. He tried to swallow but found his throat too dry to accomplish it.

“Yep, he’s a goner,” Papa said.

“Yeah, I would say so,” his father responded.

Carlos ignored both of them and strode through the crowd. He didn’t pay attention to the people who tried to stop him. More than once he knew he received odd looks from others, but it didn’t matter. All he could see was her. By the time he made it to the foot of the stairs, she had descended. She smiled at him.

“Something wrong, Santini?” she asked.

He shook his head, his throat still too dry for him to speak. God, he couldn’t even come up with words at the moment.

Concern darkened her eyes. “Carlos?”

“Sorry. I just can’t…” he shook his head. “It’s really hard to come up with words when you look like that.”

Her frown dissolved into a smile—dimples and all. Her eyes lit up with joy. She went from beautiful to stunning.

“I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?”

Nodding, he took her hand and pulled it up to his mouth. After he kissed it, he drew her next to him and walked her through the crowd. He had planned this surprise for weeks, with the help of his mother. There were a few times he had worried he wouldn’t be able to pull it off. But, he had persisted because he knew it was important for Tia.

She stopped walking the moment she saw her parents. He had kept it from her because he had known she was too proud to ask them to come after that initial invitation. For a moment, he wasn’t sure just how she took it. She stood there looking at them as if trying to figure out if they were really there. Then, confusion dissolved and Carlos had the pleasure of watching true joy move over her expression.

“Who? How?”

He nodded. “I told them it was important for them to come.”

She glanced at her parents, then turned to face him. Without any hesitation, she cupped his face and leaned in to give him a long, enthusiastic kiss. Just about the moment he wanted to take it to next level, she pulled away.

“Thank you,” she said. “Oh, I got lipstick on your mouth.”

He pulled out a handkerchief. “No worries.”

“Come on,” she said, after he put the cloth away. It was her turn to lead him through the crowd. “Let’s go see my parents.”

As he watched her hug her mother and father, he saw the joy it brought to her, Carlos smiled. He wanted more, so much more than just that kiss, but for right now, this was all he needed. Her happiness had become his, and he was starting to understand just what his siblings, cousins, and uncles had meant all these years.

The Santini Curse was definitely a blessing in disguise.

* * *

H
alfway into the benefit
, Tia was on her way back from the bathroom when Chet found her.

“Tia. I saw that your parents are here.”

Damn. She had been avoiding him for about an hour, but there was no way out of it now. He was standing there smiling at her like he was the prize she had always dreamed of. There was definitely something off with him.

“Yes. You should come over and say hello. I’m sure they would love to talk to you.”

He glanced over at her father, then back at her. “I will. I will. I heard that there are some people interested in your land.”

She blinked at the abrupt change in topic. What the hell was he talking about now? Better yet, how much longer did she have to play nice?

“My land?”

He frowned and nodded. “At the ranch.”

This was a really odd conversation. It had been two years since Adrian had died, and until this week, she hadn’t heard from Chet.

“I haven’t talked to anyone who wants the ranch; but the truth is, anyone who wanted to know about that would contact Carlos. I wouldn’t want to handle that myself.”

“You defer to Santini on this?”

She didn’t miss the slight condemnation in Chet’s voice. It wasn’t always the most progressive of actions, but she hated the paperwork. Carlos always went over it with her, explaining everything. But he handled the bulk of that crap, and she was happy for it. Ordering hay, supplies, all that stuff was more her forte, because it had to do with horses.

“As I did with my brother. I like handling everything horse related. Money and paperwork really is Carlos’ thing. You might want to ask him.”

“You know, your brother asked me to be an investor.”

“And?” This conversation was going from strange to bat crap crazy in less than five minutes. She was aware they were doing a benefit in her brother’s memory, but her land really had nothing to do with this. Truthfully, she found it a bit rude to bring business up at this time.

“I just thought that maybe he would have mentioned it to you.”

“Yes. He did.” She crossed her arms to ward off the sudden chill she felt. “You turned him down.”

“I thought maybe after the funeral, you would come to me.”

She blinked. Okay, this conversation made the Mad Hatter’s tea party seem like a Mensa meeting.

“To sell?”

He nodded.

“I might have if it hadn’t been for Carlos. Of course, he always says the only way it runs is with me handling all the therapy. And I have to agree with him. He would never be able to run it without me.” That was a bit of a fib. She knew without a doubt, Carlos could definitely run the ranch without her. She offered Chet a big smile. “Apparently, we were the perfect fit. So it all turned out good in the end, and I still control fifty percent.”

Anger flashed in his eyes before he suppressed it. It was a particular look she had seen on Chet’s face before. He was a spoiled boy who grew into a man who felt he should be treated better than everyone else. She had never really understood her brother’s friendship with Chet, but for some reason, they seemed to enjoy each other’s company.

“But if there were some land developers, you could sell and be rich.”

Money. It was all the man ever worried about. And it didn’t make any sense. He always had more than anyone she knew, but it never seemed to be enough. “I don’t care about that, really. Oh, look, my dad is waving at me. Talk to you later.”

She hurried off before Chet could say anything else. When she sat down next to her father, he glanced at her.

“What was that about?”

“Chet. He was going on about how Adrian had asked for help with capital when he first bought the ranch. Where’s mom?”

He motioned to the dance floor. Her mother loved to dance, her father did not. Carlos apparently picked up on that and got her mother out on the floor. He moved her around expertly, as both of the other Santini men did with their wives. They all seemed to know how to make their way around a dance floor.

“So, this Carlos Santini?”

She glanced at her father. He looked older, much older, than he had a year ago, but he looked a bit happier. Part of her was sad about that. She hated that they lived so far away now, but another part of her was relieved. Her father had taken Adrian’s death so hard.