Page 17 of Look My Way
Carino.
I hope you find this in time. I like to think you will since I’m a big believer of things happening when they’re meant to, and I just know we’re supposed to have lunch tomorrow.
Anyway, let me get to the main reason for this note. The restaurant is called Rosario’s, and it’s across the street from the diner. You can’t miss the big red and white sign. I’ll be waiting for you at 12:30. I’ll see you then.
Z
Carino.I know what that means because I’ve used it in a book before. My ears buzz as I hear it being said in his silky smooth tone. A shiver runs through me. Daniel never calls me anything but baby, and I don’t mind it, but the endearment has never hadme glowing from the inside out like this one does. It’s only a word on a paper, though. But he meant it just for me, much like this note. He knew I’d find it, and I’m glad I have my morning routine of coming out here while I have my breakfast.
He somehow knew I would. Daniel plays the guessing game, getting it wrong more than right when trying to prove how well he knows me. This man and I have only been around each other three times, but this letter and where I found it makes it feel like so much longer.
Holding it to my chest, I sit in my chair and lean back. I lift my face to the sun and close my eyes, seeing Zavier in my mind, smiling at me in a way meant for me as much as this note and the word carino are.
Mi carinois what I hear in my head for the rest of the morning and for the next few hours. He’s the one coming home to me at the end of the day. He’s the one pressing a kiss to my cheek at night and fucking into me in my bed as he ensures I feel the ache for days without asking.
Picturing myself as my MC helps me immerse myself deeper into the story and find my groove. That’s all I’m doing. I’m using the fantasy of him and me to finish my book so I can meet my deadline. It’s so much easier to convince myself it’s the truth when my fingers are moving fast across the keys, picking up the pace that matches the scenes unfolding in my head. All this is what my characters need to do to reach their happily ever after. It’s not what I’m hoping to live out myself.
“Meet me at El Maguey at noon, carino,” Lorenzo says in a text to Lex. But the other man doesn’t respond back, arriving at the restaurant five minutes late to keep Lorenzo on his toes so he can do the same to him times two.
No, this is not what I want for myself at all. This is all for Lex—the name I gave to Zavier after I pushed him out of the way of the fast-moving car.
Nine
Zavier
It’s exactly twelve thirty-five when Liam walks through the front door of the restaurant. He pushes his glasses up his nose, gaze bouncing all over the room until finally landing on me. There goes that sweet blush I love so much. His hair is getting a little long, and he brushes the front strands from his eyes. It’s the perfect length to pull on as he looks back at me, screaming my name.
Would he like that? Me hurting him because it feels good. Because he likes proving to himself and others around him how much he can handle. How strong he is. Doing some more digging, I’ve learned about his illness, and it makes sense why Daniel was treating him like he’s about to break at any moment. His forced smile was all I needed to see to know he needs a break from it, though.
My mom battled cancer most of her life and was the strongest person I knew. She never let her bad days hold her back and didn’t like being defined by the struggles she battled daily. They were a part of her but not all that she was.
Daniel always treats him like he’s sick, doesn’t he? Or does he do what my dad did to my mom? Using it to control Liam, to keep him under his rules and thumb.
“Hey,” he says with a partial smile, pulling out the chair across from me. Taking a seat, he scoots forward, placing the tips of his fingers on the menu in front of him.
“Hey back,” I quip, resting a cheek on my closed fist with my elbow on the table. “Glad to see you got my note.”
“I did. That was very sneaky and veryLake House.”
I tilt my head. “Lake House?”
Shaking his head, he snorts. “It’s a romance film, and they communicate with notes for most of it.”
“Oh. I haven’t seen that one. Is it any good?” I play with the straw in my cup, lowering my face to the table.
His lips move from side to side, and he shrugs. “It’s alright. I’ve only seen it once, and it was so long ago I don’t even remember how it ended.”
“Sounds like that’s an opportunity to watch it again with someone who hasn’t.” I flit my eyes to him, studying the blush spreading down his neck.
“I . . . maybe.”
“How about next week sometime? You can come to my place, and I’ll even allow you to pet my dust animals,” I say between deep chuckles.
He sputters a laugh. “Okay. I’m free Thursday.”
“Thursday it is. I get off work at six. Is eight okay with you?”
“Yeah. Eight is fine.” He goes without blinking for too long. Will Daniel not be home, or is he trying to figure out a way to sneak away without the creep noticing? I can help him withthat if so, but I might take things too far, making him go away for good so we no longer have to worry about which days he’s working. Then all my carino’s days can be with me.
