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“Enough with the twenty questions, Zo. I need to get back to work. You let me know if you need anything else to get the dress done.”
I ended the call before she could say anything else.
Thirty-Three
Tina
The callfrom Mom proved to be a wake-up call.
The lunch with James and the realization that we were going into uncharted territory together added to my decision. My big sister and I needed a talk.
I had been brooding over Dina’s words and her anger, which had rubbed over my raw, bruised emotions. So, after taking a shower to wash off the sweat, dust, and grime of the day, I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down with my phone as I wrote her a text.
I hoped she was as tired of the tension between us as I was.
I missed my big sister.
* * *
“Thanks for meeting me,”I said, as Dina took the seat across from me.
“You know I love the lunch menu here.” Her smile was strained and stilted. “How have you been?”
“Alright. Sweating a lot.” I grimaced even as I said it. It was summer in Texas. Of course, I would be sweating. It was hot. “We’re in the early stages of demolition in the hotel I’m renovating. Portable air conditioners can only do so much. I have to shower off about an inch of sweaty dust every night.”
“I sympathize. We had an outdoor wedding on Sunday, and we were all melting by the time it was over.”
The server appeared to take our order, and a strained silence settled between us once she left.
Not able to stand it anymore, I said, “We need to address this...problem between us.”
Dina’s cheeks turned red, and she looked away. “It’s hardlymyproblem. It’s you who’s ruining us all by dating a toxic guy.”
“If I thought the guy I was seeing was going to be harmful to my family, do you honestly think I’d keepseeinghim, Dina? Do you think that little of me?”
Her gaze flew back to meet mine. “That’s not…of course not...” She stopped, averting her eyes once more. “It’s not always easy to see problems when you’re close, sweetie. And you’re too close to this. To him.”
I blew out a breath. “I never get so close to anything that I can’t tell if someone is destroying my family. If Ieverthought James would behave that way, I’d end things in a heartbeat.”
“You’re already acting like someone you’re not,” she said in a heated tone. “Those pictures—”
“Those picturesaren’tour fault,” I said, cutting her off. “And Dina, you know nothing about my sex life, so stop lying to yourself.”
Red stained her cheeks, but she didn’t look away.
“You’re telling me you don’t regret being in that club with him.”
“No. I don’t regret it.” I could feel the heat rising. “You wouldn’t get it, and that’s okay. But…Ienjoybeing with Maximus. Not just for the sex, either, but that…well. James treats me as his equal, and he respects me. He doesn’t criticize me or put me down, unlike my ex. He always made me feel like I was the saddest fuck he had ever encountered.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “I had no idea. You’ve never told me why you and Cecil ended things.”
I picked up my sweet tea and took a sip, my throat almost painfully dry. “I was embarrassed. You know I haven’t had the best luck with guys.”
“You intimidate the hell out of most of them.” Some of the tension had drained away, and she met my eyes without her earlier disapproval. “That’s not the case with James?”
“No. It’s not. Dina, he’s a nice guy. Hell, Garcia is almost ready to nominate him for sainthood for helping his friend’s business.” I picked up my phone and opened a picture from Garcia depicting a long line in front of his friend’s food truck. “James had his admin people tweet about it on their social media. That’s the result. He didn’t benefit from that.”
She nudged the phone back across the table to me, not speaking.