“No, Cal, don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think.”
“Gladly. I think you better call Gus right now and explain to her before she sees those photos.”
Augusta. “Shit.” I patted my pockets for my phone and cursed again. “Give me your phone.”
Cal handed it over with a sympathetic smile. “Good luck.”
She answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Cal?”
“It’s Antonio. Don’t hang up.” The phone call ended before the request was even out of my mouth. “She hung up.”
Cal let out a low whistle and shook his head. “I’m sorry, man. Let her cool down and then explain what happened. Gus is a reasonable woman, just give her time.”
I glanced at the clock on the oven and sighed. “She’s supposed to be coming for dinner in less than an hour.”
“Oh. I’ll stay until then if you want?”
I nodded. “Thanks man.” I shook my head as I washed and breaded the fish for tacos. “She won’t understand.”
“She might.”
I looked up at my best friend. “Seriously?”
Cal shrugged. “Teddy thinks she’ll be pissed you didn’t tell her when you came back from New York.”
“I told Trishelle I wouldn’t sign a release form, and I figured she couldn’t use the footage.”
“Ah. You figured you wouldn’t have to tell anyone about it, specifically Augusta. Why?”
“Because I was trying to avoid this.” I shook my head. Augusta, if she showed up, would be angry, maybe hurt. “This is exactly why I don’t like to get involved.” Getting involved with a woman always came with complications and I told myself I was done with that when I left Trishelle.
“You’re not involved,” Cal shot back with a shrug and a knowing smile. “You said she knew the score, which means you’re not involved.”
Yeah I said that, but now I wasn’t so sure. “Cal,” I groaned.
“What? Those were your words. Right?”
“Yeah, I said it but I’m not sure if that was the truth.” There, I admitted it. “I like Augusta. I like spending time with her, cooking for her and sleeping with her. But…hell, man, I don’t know.”
Cal huffed out a laugh. “We never know, that’s what makes love so scary.”
“It’s not love,” I growled.
Cal ignored me. “How do you think I felt, knowing that I was falling for my best friend’s sister? I couldn’t do a damn thing about how I felt for Teddy, even knowing that it might ruin our friendship.”
“I said it’s not love.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. The point is, you’re worried about how Gus will react to those photos which means you give a damn.”
“Of course, I give a damn. She’s great and I don’t want to hurt her.” Gus didn’t deserve to get caught up with the drama my ex-wife created.
Cal sighed and stood just as the doorbell rang. “That’s a good place to start. I’ll call you later. Good luck.” He slipped out the back door while I went to open the front door for Augusta.
I smiled at the sight she made in a denim skirt and a green V-neck t-shirt. It was a modest outfit, cute rather than sexy. “Augusta. You look beautiful. Come in.” I leaned forward to greet her with a kiss and she ducked away from me.
“I’m here because Rosie invited me and I don’t want to let her down. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
My shoulders fell in disappointment. This wouldn’t be easy. “I’m sorry, Augusta.”
She stepped inside, careful not to touch me, and shook her head. “I don’t need an apology, Antonio. I know the score.” Her green eyes pierced a hole into me until realization dawned.
She heard me at The Outpost. “That was out of context,” I tried to explain. “The guys were giving me a hard time and I was trying to make them stop.”
“At my expense? Got it.”
Okay, that didn’t help. “No, not at your expense. I just didn’t want to talk about it, hell I had no idea what to say about it.”
Augusta held up a hand and shook her head. “It’s fine, Antonio. I knew you weren’t serious about me, and you were quite clear that wasn’t part of your plan and I still slept with you. No hard feelings.”
“No hard feelings? You sound angry and you hung up on me earlier.”
“Fine,” she spat out. “There are some hard feelings, but not because I expected you to fall in love with me or for this to turn into something more than a fling. I’m upset because, it doesn’t matter. I am upset now, but I won’t be for much longer.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if she needed to protect herself from me, and watching that was like a drop-kick to the gut. “I just wish you would have told me.”
Now I was angry. “So you just believe everything you read, Augusta? You don’t even want to hear my side of the story?”