His eyes narrow very slightly. He doesn’t appreciate her arguing with him, denying his requests. She usually doesn’t, so I can see why it’s throwing him. Finally, after a moment of reluctance, he says, “Maybe you don’t remember how your night went last time I pissed him off and he made a scene at dinner.”
Mia flushes again, with embarrassment or anger, I’m not sure. “I do remember that, as a matter of fact. I’m still going home.”
“Mia…”
Offering a sweet smile that for once doesn’t ring true, she meets his gaze and shoots back, “Mateo, I think you and I both know I can survive a little roughness.”
My jaw inches open again, but I catch it this time.
He can’t say a damn thing to that in front of Meg, so Mia nods at him, then glances at the rest of us, adding, “I’ll see you ladies next weekend at the shower. Bye, Sal.”
As she walks away Mateo watches her, murmuring almost to himself, “Huh.”
Mia rescues Vince from Adrian, looping an arm around his waist, and then they’re gone without so much as another backward glance.
“Well, that was…” Meg shrugs, unusually at a loss. “I don’t know what that was. I’m tired, I’m going to bed.” Leaning in to give Mateo a kiss, she braces a hand on his chest and looks up at him teasingly. “Care to join me? I’d like a demonstration of this roughness you apparently doled out to Mia.”
Smirking faintly, he asks, “Oh, would you?”
“Mm hmm,” she murmurs, molding herself against him for another kiss. His arms snake around her waist and he kisses her for several seconds before she breaks away and backs toward the stairs. “Good night, Castellanos, goodnight future Castellanos.” Then, to Mateo, she adds, “Don’t you keep me waiting too long, mister.”
I make no attempt to hide my revulsion when Mateo turns back to face us. My mouth opens and closes, but I can’t find words.
Sal’s hand goes around my waist and he speaks before I can. “Well, we’re gonna get out of here.”
I am appalled. “But—”
Sal covers my mouth with his other hand. “Nope.”
I mutter a muffled “but” and he shakes his head, not moving his hand.
Mateo smiles at me. “I like him.”
Before I can properly lecture my brother about his absolute depravity, Sal hauls me out of the house.
Once we’re in the car on our way back his house, Mateo may be safe from my mouth, but Sal sure isn’t.
“Oh, my God. That is hands-down the craziest family dinner we’ve had in a long time. What was that? Meg is a psycho. She’s insane. She just purposely evoked memories of him with Mia to seduce her own fiancé.”
“In her defense, she didn’t know what she was suggesting. If she actually meant, ‘hey, can we reenact how you raped Mia? ‘Cause that sounds sexy,’ then, yeah, psychopath, but she doesn’t know.”
I shudder dramatically, shaking out my hands and closing my eyes. “I need an exorcism.”
“Your family needs a dedicated team of psychiatrists, psychologists and priests.”
I can’t stop shaking my head and being generally repulsed, but after a few minutes I come to a decision I’m not sure Sal will approve of.
“I have an idea.”
Sighing, Sal says, “Let’s hear it.”
“It’s not about Mateo’s love life. You’ll think it is, but it’s not.”
“Out with it.”
“I don’t want dates invited to the rehearsal dinner. I know that’s not how it’s usually done, but you saw how tonight went. Mark and Mia are not only in the bridal party together, but the maid of honor and best man. They’re walking down the aisle together. And since Mark likes Mia, he’ll probably joke around about it. Mateo will also be there since he’s giving me away. I don’t want Vince there. It won’t go well. But I can’t just make Vince stay home because that’s mean, so I say, fuck it, the people in the wedding can come, but they need to leave their respective lovers at home.”
Sal rocks his head left, then right. “Before tonight I may have argued, but I think you’re right. Let Mia focus on the wedding and not handling her horde of psycho suitors.” Glancing over at me he adds, “I wanted to give her a high five when she gave Mateo a taste of his own medicine back there. I mean, it didn’t work as well since Meg is much cooler than Vince, but good for her.”
“Yeah, he must have really pissed her off. She normally doesn’t talk back to him. Especially like that—that was a borderline threat. I wouldn’t have even had the balls to say something like that to him, and I’m me.”
“I think Meg handles him just fine, though. I know you think Mia has the magic touch, and I’ll admit she deflated Vince’s rage in record time, but Meg watched him fuck around with Mia all day long and still had good cheer and bedroom eyes for him at the end of the day. I think you’ve misread her.”