“No, way!” Sadie squealed. “Sorry for interrupting, but my brother’s in the Royal Navy.”
“Well, hell. With Santana’s being a Marine, we’ve got the military sisters’ group right here.”
“That can be the name of our book club. But go on with your story. Sorry, I got excited.”
“Oh, yeah, well, Dan’s in the Navy, so finding a time when we can all be together is tough sometimes, so I had to wait for a while until I could tell them all. I couldn’t say which one it’s for because of my contract, but it packed a punch telling them all at the same time.”
Turning to look at Santana, I reached out and shook her shoulder. “You should definitely do it when your brother comes back from wherever he is.”
“I got an email from him this morning, and he said he’ll be home in six weeks. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the time off to go and see them, but I’ve got FaceTime, so that’d be awesome.”
“Or you could take Remy home with you and tell them all at the same time,” Sadie suggested, giving Santana a wink and making her blush.
“I think y’all are reading way too much into that, you know. It’s safe to say he tolerates me, not that he likes me.”
Oh, she was so blind. I’d seen how Remy was around Santana and how he looked at her when she wasn’t looking. All I could do was hope he had the guts to make good on those looks one day. Santana was a beautiful girl with the sweetest personality, and one day, a guy was going to come along and see that and snatch her up. Maybe I was biased, but I wanted her here with Remy, so he had to get his head out of his ass before it was too late.
Sharing a look with Sadie that hinted at her having similar thoughts, I smiled brightly at them both.
“So, seeing as how you’ve just told us a secret, how about I tell you guys one?” I suggested, grinning when they both nodded.
Santana already knew the story of how I’d met Marcus and what’d happened the day he’d seen me standing at Nonna’s house, but I skimmed over it so that Sadie understood.
“Anyway, Marcus obviously isn’t Dad’s favorite person after that. Add onto it the fact we’re dating, and he’s been trying to intimidate him—well, the first time we all had dinner together, Marcus asked Dad what he did for a living, and he told him he was an anger management therapist.”
Sadie’s head flew back as she burst out laughing, and for a moment, I was kind of stuck watching her tits shake on top of the water. I wasn’t being a pervert or anything, they were just big and there. It was almost hypnotic.
“Y-your d-d-dad’s an anger management therapist?” Sadie stuttered, wiping under her eyes as Santana caught her breath next to me. “Oh, God, can he work on Elijah?”
“This is the secret.” I leaned in closer to them both. “That’s not what he does. He owns an Italian restaurant in San Diego named after the family. My uncles help him run it and cook in the kitchen, but Marcus doesn’t know any of this.”
Both of them started laughing again, and it was Santana who asked, “And you haven’t told him the truth?”
“Hell, no,” I shouted. “If you were in my shoes, would you? His face when Dad said that as he ran his fingers over a big bread knife was just too good.”
Still laughing, Sadie shook her head. “I think I like both of you. Addy, you’ve got a personality just like mine, and I’d totally do what you did if it’d been me with Elijah. And, Santana, not only is your name one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever heard, but you’re awesome, even if you’re oblivious when it comes to a certain guy.”
When Santana went to argue the subject again, Sadie said quickly, “And it’s going to be amazing sitting on the sidelines watching you both get together. Which is going to happen.”
I had friends from school and ones I’d met through work, but I felt relaxed and like I’d known both of these women my whole life. I wonder if Nonna knew when she bought the house that something like this would happen? I could never tell with her, and I wouldn’t put it past her to have found a way to put Marcus and me together if we hadn’t already met. The fact that my new life and happiness came with these two women was the cherry on top for me.
Chapter Twelve
Addy
Five days later…
We’d decided we wouldn’t discuss the book Santana had sent us until we met up again for the book club, so I was preparing for it with my head spinning. Sadie was still here, and holding back comments had been hard because she was just right there, but I guess it was like Fight Club rules.