Chapter 11
Elias sat in the living room with the other men in his family, minus Vince, whom his uncle had sent outside because he was talking obnoxiously loud on his phone and interrupting the show he was watching.
His mom, zias, and Avian were in the kitchen finishing up dinner.
Though he was sure the latter of the bunch was taste-testing everything more than helping.
It had been a while since they were all at dinner together.
Mainly because it never failed that Vince pissed their older cousin off.
They all knew the other man was doing it on purpose.
He didn’t seem satisfied until he got a reaction, though it was always the same one that ended with Vince on the receiving end of a fist. The saying that “some people never learn” applied perfectly to his cousin.
“Dinner’s ready,” Avian announced a few minutes later when she stepped into the room.
“I’ll let Vince know,” his uncle said as they all exited the living room.
Once seated in the dining room, they waited until the other two joined them. His uncle came only a minute later, then Vince soon followed. Food that someone else cooked always got Vince moving faster than he normally would have.
They were enjoying their meal, several conversations taking place at the table when his Zia Celia tapped her glass with her fork to get everyone’s attention.
Elias had wondered how long it would take for her to make her announcement.
He’d half expected her to do so when they’d all first arrived.
She waited until all eyes were on her to speak.
“Vince and I are starting our own business,” she started, and even with no one making a sound, Elias knew all of them, minus Avian, had sighed internally. “Since some people didn’t want to foster his talents,” she continued, eyes shifting to Marco, and the older man raised a bored brow.
Elias was confused as to what talent of Vince’s Celia wanted fostered.
He couldn’t think of a single thing the other man had been interested in, or stuck to for more than a few months.
Even when they were kids. He refrained from saying anything and turned his attention back to his food because this little announcement could have been a text he ignored.
“I thought it would be nice for the family to support and invest,” Celia finished.
“Absolutely not,” Marco immediately replied.
“Figlio,” Zia Lorna admonished as his mom tried to move the subject along.
“What type of business are you starting?” she asked, but Elias knew neither he nor his father would let her waste money investing in a failed venture, because that was exactly what it would be.
It wasn’t the first time his aunt was coming to the family, pitching a business she was starting.
He lost count of the number of times, but knew it started back when her husband, Federico, was still alive.
Every year they would announce they were starting a business.
And every year, it would fail before it started because they never put the time and effort into it.
Elias was sure they thought starting the business was all they needed to do, that it would run itself and they could reap the financial benefits.
Since Federico’s passing, his aunt had presented new businesses less, but it was still common enough that he mentally rolled his eyes when she did.
“We haven’t fully decided, but we have narrowed it down. It depends on the investment funds,” Celia replied.
Elias snorted, but he wasn’t surprised by the answer. It was on trend for his aunt’s thought process in situations like this. Her eyes swung to him, and she glared.
“I’m not sure what it will amount to, but I’ll invest thoughts and prayers,” he stated.
“Throw some luck in for a little razzle-dazzle,” Avian said, to which they were both promptly scolded by his mom and zia.
Elias caught Vince rolling his eyes, as his primary focus was on his food and he figured he didn’t have a care in the world for what Celia was talking about.
Whether that was because he knew it would end up like all the rest of their business endeavors or because he was allergic to work, Elias didn’t know.
“Maybe come back with a business plan, and we can take a look then,” Matteo suggested.
Elias knew that would be the end of the discussion.
They would hear about another business idea in a year or two, maybe, but he knew they wouldn’t hear about this one again.
After so many failed attempts, his dad and uncle had started requiring that they come with business plans that outlined everything before they would give one cent.
His zia, looking as dejected as she always did when his uncle said something that wasn’t in her favor, went back to her food, and everyone else went back to their original conversations.
“I’m not tripping, right?” Avian asked as they stood outside beside Marco’s car after dinner. “Celia has a weird crush on Matteo, doesn’t she?”
“No, Micio, you’re not. She does,” Marco replied.
“Is this a new occurrence? Did it happen after her husband passed away?” Avian asked. “Because that’s kind of shitty of her.”
“No, it’s been over thirty years,” Elias responded.
“That’s even worse,” Avian said.
“Tell me about it,” Elias replied.
“And Mamma just what? Ignores it?” Avian asked.
“Pretty much,” Marco started. “I think she feels bad for her.” When Avian raised a questioning brow, he continued.
“Celia met my dad first, and she liked him, but he never saw her that way. Let him tell it, he didn’t even know she liked him.
Then he met my mom, and it was pretty much love at first sight.
He learned they were sisters afterwards. ”
“Wow,” Avian said. “Talk about a coincidence. And then the sisters ended up dating cousins.” She paused, giving him a sly smile. “On the subject of sisters dating cousins. How’s it going with Eri?”
