“Bone,” Selena corrected. “Yes. You are like a dog with a bone. You don’t relent.”
“Yes. A dog with a bone. You Americans have the most interesting phrases! I love your language.”
“English?”
Gianna laughed and her eyes sparkled. “There’s American English and British English. They are so different! Dramatically different and both are so fascinating!” Then those eyes narrowed. “You try to change the subject but I not let it work,” she admonished. “What hurt your soul before we left? You looked like your heart began aching.”
Selena laughed, shaking her head at the woman’s perception of drama. “Nothing so horrible as that. I just thought I saw someone who was angry. And I wanted to know why.”
“Ah, you are in love with our handsome leader! I thought so!”
Selena pulled back, horrified! “Reid? No! I’m not in love with him. I just…he looked upset and I…”
Another tilt of her head and Gianna asked, “Why would you be embarrassed by being in love? It is wonderful! Love is the fruit that gives flavor to life! It makes us smile and gives us pleasure!” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “If the man knows what he is doing, that is!” and she laughed, delighted. “Most men,” another slice of the air, “they fumble and mess up. But I think that Reid, he never fumbles, eh?”
Selena had never had such a blatant conversation. “Um…well…” she couldn’t stop the blush.
“Yes!” Gianna clapped her hands gleefully. “He is good! Reid gives you immense pleasure so he is a good man!” She sighed. “His brother is…not! I doubt that man knows the difference between a man and a woman!”
. “Do you mean Brant?” she asked, both horrified and fascinated. “Are you…?” she started off.
The waiter arrived with their meals and Selena paused, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. Reid and Brant were powerful men in the Denver business world and she didn’t want any disparaging comments to float around about either of them.
When the waiter departed, Selena turned back to her new friend. “Are you and Brant…?”
“Having sex?” she finished bluntly. “Never! The man is a goon! He is a termagant! He is a…” she stopped, waving her hand in the air as if trying to find another word.
“Do you mean buffoon?” Selena suggested carefully, not wanting to tease Gianna for her use of the wrong word because she had a beautiful grasp of the English language. One hundred percent better than Selena’s knowledge of any other language. Her knowledge of Spanish was basic at best. She’d taken French classes in high school and college, but because there wasn’t any place to practice using the language, Selena had lost her knowledge over the years.
“Yes!” she nodded. “He is a buffoon! A stick in the dirt!”
“Mud,” Selena offered.
“That too!” she said, pointing at Selena with her fork to emphasize her words. “An absolute stick in the dirt and mud!”
Selena laughed. “I never would have thought you would be attracted to a man like Brant Jones.”
Gianna shivered. “Never would I be attracted to a man like that! He is cold and soulless!” She stopped, peering shrewdly at Selena. “And you changed the subject again.”’
Selena covered her mouth, trying to smother her amusement. “I didn’t really change the subject. You sort of went off on a tangent.”
She leaned forward. “What is this tangent? I know not of this word.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied. “You were talking about how annoying Brant Jones is.”
“No! We were discussing you and your love for Reid Jones.” She stabbed the pasta and spun the fork, twisting the pasta onto the spoon.
And…they were back. “I’m not in love with him.”
“And yet, you are making love with him every night. I know this is true but your love is recent, yes?”
“Uh…”
“Yes! You’ve only been with him intimately for a week, maybe two.” She smiled when Selena’s mouth fell open. “I see the glow in your smile and you walk with a delighted bounce to your step now. Before…when I first met you, there was a sadness to you. A…” she snapped her fingers again. “A timidity. Is that the word? Yes! You were timid.” She shook her head. “No. Timid means that you were scared. You not scared. You were…reluctant,” she finished. “Yes. That is the word for you. Reluctant. Now you embrace life more!”