Rooted (Pagano Family #3)(20)
Rosa stirred then and giggled. “Take me to bed, Mountain Man!” At least, Carmen thought that was what she’d said. Her mouth and tongue weren’t exactly on the same wavelength. But Eli looked embarrassed, and maybe a little annoyed, so yeah…Rosa had said something along those lines.
Carmen hoped her sister would black out. She didn’t need to remember this display. As she indicated to Eli that he should follow her to Rosa’s room, Carmen noticed that her little skirt had hiked up. She was wearing a thong, and Eli’s hand was smack on her bare ass.
He saw her notice and had the courtesy to look sheepish. “Sorry…I just…it shifted and…”
“It’s fine. Let’s just get her tucked in.”
Carmen turned the covers back, and Eli laid Rosa down—gently, gentlemanly. Suddenly somber, with a chance of weepy, she grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry if you think I’m a slut or something and hate me.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I don’t. I think you’re drunk. Sleep it off, Jersey Shore. Big day tomorrow, remember.”
Carmen didn’t even have to ask why he’d called her Jersey Shore. She didn’t like it, but she knew what he meant. She’d thought the same thing herself. That was kind of the whole point of being in Paris—to shake the cliché off Rosa’s shoulders.
Rosa’s hand went slack and fell away, and she rolled over. “Fancy date,” she mumbled and then was quiet.
Eli gave Carmen another sheepish look and then left the room, closing the door after him. Carmen settled her baby sister better in bed, taking off her sandals—and oh, her feet looked sore—and removing her bigger jewelry. She’d have to sleep in her clothes and makeup, though.
As Carmen tucked her in, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, Theo was standing there with a copper pot from the rack in the kitchen. “I thought she might need this?”
Carmen grinned and took the pot. “Good thinking.” She set the pot on the floor next to the bed, closed the curtains, and then left Rosa to sleep it off.
When she came back into the living room, the Wilde men were still there, in the midst of an argument on low volume. Theo was clearly pissed about the state Rosa had been returned in, and Eli was angry that he was being blamed. Jordan watched his family argue as if he were at a tennis match, his head swiveling back and forth, occasionally trying to intercede.
Carmen went to Theo and pulled on his arm, trying to back him off. “It’s okay. Rosa’s an adult. She makes her own choices.” She turned to Eli. “I assume you weren’t force feeding her booze?”
“No! I tried to get her to stop, and then she copped a big ‘tude about who was I to tell her what to do. So I shut up and kept an eye on her.”
Yep. Sounded like typical Rosa. Wild and then weepy. “You did fine. Thank you for keeping track of her. What did she drink?”
Jordan answered. “Banana daiquiris, mostly. And Jell-O shots.”
Well, crap. That was going to make a mess on the way back up. Gross. Carmen sighed. “How much?”
“A lot,” Jordan answered. “We did three of the shots, and then we moved to the daiquiris. Like six, maybe? At least?”
“You seem awfully sober, if you drank with her.” That was Theo, giving his younger son a censorious glare.
“I only had two. She was drinking them like Slurpees.”
The night was turning into a clusterf*ck, and Carmen hadn’t gotten the kind of f*ck she’d been going for, so she was not in the mood to stand here and watch these guys figure out who to blame and for what. “Enough. Thanks for bringing her home. Thanks for dinner. Whatever. I’ve got it from here. Good night.” She went to the front door and opened it.
Abashed, all three Wilde men headed in a line for the door. Eli went first, muttering “Sorry” on his way past. Jordan stopped at the threshold. “Wait—what about tomorrow? Shopping and dinner and all that? We’re still on, right?” His eyes pleaded at her.
“Jordan, go on, son.” Theo was standing right behind him.
But Jordan didn’t move. “Carmen?”
She sighed. “I have no idea. Right now, I don’t care. But I guess it’s up to Rosa and how she feels tomorrow.”
“We don’t have phone numbers! We need phone numbers!”
“I got it, Jordan. Go on.” Theo put his hand on his son’s shoulder and pushed him gently forward. “You and Eli go on down and wait.”
Jordan nodded and walked on, meeting Eli at the elevator. Theo watched until his sons closed the cage and started downward. Carmen watched Theo. When he turned back to her, he smiled. His face was wonderful—those dimples, the square jaw, the cleft in his chin. His blue eyes, serious and witty at the same time. “I’m sorry about all this. But I’m going to want to collect on the rain check soon. Can I have your number?”
“I don’t know, Theo. Maybe this is a bad idea.”
He stepped up, pushing her against the open door, and looked down at her, his eyes intent. “Why?”
Jesus, he smelled good. Carmen couldn’t identify what it was—not cologne, not bourbon (maybe a little bourbon), and, sadly, not sex. Just…good. Without intending to, she took a deep breath, and his scent made her tingle way down low. She blinked and cleared her head, trying to get control of herself before she did something stupid like grabbing him and dragging him to the sofa. There was a question in the air between them that she needed to answer.