I would’ve been okay with not car shopping, so Zack could enjoy a day off. But the idea of having him all to myself again appealed to me. I needed to get a grip. “Uh, I hadn’t thought about it. I assumed you had other things to do.”
“I could use the extra money.”
And… crashing back to earth. “Of course.”
His mom sighed and shook her head at Zack. “Let’s not be late to dinner or Cara will be annoyed.”
Zack reached behind the door and pulled out a wheelchair. He pushed it up against the bed and leaned over to scoop up his mom.
Favianne swatted him away. “I can do it, Tesoro. You all treat me like an invalid. I can still walk when I need to.” She dragged her legs over and scooted off the bed. Zack repositioned the chair so the seat touched the back of her knees and she slowly lowered to the chair. He wheeled her out of the room to the dinner table.
Whatever Cara was cooking, it smelled heavenly. Garlic, basil and bell pepper. Mmm. Something else too. Sausage?
Cara and the two younger boys occupied one side of the table. Both ends were vacant until Zack wheeled his mom to one of them. He pulled out a chair for me next to her and sat on my other side. “Aunt Cara, did you cook the meat separately? Autumn is a vegetarian.” He glanced at me as an afterthought. “Or have you gone carnivore?”
I chuckled. “Still vegetarian. So far.” A giant bowl of salad sat at the other end of the table, but I’d skip that today. I got plenty of that kind of food at home.
“It’s mixed into the pasta and cream sauce, but they’re big pieces. You could easily pick it out. Unless you don’t like the juice either.” Cara bit her lip and furrowed her brows, but it wasn’t her fault no one told her I didn’t eat meat.
“It’s totally fine. I don’t mind picking it out. Thank you.” It smelled so heavenly, I wanted to eat it right then, meat and all. But considering how I’d devoured the hamburger, I didn’t want to open myself up to anything new just yet. At least, not in front of Zack and his family.
Cara went around the table with a large bowl and a pair of tongs, filling everyone’s plate with the pasta.
I stared down at my serving. It smelled mouth-watering and I determined to hold out until everyone had been served.
“Uncle Mac, this is Autumn,” Zack said.
I’d been too wrapped up in the aroma of the food to notice the big man with massive shoulders and light reddish-brown hair who now sat at the other end of the table. The red explained why Trevor and Zack’s coloring were so different.
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled.
“You too. Welcome.” He returned my smile, then eyed his plate. “Smells great, babe.”
Cara finished serving him, then returned to her chair. Once he took the first bite, everyone else began eating. We didn’t do that at my house, but there were only three of us. The bigger the family, the more rules, I supposed.
“Did Maya get a hold of you?” Trevor asked me.
My phone hadn’t rung all day. If it had, I would’ve heard it. “I think my cell is at home. Why? What’s up?”
“We’re going to Santa Monica Pier after dinner. Wanna come with us?”
If Zack didn’t go, I’d be a third wheel. If he did, it would be an awkward double date again. Or maybe not so awkward. Zack had been well-behaved the last few hours. “Uhm.”
“You’re coming, Zack?” Trevor asked.
“Sure. I’ll walk Autumn home after dinner to get her phone and we’ll meet you and Maya back here.”
I didn’t remember agreeing to go, but when Zack was being nice, saying no was much more difficult. Seeing his mom’s face, I realized resistance was futile. Not that I wanted to put up a fight, but I hoped his mom wouldn’t be too disappointed when he didn’t marry me. “This is yummy, Cara. Thank you so much for having me over,” I said, trying not to think about Zack’s sweet side and all the things it could lead to, but probably wouldn’t.
When everyone finished eating and dispersed, Zack began clearing the table. I thought he was going to set everything on the counter or in the sink and then bail. Instead, he dumped the leftovers down the disposal and loaded the plates into the dishwasher.
“I can wipe everything down. What should I use?” I asked.
He tossed me a sponge. I snuck a peek at him now and then as I cleaned. Even though it was hopeless, seeing him be domestic upped his market value. He even loaded the dishwasher correctly with everything orderly. By the time I finished, he’d started on the pots and pans. Impressive. And incredibly sexy.
With everything in its place, he washed and dried his hands. “Let’s say goodnight to my mom before we go.”