I chuckled. She was a woman deep in her youth, enjoying every second and savoring every experience. Not tied to any man and enjoying her beauty, she lived a young woman’s dream. “I’m guessing you aren’t seeing that guy anymore?”
“I am,” she said. “But it’s not serious.” She turned back to me. “He wants it to be serious, but I definitely don’t.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I’m just staying single until I’m twenty-eight.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because that’s when I need to meet my husband, date for like a year, and then get married to pop out those kids. Getting married any sooner is too premature, at least for me.” She drank from her tea again. “I want a more mature man. They tend to need to be older to get that aged effect that I like.”
“You could date an older man right now.”
She shrugged. “I haven’t met one I like.” She glanced at the man she had just checked out. “He looks like he might be like twenty-eight, which is a good age, but I’m not ready to settle down yet anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“You’re living the dream,” I said with a chuckle.
“It’s not for everybody. You got married young, and you were happy.”
“Yeah…and that blew up in my face.”
“But you were still happy,” she said. “It’s not like those years went to waste.”
I wasn’t so sure anymore. Sometimes I wished I could have met Damien sooner, because he seemed to be a better fit than Liam ever was.
“So, Damien tells me you’re his girlfriend.”
That didn’t sound like something he would say, so I was surprised. “Really?”
“Direct quote.”
He’d told me I was his, and that made me feel…a million emotions. He was loyal to me even though I had nothing to offer him right now. I wanted him and I missed him, but I was also overwhelmed with guilt, moving on from a marriage far too soon. The first time I got divorced, I waited months before I went on my first date. But now I was on the cusp of falling into a serious relationship, making love to a man who was already in love with me. It was so intense, it felt wrong.
“I’ve never seen my brother with a lady in my whole life, let alone living with one, so you must be the real deal.”
“I’m not living with him. Just staying there until—”
“Whatever. It’s still a big deal.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I drank from my glass of wine.
“That makes me happy, because I was afraid he would wait too long and end up alone. Then it would be totally up to me to carry the family lineage.”
“I’m not sure if he even wants to have children.”
“Don’t you?” she asked.
“Yes.” More than anything.
“Then he will.” She turned back to the guy she was eyeing. “I’m gonna give this hottie my number. I’ll be right back.” She pulled out a pen from her purse and scribbled on a napkin. In her feminine handwriting, she wrote the number in large characters so the digits would be unmistakable. “Wish me luck.” She left the table.
“I don’t think you need it…”
Just when we finished our lunch, I noticed a large man appear behind Catalina. With enormous shoulders, chiseled arms, and a pair of blue eyes that were brighter than a summer sky, he stared at me like a hunter that had just cornered his meal.
Oh shit.
“What?” Catalina signed the tab before she pushed it away. “You look sick.”
I couldn’t talk because I was in survival mode. My heart was pounding with adrenaline, my palms were so sweaty that I couldn’t grab a rope to climb to safety. Damien wasn’t there to protect me, and now that Liam had snapped, I wasn’t sure if I could do anything to stop this. I couldn’t reason with him. I wasn’t his wife anymore, so I had no power at all. I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake…a big one.
“Anna?” Catalina narrowed her eyes.
Liam came closer to our table and stared down at me, his eyes menacing. He ignored Catalina altogether, and the wedding ring on his left hand was terrifying rather than romantic. He stared at me like I was his property, like a cow that wandered past the boundary line. He’d come to retrieve me, to put a lasso around my neck and drag me home. “Get up.” He didn’t raise his voice because we were in public, but if I didn’t obey, there would be consequences.
“Liam—”
“Get. Up.” He leaned down so only I could hear. “Or I’ll make you get up.”
I breathed hard in my panic, unsure what to do.
Catalina raised both eyebrows and sized him up, looking from his head to his toes. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
He ignored her. “Three seconds, Anna.”