Forbidden Lust: 3 (Lust for Life) (6 page)

“I remember you talking about how they fell in love in the
ocean.” Her fingertips brushed over the only tattoo he had on his chest, the
one that said
I love you, my little Oscar the Grouch
in his mother’s
handwriting, copied out of one of her journals. Words he’d made Eva tattoo over
the left side of his chest as an exit exam of sorts before he’d released her
from her apprenticeship and sent her off on her own.

“They belong together, my parents and the ocean,” he told
her, stopping just before he added, “and you.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck and he wanted her again
instantly.

“Please don’t let my family fuck this up just yet,” she said
quietly.

Oscar drew in a deep breath, resigned to going along with
her. It was a terrible idea, but she had a valid point. And since he had no
idea what he was going to do with her now that he’d finally gotten his hands on
her, did he really want her family meddling before he figured it out?

“They’re going to notice something has changed.”

She grinned and smoothed one hand over the back of his neck.

“You just be your usual butthole self when we’re around
them, I’ll stick with being the bitch they know and love and all will be right
with the world.” She went up on her toes until their mouths were touching, her
gaze locked on his. “And if you put on a good show I’ll make it up to you real
nice. A lot.”

He groaned deeply. “Oh honey, you are most definitely the
devil.”

“I heard you’re going to the Chicago shop,” Eva said as she
draped her napkin over her empty dinner plate. She pushed her chair back from
the table, brought one knee up and hooked her heel on the edge of her seat.

Oscar had been musing about the beauty of cooking dinner for
a woman he’d known her whole life. Eva didn’t pretend she wasn’t hungry the way
too many women did. She’d filled her plate with grilled shrimp and vegetables
and orzo, and then she’d eaten every bite with a lust he found highly arousing.

But then everything she did was highly arousing.

“Jamie and Leo and I have been talking about it,” Oscar
answered, setting his own empty plate aside and wiping his mouth. “Nothing is
set in stone yet.”

“I guess it makes sense,” she told him with a shrug.

In the light of the short candles that were burning on the
center of his patio table, he could see something that looked like uncertainty
in her expression.

Eva didn’t do uncertain. None of the Rodriguez family did.
They were blessed with an abundance of self-confidence that was both their
charm and their downfall from time to time. And while that little glimpse of
insecurity reminded him painfully of just how young and inexperienced she was
when it came to love and relationships, it was pretty damn adorable on her.

“Leni is close to her mom and sister and doesn’t want to
leave, so Jamie won’t want to go,” she continued when he didn’t say anything.
“You’re the wandering nomad.”

“I have been known to pick up and move now and then.”

She took a long drink from her beer and said nothing else.

“What about your house?” she asked, picking at the label on
the bottle with a short fingernail, painted black. After two days of wearing
dresses she was back to the way she usually dressed in a retro t-shirt with a
faded Donkey Kong iron-on decal and loose jeans with the cuffs rolled above her
ankles. “I mean, will you sell it? Rent it out?”

“I’ll keep it for when I’m in town the way Leo is keeping
his house.”

Not only had Oscar purchased his house for a really good
price, but he’d put down a better than sizeable down payment. The mortgage was
low enough he could easily afford to keep it and buy a place in Chicago as
well. Joy and Leo had offered him the use of their spare room for as long as he
needed to stay, so there would be time to hunt for another good deal once the
new shop was up and running.

“My family is here,” he said, meaning her and the rest of
her clan. Her eyes snapped up to meet his across the table. “And I still plan
to work out of the shop here from time to time. I’ll be back a lot.”

She pressed her lips together, stood so fast the wrought
iron legs of the chair scraped noisily against the concrete and took her dish
to the kitchen without a word.

Getting an idea of what was upsetting her, an oddly pleasant
change, he followed.

“What just happened?” he asked, carefully taking the dish
sponge out of her hand before she scrubbed the finish off the plate.

She started to dump what was left of her beer down the
drain. He rescued that as well and she braced her hands on the edge of the
counter, her back still toward him.

“It’s stupid,” she said quietly, looking out the window
above the sink.

He tucked a lock of hair that had escaped her ponytail
behind her ear and wondered, not for the first time, how a woman with such a
prickly disposition was so soft to the touch. “I bet it’s not,” he prompted
gently.

If she was curious to know what happened to them when he
moved, it was definitely not stupid. He’d already started to wonder the same
thing. All he was sure of was that she wasn’t a temporary fling he was going to
be able to walk away from, no matter who objected—if they ever went public with
their relationship.

