Page 39 of Truth or More Truth (Throwback RomComs #3)

thirty-six

. . .

I t’s early Saturday afternoon, and I’m waiting in the lounge at the private Miami airport where Diego’s chartered plane should be landing any minute now.

Actually, I’m pacing. I never pace. But I want this weekend to be perfect, and I’m nervous I won’t succeed in making it so.

What do I know about entertaining a woman for a weekend?

Nothing. That’s what. Thankfully Kelli and Nanette gave me a few pointers, as did Randall and Diego.

I haven’t heard from Ash since he got home from his honeymoon, but that’s not surprising.

He’s not much of a phone talker, and I wasn’t in Chicago long enough last week to meet up with him.

Even though Melissa said she’d be willing to share my hotel room, I didn’t want to put her in a position she can’t back out of if she changes her mind and wants her own space.

There were no vacancies at my hotel, nor were there two rooms available at any other decent hotel in the Miami area, so I arranged for us to stay in a former client’s vacation condo in Miami Beach.

He’s not in town, and Melissa and I will each have our own bedroom if we decide to go that route.

It’ll also be nice to have a living area where we can relax this evening and tomorrow before we head to the stadium in the afternoon.

I arrived yesterday so I could meet with a few clients who were coming in early.

I wanted to get all my meetings out of the way before Melissa got here.

Not that I think she can’t handle being on her own for a few hours, but why would I want to waste even one moment of time we could be spending together—as long as she wants to spend every minute with me, that is?

The door bursts open, and Diego enters with his arms flung into the air in a V.

“We have arrived! The party may begin!”

I accept the tight hug he forces upon me as I say, “Why didn’t you let the ladies come in first, you caveman?”

He lets go of me with a laugh. “Oops! Will you believe I was so excited to see you that I couldn’t help myself?”

I shake my head as I keep my eyes trained on the door. “No. You saw me a week ago.”

Diego claps me on the back. “I wish I could see you every day, hermano. And I could, if you’d just …”

I don’t hear anything else he says because my girlfriend has entered the room.

My smile is immediate, and she beelines directly to me and wraps her arms around me with no hesitation.

I squeeze her tightly and drink in her lemon-and-vanilla scent.

She searches my eyes for a moment, silently asking whether I’m OK with kissing in front of people we know.

I answer by pressing my mouth to hers in a short but meaningful kiss.

Diego whistles and claps, making Melissa’s cheeks burn. I shoot him a glare, which only serves to spur him on to cheer some more. Then he flings his arms around us and kisses us both on the cheek. I playfully shove him away, but it warms my heart to see how much he wants this to work out for me.

“OK, Foundation Family,” Diego says to the rest of the group, “let’s leave the lovebirds to do their own thing.” To Melissa and me he says, “Have fun. I’d better not see nor hear from either of you in the next …,” he checks his watch, “twenty-six hours or so.”

Melissa hugs him again and thanks him for the ride.

“Anything for you, my road-trip and sky-trip buddy!”

“Truth or dare?” Melissa asks as I take a seat catty-corner from her at the white cast-iron table on the outdoor patio of the Cuban restaurant where we’re eating lunch.

“Hmmm.” I twist my mouth to the side. “I think I want to see what you’re going to dare me to do that won’t get us kicked out of this restaurant.”

Her grin is a little devilish when she says, “I dare you to tell our waitress she’s the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. And say it in Spanish, so she’ll think I don’t know what you’re saying. I want to see how she’ll respond.” She nods and looks past me. “Here she comes. You’re up.”

“I can’t lie to this woman,” I say in a low voice. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s your dare,” Melissa whispers as her cheeks pink at my compliment. “You have to do it.”

“Hola, I’m Estella. May I get you some drinks? A mojito, perhaps?”

I finally look away from Melissa to the sprite-like Cuban woman standing next to our table, who’s seventy-five if she’s a day. She also sports a large, hairy mole above her upper lip. Melissa tries to suppress a giggle as I struggle to keep my facial expression neutral.

“I’d love a mojito,” my troublesome date says. “Bobby, what would you like, dearest?”

My eyebrows ascend at her term of endearment, and I shoot her a look that asks: “You really expect me to do this?” She nods in assent, wide grin in place.

“Um, just ice water for me, thanks.” I clear my throat and I feel my face heat as I then say in Spanish, “I also must say you’re a beautiful woman.” I simply can’t tell anyone other than Melissa that they’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Estella lets a surprisingly deep laugh fly, and she swats my shoulder with her order pad as she replies in Spanish, “You’re a liar, but a handsome one.” She look at Melissa and switches to English. “Keep your eye on this one. He’s a charmer.”

