Page 50 of My Secret Bandit

“Yeah, Jams!” John cheered, pumping his fist into the air, furthering my embarrassment.

“Oh my God.“ I hid my face in his chest, his laugh reverberating through it.

“I missed you too, baby.” He wrapped his arms around me, giving me one last squeeze and a kiss on my head before taking my hand and pulling me to his table.

“I’m so sorry.” I smiled sheepishly at the group.

“This is Taylor, Alec, and Quincy.” Mateo went around the table introducing me to each of the men. They all stood and took their turn to give me tight hugs.

Quincy sat down and said, “Damn, Mattie. Now we see how she stole your heart so quick.”

I blushed, looking up at Mateo, who also sported the smallest bit of pinkness on his cheeks.

“Also,” Alec started with a wag of his hand, “never apologize for getting excited or kissing your man.”

“Seriously, trust us. We’ve seen our fair share of hot ’n heavy couples,” Taylor finished his teammate’s thoughts. “Although,” he said, tapping a fingertip to his lip, “this is the first time I’veeverseen Mattie do it.“ He looked to the other two men, who nodded in agreement. He leaned from the booth and gave a lighthearted punch to Mateo’s shoulder. “Love looks good on you, man.”

His blush curved into his dimples. He gently pushed me back over to my table without a word.

Since that first night, I’d never seen Mateo blush or even the slightest bit embarrassed. This was a new side of him, and I loved it.

“Nice to meet y’all!” I said over his shoulder.

Mateo’s body tensed when he saw my table. His stare lingered on Kyle while his arm wrapped tight around my waist.

In hindsight, I probably should’ve given him a warning, but the thought didn’t cross my mind until it was too late. I gave his other hand a small squeeze of reassurance before I introduced him to the boys.

John and Derek happily—and mildly star-struck—shook his hand while Kyle took a minute to unclench himself before he moved to give Mateo a rough handshake.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward as hell to watch,” Sierra chimed in, jumping to her feet to hug Mateo.

“Miss Feisty! How’s it going?” Mateo laughed, returning her hug.

“Can’t complain,” she said. I scooted in behind her as the server handed our meals out.

“I’ll let you eat. Nice to meet you guys,” Mateo said, leaning closer to me. “You’re still coming over tonight, right?”

I nodded, slightly surprised because before now we didn’t have plans together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kyle’s fork stop halfway to his mouth before he sat it down and cleared his throat. Mateo smiled his signature smirk before kissing me and going back to his table.

For the better part of our meal, we ate in silence. The tension Sierra mentioned returned tenfold. The familiarity and camaraderie from before up and left. Completely vanished. I waited for John to crack a joke or Sierra to say something, anything to make it less awkward.

My phone buzzing caught the entire table’s attention. With eight eyes on me, I gingerly picked it up to see the new message.

Mateo: Hi.

I bit down to hold in my snicker. With how tightly the tension gripped the air around us, I wanted no part in making it stronger. Looking around the heads of John and Alec, Mateo looked down while the men around him ate when my phone vibrated again.

Mateo: I can’t wait until we get home. You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve missed you.

Me: Quick question.

Mateo: Whatever it is. Yes. A million times yes.

Me: Wow! Awfully brave, sir.

Mateo: Anything for you, Jameson. I’ll tell you time and time again until you believe it.

Me: What if it’s something crazy? Like finishing your food shirtless? Or taking on John and committing a Woodpecker?

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