“It’s so nice to meet you.” When he still didn’t reply, knowing Drake was about to pounce—and that each of his siblings was watching with no small measure of concern—she turned on the faucet at the kitchen sink, washed her hands, and made herself ask in an easy voice, “Are you making Enchiladas Suizas?” Again, she didn’t wait for his reply before she slid another knife out of the wood block on the counter along with another cutting board and began to chop the onions. “My mom taught me how to make enchiladas when I was still so small that I needed to stand on a stool to reach the counter. It’s been a while since I made them, so I hope you don’t mind if my knife skills are a little rusty.”
The only sound for a few long moments was the steady beat of the steel blade landing against the wood board. Everyone’s gaze lay on her, but none was more intense than that of Drake’s father. This moment, she knew, could go either way. Silently, she prayed for the good one, even with the tension currently thick enough to cut with the knife in her hand.
“I’d appreciate the help, Rosa.” William looked up at Drake. “Margaritas are in the blender if you two want one. I could use a top-up.” He turned back to Rosa. “And I want you to know that if I could run that asshole who took those pictures of you down the middle of my table saw, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Rosa’s knife was the one falling still this time as she looked up from the onions to give Drake’s father a huge smile. She now knew where Drake had learned his knight-in-shining-armor skills. “I’ll let you know if I need to borrow it.”
And just like that, the freeze-frame that had been holding everyone captive disappeared. Suz and Harry laughed over Oscar rolling over and begging to get his belly rubbed, Alec walked out of the kitchen to take a call, and Drake headed for the blender while Rosa barely held in a huge sigh of relief.
She wasn’t much of a drinker, but it had been one heck of a day, so when Drake handed her the filled-to-the-brim margarita, she welcomed the cool bite of the lime, the warmth of the tequila. But while the alcohol went straight into her bloodstream, it was the kiss Drake gave her after her first sip that ran a million times hotter through her veins.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Drake had rarely seen his father this relaxed. This animated. Same went for his brothers and Suzanne. Primarily because Rosa had a way of drawing people out of themselves.
Where Drake had always been more inclined to sit back and watch, she jumped in with questions and sincere interest in every answer given, every story told. It was, he realized, the way she’d always been with him at the cabin. Even when she’d been afraid to get close to anyone, she hadn’t been able to stop herself from asking him about his father and the paintings, hadn’t been able to keep from caring about the man who had found her on his cliffs.
She’d always glowed bright, even on that first day when the rain had been pouring down on her as she sobbed. Tonight, however, she radiated so much light that Drake could barely contain his need to paint her. Along with the paintings out in the back of the SUV, he’d brought a stash of paints and a couple of blank canvases.
Something had happened this afternoon while she was out walking with Oscar. She’d always been strong in his eyes, but before now it had been a struggle to get her to see it. Whereas tonight, she’d come back roaring like a lioness. One who finally seemed to know her own strength. As soon as dinner was over, he needed to talk to her alone to find out what had transformed her so deeply, inside and out.
And so he could tell her, again, just how much he loved her. More now than ever as she laughed with his family over enchiladas and margaritas, Oscar snoring softly beneath the big dining table.
“Okay, let me make sure I have this straight,” she was saying. “The four of you were hanging from the rafters like monkeys when you were building this house, and that was right when the inspector walked in?”
“I was doing a handstand, actually,” Suz said with more than a little pride.
Rosa turned to his father. “What did you do?”
“I told Brian we were training for our family circus and got up there with them. And then I grounded them until they were teenagers.”
Laughter burst from her. “I shouldn’t be surprised. My brothers and I were just as nuts when we were kids.”
“You think you can beat the rafters?” Alec challenged.
“As soon as we could walk, my parents had us on water skis. One day, I found that old Go-Go’s video—you know the one where they’re waterskiing in pyramid formation? Even though I was only eight, I told my five-and six-year-old brothers we had to do it, and we couldn’t tell my parents anything until we’d perfected the trick. We convinced one of my friend’s older brothers to take us out, and when I climbed up on their shoulders, it was like flying.”
“I’m impressed,” Harry said. “The four of us talked about trying a waterskiing pyramid, but we always chickened out.”
“Good call.” Her mouth quirked up in an adorable half smile. “When we got back to the dock, I’ve never seen my parents so mad. We were also pretty much grounded for the rest of our lives—although they bragged about it plenty when they thought we couldn’t hear them.”