She looked up and sighed, opened her mouth to say something,
and didn’t get the chance. There was a hard knock on the front door, then they
heard it open.

“Oz?” Diego’s voice rang loud through the quiet house.

Eva’s eyes went huge and she mouthed the words
oh fuck
.

Oh fuck
was right.

She looked around desperately as if she was searching for a
place to hide, her eyes landing on the dark formal dining room. It was on the
opposite side of the kitchen from the hallway that led to the front door and would
have been a perfect place to hide if her brother hadn’t already walked into the
room.

Diego’s gaze traveled from Oscar to Eva and back. He crossed
his arms.

“I thought that was your car in the driveway,” he said,
clearly speaking to Eva even though his eyes were locked on Oscar’s.

Oscar leaned against the counter, knowing the damage was
done.

“I offered to look at it for her tonight,” he said, trying
in vain to cover anyway.

The story wasn’t much of a stretch. He’d worked on Eva’s car
in the past, but it
was
the first time he’d lied to Diego in the
thirty-plus years they’d been friends, and it wasn’t sitting well in his gut at
all.

Still, Eva had asked him to keep their new relationship a
secret. The least he could have done was thought to put her car in the garage
and lock the front door. He lived in a quiet neighborhood where he felt safe
enough to leave his door open until he went to bed, and his friends knew they
were welcome to walk in if it was unlocked.

Diego scoffed. “You’re telling me my sister, who lives on
takeout, cooked you a nice dinner the two of you ate under the moonlight as a
platonic thanks for fixing her car?” he asked as he gestured to the table he
could clearly see through the open patio door.

Oscar pulled himself up to his full height and braced for
what was coming next. Whatever it was, no matter how ugly or painful, he knew
he deserved it.

“It’s about goddamn time you stopped fucking around and
admitted you like her, jackass,” he said to Oscar, shaking his head. “The
pigtail pulling was starting to get seriously annoying.”

It took a moment for what he’d said to register, and then
Oscar felt a rush of relief so overwhelming he would have been knocked on his
ass if he hadn’t still been so close to the counter he could fall back against
it.

Eva laughed nervously. “That’s what Leo called it once,
pigtail pulling.”

Diego’s expression darkened slightly. “Leo knows, but not
your family?”

“No, no, no.” She pressed her hands to her flushed face, her
eyes bright. “He was guessing, and that was months ago. No one knows but you.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “And we’d like to keep it that way. At
least for a little while.”

Diego’s eyebrows went up and he nodded. “Yeah, I don’t blame
you. Mom is going to have a stroke when she finds out. She’ll have the two of
you married by Labor Day.”

“We thought you were going to hate this,” Oscar said,
finally finding his voice.

“What, are you kidding?” Diego grinned. “I think it’s
great.” He looked at Eva and must have realized she seemed to be waiting for
the hammer to fall because his expression softened. “Who else can I trust my
sister’s sweet, tender little heart with more than you?” he asked Oscar as he
pulled Eva into a hug, chuckling as he did.

“Don’t be an ass, Junior,” she grumbled, the fight having
returned to her eyes for a moment before she closed them and rested her
forehead on his chest, clearly relieved. “You would have to go and fucking
prove me wrong, wouldn’t you?”

“That
is
always my number one priority in life,
Evangeline.” He hugged her tight and rested his cheek on top of her head. “It
goes without saying that if you break my friend’s heart I’ll make you very
sorry, right?”

“Haha, very funny,” she deadpanned, looking up when Diego
loosened his hold on her. “Seriously. You’re not pissed?”

He screwed up his face and hugged her again. “God no.” To
Oscar he asked, “This started after you were slobbering over her at Jamie’s
wedding?”

Oscar stuck his hands in his pockets. “The day after.”

“Then I’ll get out of here.” He planted a quick kiss on
Eva’s cheek, then hugged Oscar. “We’ll grab a beer and catch up when I get back
from California in a few weeks.”

And then he was heading toward the front door.

Oscar and Eva both stared at the empty hallway for a moment.

“Did that really just happen?” Eva asked, looking as stunned
as Oscar felt.

Oscar blinked once, twice. “I think it did.”

“Do you think he’ll really keep it a secret from the rest of
my family?”

Oscar bit back a smile. She had no idea how many secrets
Diego had kept for him throughout the years. “I think he really will,” he told
her confidently.

