But Steven’s reaction had nothing to do with pity. His arms slid around her, and he began to kiss her as if he never wanted to stop. As if she were a dangerously addictive substance that had to be handled with care, rationed slowly, or he might die from a fatal overdose. The concentrated hunger of that blind, impassioned kiss seemed to radiate outward and heat up the entire room.
Somewhere behind me, I heard a thud on the floor. Tank had dropped his laptop. He and the two interns stared at the entwined couple with slack-jawed astonishment.
Bending to retrieve the laptop, Tank reported, “It’s okay. Fell on the carpet. Not even dinged.”
“Nobody cares,” Ree-Ann said, her dumbfounded gaze still locked on Steven and Sofia.
“You can all go now,” I told them, pointing in the direction of the back door.
“I forgot to clean the coffeemaker,” Val said.
“I’ll help,” Ree-Ann added.
“Out,” I commanded.
Reluctantly, they all shuffled through the kitchen and out the back entrance, glancing repeatedly over their shoulders.
Abruptly, Steven broke the kiss and shook his head as if to clear it. His gaze went from Sofia’s flushed face to the pair at the door. “What the —”
“Mamá is here to visit,” Sofia told him hastily. “She brought my old boyfriend Luis.”
My hands clenched as I waited for Steven’s reaction. He knew enough about Sofia’s past to understand how devastating the situation was. If he’d ever wished for an opportunity to humiliate Sofia… no, decimate her, it had just been handed to him.
“There’s been a misunderstanding,” Sofia continued, her desperate gaze locked on his. “Mamá thought there was a chance that I would go back to Luis, so she talked him into coming here with her. But I was just starting to explain that it’s not possible, because… because…”
“You and I are together,” Steven said, the last word tipped with a faint questioning note.
Sofia nodded vigorously.
“I’ve seen him before,” Alameda said to Sofia in an accusatory tone. “He works here. You don’t even like him!”
I couldn’t see Steven’s face, but as he spoke, his voice was warm and wry. “It wasn’t love at first sight,” he conceded, keeping his arm around Sofia. “But the attraction was there from the beginning.”
“For me too,” Sofia said immediately.
“Sometimes when the feelings run deep,” Steven said, “it’s hard to know how to deal with them. And it’s not like Sofia was the kind of woman I ever thought I would fall in love with.”
Sofia looked up at him with a frown. “Why not?”
Staring into Sofia’s eyes, Steven began to play with a lock of her hair. “Let me count the ways: You’re an insufferable optimist, you start decorating for Christmas three months early, and you put glitter on anything that can’t run away from you.” His fingertips ran over the curve of her ear and caressed the side of her face. “When you get excited about a project, you start rubbing your hands together like a villain with an evil plan. You routinely eat peppers hot enough to make a normal person pass out. There are some words you never pronounce right. Salmon. Pajamas. Every time you hear a phone ring, you think it’s yours, except when it actually is yours. The other day I watched you park in front of the studio, and I could tell that you were singing at the top of your lungs.” He smiled slowly. “I’ve finally accepted that these are perfectly legitimate reasons to love someone.”
My sister was speechless.
All of us were.
Steven tore his gaze from Sofia and reached out to shake Luis’s hand. “I’m Steven Cavanaugh,” he said. “I don’t blame you for wanting Sofia back. But she’s definitely taken.”
Luis refused to reciprocate, only folded his arms and glared.
“You didn’t ask for my permission,” Alameda snapped at Steven. “And Sofia has no ring. There is no engagement without a ring.”
Absorbing the information, Steven looked down at Sophia. “You… told her about the engagement,” he said slowly.
Sofia’s head dipped in a nervous bob.
“Technically, they’re engaged to be engaged,” I broke in. “Steven was planning to discuss it with you tonight, Alameda. After dinner.”
“He can’t have dinner with us,” Alameda said. “I invited Luis.”
“I invited Steven first,” Sofia said.
“Enough!” Luis growled. He grabbed for Sofia. “I want to talk to you outside. Alone.”
Steven blocked the movement with a startling swiftness, knocking Luis’s arm away. “Back the fuck off,” he said in a tone that raised the hair on the back of my neck. This was not at all like Steven, who prided himself on never losing his cool.
“Steven,” Sofia interrupted, trying to keep the situation from getting out of hand. “Querido mío, it’s fine, I… I’ll do what he wants. I can talk to him.”
Steven stared at Luis, his gaze hard. “She’s mine.”
Antagonism thickened the air as the two men faced each other. I sorely regretted having sent Tank away. In the past he had done his share of breaking up fights, and this one promised to be a doozy.
“Luis,” Alameda said uneasily, “maybe you should go back to the hotel, and I’ll handle my daughter.”