Love Unexpected series box set by Delaney Diamond

Author:Delaney Diamond [Diamond, Delaney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Garden Avenue Press

Chapter 16

The patio of Tío Manny’s Restaurant overflowed with a boisterous group of diners when Talia and Tomas arrived. A five-piece band rocked out a vaguely familiar Spanish tune, one she’d probably heard Tomas listening to in the car. The electric guitar player hunched over her instrument, face scrunched into concentrated lines while customers stood on their feet clapping and cheering.

Manny waved them over and introductions were made. Of the nine people at the table, Talia recognized four from the birthday party.

In addition to pitchers of margaritas, everyone had their own drink—mojitos, Cuba Libres, and for the less adventurous, good old Georgia sweet tea.

The waitress came over. “What can I get you two to drink?”

“A Cuba Libre for me, and a piña colada for her,” Tomas replied.

Manny shouted across the table to be heard above the music. “Bring out more appetizers. Empanadas, a couple more shrimp cocktails, and stuffed avocados.”

“Manny, where are we supposed to put all this food?” Talia teased.

He leaned forward with a twinkle in his eye. “The party’s just getting started, querida.”

Moments later, Manny pulled her from the chair, and with the group cheering her on, she stumbled through the salsa steps. Manny didn’t allow his limp to limit him at all, and she laughed and covered her face when she stepped on the poor man’s foot.

“Don’t worry, you’re doing fine,” Manny said.

Tomas sat back and smiled, his gaze fixed on her so intently she blushed.

For the most part, the group refrained from speaking Spanish so she wouldn’t be excluded from the conversations. That all changed when Bianca arrived. The fun and excitement Talia had cultivated with the others took a nosedive.

Tomas stood to greet her, and she rose on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. Her full bosom pressed into his chest and her lips landed close to his mouth.

“¿Que bola, mami?” He slipped an arm around her narrow waist to give her a one-armed hug.

The pretty Latina made her interest in Tomas, and that she didn’t like having Talia around, obvious. She sat down on the other side of Tomas and leaned in close, laughing and touching his forearm, tossing her hair every so often. Talia gritted her teeth at the behavior, but what pushed her over the edge was how she spoke to Tomas in Spanish, and he responded in Spanish, so Talia couldn’t participate in the conversation.

She rose abruptly from the table and walked into the dining room without saying a word, found the bathroom, and locked herself in. Only Maybeth ever made her feel insecure, but seeing someone make a play for Tomas right in front of her evoked the same feelings of inadequacy her grandmother regularly inspired. Months ago he’d denied sleeping with Bianca, but what about now? They hadn’t made any promises to each other, and though she didn’t think he was seeing anyone else, she hadn’t asked.

And what had he and Talia been doing these past months, anyway? Didn’t that count for something?

How long she stayed in there she didn’t know, but when she exited, Tomas waited in the dimly lit hallway.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.