“It’s true what they say.” Elias poked her on the forehead, and she swatted his hand. “Little sisters are so nosy.”
Avian glared at him before puffing her cheeks out while Marco chuckled. “To think I was going to give you some cheat codes. Now, I’m not going to,” she teased.
“I don’t need them. I got it handled,” he assured her.
“I know you do,” she replied. “Because I’m sure you know I’ll kick your ass if you mess this up.”
Elias raised an amused brow at her. “Oh yeah? How are you going to manage that?”
“My husband’s going to hold you down for me.”
Elias shook his head while Marco snorted, but he wouldn’t put it past the other man to do it if she asked him to.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Eri stared at the screen that housed one of the many assignments that she’d already finished for one of her classes, but admittedly she wasn’t seeing it. Her mind was on Valentine’s Day and the kiss she’d shared with Elias. It was where she found her thoughts drifting to since it happened.
She’d been surprised to see him because they’d made plans to see one another Sunday.
She almost told him no because she didn’t think there was anything he could do that would make her see the day as something other than the tainted memory she had of it.
But he’d succeeded with flying colors, and Eri’s chest had felt so heavy.
The butterflies in her stomach felt like they’d started a riot.
She hadn’t been able to convey in words what she felt, and she’d chosen action instead.
Then, when he’d dropped her off, he’d kissed her again, and she’d felt as if he’d stolen the air from her lungs, and the only thing helping her breathe were his lips on hers. The entire day had been more than she could have imagined, and him doing it, when he didn’t have to, had her conflicted.
On the one hand, she wanted to bask in the day's memory and feel as special and cherished as she did while it was happening each time she thought about it. On the other hand, she felt guilty that someone she wasn’t in a relationship with, someone she was straddling the fence with had done something so thoughtful for her when she couldn’t seem to be honest with him, with herself and solidify what she wanted from him.
What she wanted for them. Eri still wasn’t quite sure she was there yet, because it meant baring her soul and letting him in on something so ugly.
She knew she needed to decide, and that she didn’t have forever to do so because, at the end of the day, she had to think about Elias.
She needed to be fair to him in this situation, and she didn’t feel she had been so far.
From the outside looking in, it was almost as if she was leading him on, and that wasn’t her intention.
Her internal struggle had her stagnant, but it was unfair for her to stay in one place for much longer.
Focusing her attention back on the screen, she closed out of the assignment.
It wasn’t as if she’d changed anything about it.
She’d finished it ahead of time, like she had with most of her assignments.
She’d only opened it to give herself something to do and try to keep her mind off the events of a few days ago. Eri had not succeeded.
Putting her laptop aside, she grabbed her current cross-stitch project. She was about halfway finished, and it was coming out better than her last one.
Eri worked on her project for an hour until her phone rang. She glanced at it on the table, and Elias’ name flashed across the screen. She put her project aside and answered it.
“Hey,” she greeted.
“Hey, Amate. What are you up to?” he asked.
“I’m working on a cross-stitch project. How was dinner with your family?” He’d mentioned it the day before when he’d texted her, and since he’d taken her out, and she’d seen the pictures of the tattoo he was going to show her that day, she’d cancel seeing him.
“Hands weren’t laid, so I’d say it was good.” He paused, and Eri could hear him shifting. “Are you free tomorrow? Since we canceled today. I know you don’t have class, and I thought we could get lunch together between my appointments.”
Eri thought about it for a moment. She didn’t think she was ready to be alone with him yet, because she didn’t trust herself not to say something she wasn’t ready to.
“Can you give me a rain check?”
He was quiet for a brief second, and she almost thought he hadn’t heard her.
“Sure, Amate. Let me know when you’re free.”
They spoke for another hour, and she ended the call sooner than she normally would have because she realized just talking to him made her feel guilty, and it was worse than before.
She hadn’t felt that way when he first started flirting with her because then she had wanted nothing to do with men as a whole.
That had changed, and each day she allowed his advances, reaped the benefits of them, she felt like she was deceiving him.
Eri knew she didn’t have to tell him, but could she truly say she was giving her all if she didn’t?
Deciding to call it a night, she put her project away, checked to ensure the front door was locked, and turned the lights off as she went into her bedroom. She grabbed her pajamas, then headed into the en suite.
Once showered and moisturized, Eri slipped into bed and turned the television on.
She flipped through options before settling on a crime docuseries.
She grabbed the bear on her bed, and held it to her chest as she watched, but it wasn’t long before she was drifting off to sleep, and Eri was sure the same event her mind kept drifting to while conscious would also find her in sleep.