Page 129 of Star Crossed
“Winner!” Tino ran his finger under the letters to better emphasize his point. “I killed it!”
“I was there,” Jules reminded him. The race had been exciting. The last five hundred yards had been a head-to-head sprint the whole way. “A photo finish.”
“Fucking second place.” Chuito shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe that. I’ve won the past two years, then thispendejoshows up.”
“I guess Tino’s done more running in his life than you.” Romeo arched an eyebrow at Chuito. “And that’s probably saying something.”
“Yeah, no shit, this guy can book it. Thug.” Tino pushed at Chuito’s shoulder. “I’ll bring my sick trophy over to the office for you to admire on a regular basis.”
Chuito kicked at the back of Tino’s calf, forcing him to fall to one leg in the grass. Instead of complaining or retaliating, he simply held up the trophy in his hand and kissed it with exaggerated flair as he looked mockingly at Chuito.
“Hey, take a picture of me.” Tino popped up like an overenthusiastic puppy. “We’ll text it to Nova.”
“We’ve sent him at least twenty pictures today.” Romeo pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up. “I don’t think he gives a shit about this race. He has real problems, Valentino.”
“Nah, he cares,” Tino said with confidence as he held up the trophy in front of him. He flashed a dazzling smile for the camera. After Romeo took the picture, Tino dropped to his knees next to Jules and held the trophy in front of her stomach. “Take one withZioTino.”
Romeo laughed and took another picture.
“Take it sideways so Nova can see how huge she’s getting.”
“Get off me.” Jules shoved at his shoulder and then hit the back of his head for good measure. “I’m not huge.”
“It’s all baby.” Tino rubbed her stomach affectionately. “They’re big, strong boys like their Zio Tino.”
“How gigantic are these kids gonna be?” Chuito asked as Romeo took a picture of Jules’s stomach sideways. “You’re both like—supersize.”
Jules gave him a look. “Thank you, Chuito.”
The skies chose that moment to open up, and the rain came hard and fast, forcing them to make a dash toward Hal’s around the corner. Jules wasn’t supposed to be running. She walked fast, and Romeo stayed with her. By the time they got to Hal’s, Tino and Chuito had already pulled a table up next to the booth Clay, Melody, and Wyatt were sitting at.
They were drenched. They couldn’t have gotten any wetter if they’d stood in the shower fully dressed for an hour, and Jules shivered once they hit the air conditioning.
“You want me to see if I can find you a towel?” Romeo asked in concern.
“You need one as badly as I do.” Jules stomped her feet on the mat to get the mud off her sneakers, but the entire diner was filled with soaked, muddy runners and the floors had long since been ruined. She leaned back into Romeo as they walked to the booth. She ran a hand down his chest, admiring the outline of his muscles through the thin, white T-shirt that was clinging to him like a second skin from the rain. “It’s like a show.”
“I’ll give you a show.” Romeo gave her a wide, amused smile that lit up his face. “All you gotta do is ask.”
Jules giggled as they came up to the table. “Hey, y’all.”
“You look like you just took a bath with your clothes on,” Melody said with a laugh. “You wanna towel?”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” Jules agreed as she sat next to her brother. Romeo sat on her other side at the table next to Tino and his precious trophy. Romeo scooted his seat close to her as Jules looked around the diner with trepidation. “You’re gonna have to smuggle that towel out here. Looks like plenty of folks could use one.”
“If they take a towel from a woman pregnant with twins, then they’re gonna have me to deal with,” Wyatt said darkly as he took a bite of his meat loaf.
Wyatt’s words were punctuated by his sheriff’s uniform. He was the only other person at the table without a 5K shirt. He’d left after the race to get ready for work rather than enjoy the festivities. Even Melody had earned herself one. She and Clay looked adorably coordinated as they sat side by side.
“I’ll sneak it.” Melody slid out of the booth and headed to the back of the diner despite being off work.
Jules winced. “I feel guilty ’cause there is certainly a high demand for towels. I have never seen so many wet and dirty folks shoved into one place.”
“Anyone’s got a problem with it, they can talk to me.” Wyatt reached over and patted her stomach affectionately. “We got to take care of my retirement plan.”
“You call my sons your retirement plan one more time and I’ll—”
Jules was cut off when Romeo leaned over and kissed her. Then he smiled against her lips. “Stress isn’t good for you. I read—”