She looked at him, eyes still wide. “That was too easy.”

He reached out and took one of her hands in his. It was
shaking.

“You’re right.” He planted a kiss on her palm. “Stay here.”

She turned. “No. I’m coming with you.”

He stopped, gave her a look and she stilled. “Please.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “This one time. I am not a
dog you can command to sit and stay all the time, Oscar.”

Heat crackled along his spine. The temptation to let Diego
go in favor of talking her into a little commanding role-playing was a powerful
one, but he and Eva had all night for that. Diego was about to drive away, and
the conversation they needed to have couldn’t wait a few weeks.

He gave her a quick kiss. “Hold that thought.”

Diego was standing next to his car, thumbs moving quickly
over his phone as he typed out what Oscar assumed was a text message. He half
turned when he heard the front door open, but took a second to finish what he
was doing before he pocketed his phone and faced Oscar.

“Are you sure you’re all right with this?” Oscar asked as he
made his way down the driveway. “Eva thought you were going to lose your mind
when you found out about us, and honestly, I thought she was going to be
right.”

Diego looked down the street. “It’s a little weird to walk
in on the two of you together, but I’m not surprised.” He looked at Oscar
again. “I figured it was just a matter of time before you got together.”

Hearing him say that was unreal. “Why is that?”

Diego smiled knowingly. “I was there that day.”

Oscar shook his head. “What day?”

“The day my little hussy of a baby sister told you she
wanted you to take her virginity.” He leaned against his car, grinning openly
now, his affection for Eva clear in his smile. “I was up on the deck. I must
have fallen asleep or something, but when I woke up I could hear the two of you
talking.”

The Rodriguezes’ pool at the time had been a huge
aboveground thing that had dominated a lot of their backyard. It had a large,
raised deck that wrapped around one half of the pool, and a ground level patio
on the other side. Oscar had been down on the patio that day, apparently not as
alone as he’d thought.

“I heard everything,” Diego added. “Including the way you
turned her down.”

Oscar crossed his arms and took his turn looking down the
street.

“She’s been making goo-goo eyes at you since she was twelve,
Oz. I’ve been watching. I know you didn’t start looking back until she was more
than old enough, but you didn’t touch. This,” he gestured to Oscar, then the
house where Eva was still inside, “doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t surprise me
she talked you into keeping it a secret either. I’m not kidding when I say my
mother is going to have the two of you married so fast you’ll be saying I do
before you know what hit you.”

“I really thought you were going to punch my lights out when
you found out.”

“Like I said inside, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my
baby sister more than I trust you, man.” He grimaced and added, “Her with you
on the other hand, now that’s a different story.”

Oscar’s mood dimmed. “What does that mean?”

“What I mean is if this was going to happen, I’d hoped it
would have happened a little further down the line when she was older. Right
now she’s still young and a little wild. She likes to go out drinking on the
weekends, sleep in late. From what she told me when we talked a few days ago
she’s been dating around some, having a good time and keeping it casual. You’ve
already gotten all of that out of your system.”

“We’ve only been seeing each other two days,” Oscar reminded
him, forcing himself to ignore the sinking in his gut. “Neither of us knows
where this is going yet.”

Diego simply looked at him. “You know where you want it to
go.”

He was right. Oscar was ready, and Eva…
fuck
.

She’d told him she wasn’t ready for marriage and kids in
exactly those words, standing outside the reception hall with him just two
short nights ago. And while Oscar’s entire world had been dumped upside down
the moment he’d kissed her, he only had her little fit over him moving as a
gauge of whether things had changed for her. And that wasn’t really all that
much to go on.

“You’re already there, man,” Diego continued, gesturing more
expansively to the house. “You’ve got the house and the retirement plan, and I
know you want a family. You’re good at that commitment thing, and you get all
soft in the head around kids.”

Oscar crossed his arms. “I would never push her into
anything, Diego.”

“I know that. I love you both, but don’t compromise what you
want out of life, because she might never want what you want. She and I are a
lot alike you know.”

“Minus the juggling half a dozen friends with benefits
thing.”

Diego hunched one shoulder and grinned. “Right. Minus that.”

Oscar let his gaze drift down the street, empty and mostly
dark except for a few lit porches here and there. Something that had been clear
for far longer than he was willing to admit seemed to settle deep into his
bones and spread through his body, rich and warm.