Love in Bloom (De La Fuente Family 3)

“I don’t see why not.” Mateo smiled, ushering her inside his truck.

Mateo’s truck was the two-row kind so she watched him as he leaned in and smiled when he came up with a sweatshirt. “Here, put this on.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t want you freezing to death before we go on a date.” He ran around his truck and climbing inside, added, “At least we’ll both be home so I don’t have to worry about what time to leave to pick you up.”

Home.

She’d love to be able to call Mateo’s home hers and wondered if she ever would.

Regardless of his words, she wondered whether or not he truly believed them. She knew that he was attracted to her because that had been pretty hard for him to hide. Her worry was when they weren’t together. Would he have second thoughts, or think about something else to put in the way of them having a normal, healthy relationship?

With Mateo she really wished she could be certain of him, but until he’d proved himself, she’d probably continue to guess.

Gah, her head hurt with thinking too hard.

“What the fuck,” Mateo cursed and slammed on the brakes when they hit the center of town. “I’ll be right back.”

Brought back to the present abruptly, her eyes flew out the front window to see what caused Mateo’s reaction…and that’s when her heart sank.

Allie.

Erin had glanced at Mateo just as the woman threw herself into Mateo’s arms. He looked startled, but then his arms wrapped around her, pulling her in tight to his body. He cupped the back of her head. It looked like a lover’s embrace.

What was going on?

It look liked there’d been an accident and somehow Allie was involved. She was obviously upset over something.

Erin tried really, really hard not to react to seeing the other woman in Mateo’s arms, but she wasn’t sure that she succeeded.

A heavy heart wasn’t nice, but as she climbed fr

om the truck and made her way to where they stood, she felt like she didn’t belong, which was soon put into words.

“What’s she doing here?” the woman sobbed into Mateo’s shoulder.

Mateo briefly met her gaze and he let her see the apology in his eyes. But then it was gone and he turned his attention back to Allie. “She was with me in the truck.”

“Make her go,” she begged. “Please, Mateo. I don’t want her here.”

Shock hit her in the stomach when she realized that Mateo was actually listening to Allie’s words. Surely Mateo wouldn’t ask her to leave. Would he?

“Erin, I’m sorry.” He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I’ll call the house and get someone to come get you.”

He did not just send her away?

Allie started to sob again into Mateo’s chest.

“Erin, please just go and wait at the Bistro. I’m going to follow the ambulance in my truck with Allie.”

Hurt and bewildered at how Mateo treated her, Erin didn’t know whether she should be more firm and stand her ground or whether to give him what he asked.

“You have to go past the road to your parent’s place to get to the hospital, right? So just quickly stop and let me jump out.” She held her breath and waited for a response, which wasn’t long in coming.

“That will work…Shit, I’m sorry, Erin. I shouldn’t be abandoning you in town or anywhere.” Mateo held a hand out to her, which she took and let him intertwine their fingers together.

“I don’t want her in the truck with us,” Allie wined. “Please, Mateo. It’s my brother…I don’t want anyone.” She looked up at Mateo with eyes that begged. “Please let it be just us? I can’t be with anyone else right now.”