As Estella walks away, Melissa asks, “What did she say to you?”

A grin forms on my face. “She said I’m a handsome liar. ”

Now Melissa swats my shoulder. “She did not!”

“Indeed, she did. Now it’s your turn. Truth or more truth?”

“Oh, that’s what we’re playing now, huh? No dares for me?”

I shake my head. “Not now. Maybe later.” I give her a heated look, and she blushes again.

“Anyway, I want to know how you’re feeling about this weekend.

I don’t regret asking you to join me, but I realize it’s very soon into our relationship, and it was an offer you would’ve had a hard time refusing.

I just want to make sure you’re OK with this—with spending all this time with me and then with a bunch of people you don’t know tomorrow.

I’ll be in work mode at the game, and you’ll have to meet my clients whether you want to or not, and?—”

When she cuts me off with a hand over my mouth, I realize I’ve been rambling, which I never do, but it seems I’m doing a lot of new things since she came into my life.

“Bobby.” Melissa’s hand moves down to cover mine.

“Take a breath. It’s fine. I’m fine. I wouldn’t have agreed to come otherwise.

I appreciate you looking out for me, but it’s not a hardship for me to spend uninterrupted time with you, and it’s also not a hardship for me to meet and socialize with a bunch of professional athletes.

I love sports, remember? And I work for a baseball team, so I’m used to being around a bunch of overpaid jocks, some of whose best behavior leaves much to be desired. ”

I flip my hand over and thread our fingers together. “I want this weekend to be good for you.”

“And I want it to be good for you, which it won’t be if you keep worrying about me. Please trust me when I say I’m fine. And if at some point I’m not, I’ll tell you. Now for your ‘truth.’ Tell me how you’re feeling about it for you, not for me.”

I stroke her hand with my thumb as I summon up the courage to be honest with her.

I’m known for my candor, but for once in my life I truly care about what someone else thinks of me.

I can’t look her in the eye when I say, “I can’t stop imagining that you’re going to get tired of me or decide my family or career demands are too much to deal with, and you’ll want to leave me but be too kind to say so. ”

Melissa releases my hand and cups my cheek as she forces me to look her in the eye.

“It’s not too much. And that’s not the way this is going to go.

There will be no playing of games between you and me, all right?

We’ll always tell each other how we feel and what we’re thinking. That’s the only way this can work.”

My chest feels tight. “I want this to work so badly, but it’s hard to believe it will.”

“It’s not going to work if that’s your mindset. You can’t be waiting for us to fail. Do you go into your business deals thinking they’re going to fail?”

I shake my head. “Never.”

“Then don’t do that with us. Think of this as the biggest deal of your life. Are you going to let it fall apart because you’re scared?”

I shake my head again. I can’t let it fall apart. My heart is already too invested.

She gives me a soft smile as she moves her hand down to my chest. “I kind of like this insecure side of you. It shows me you’re not perfect. But I like the usual confident, take-charge side of you, too. Let’s try to go with that one most of the time, OK?”

“Deal.” Then I seal that deal with a kiss that elicits a whoop from Estella when she brings our drinks.

“What did I tell you?” she asks Melissa. “Charmer!”

We both chuckle at her declaration, and we chat with her for a few minutes before she moves on to the next table.

“Is there anything you want to do here in Miami before we head to the condo?” I ask Melissa. “Have you been here before?”

“I’ve been to the Keys a few times,” she says, “but I haven’t spent any time here in the city. Maybe we can drive around a little before heading to the condo? And I’d love to go dancing somewhere tonight—not like a usual club, but a place with salsa dancing and that kind of thing. You up for that?”

“Up for spending a couple of hours with you in my arms?” I smirk at her. “I think I can handle it.”

Melissa’s cheeks flush when she asks, “Have you thought more about whether you’d like to spend all night with me in your arms?”

My hand makes its way to her thigh. “I have.” It’s a big step for us—for me, in particular—but I’ve decided I don’t want to keep holding off if she doesn’t want to.

“And I would like to. With our long-distance situation, I’m not afraid the physical stuff will take over our relationship and keep us from also truly getting to know each other.

We’ve already spent a lot of time talking, and we’ll keep doing that over the phone.

But with the limited time we get to spend together, I’d like to explore the physical side of our relationship.

” I squeeze her leg. “But only if we’re on the same page. If you’re not ready, then we’ll wait.”

Melissa cups my cheek in her hand. “I’m ready.”