“Technically, it is… I am in business with at least five of the men here tonight!” He responded defensively.
“But this isn’t really business is it? This is your precious little football game, the one I wasn’t good enough to be invited to until after I threatened to leave you!”
“You said that you wanted to meet my friends,” he seemed genuinely baffled. “Now when I give you that opportunity, you go crazy! I don’t understand you at all…”
“The only reason you brought me here tonight was because you thought it would appease me. Throw the vicious dog a bone and it’ll soon be eating out of your hand!”
“More like vicious bitch,” he muttered beneath his breath and when he realised that she had heard him, he shrugged unrepentantly. “If you’re going to be using animal metaphors, you may as well get it right.”
“Fine, I’m a bitch… whatever!” She knew her response was childish but she was feeling more than a little put out by the situation.
“Look, I don’t understand why you’re so angry when you said you wanted to meet them.”
“A year ago… Eighteen months ago even but not now! Don’t you realise that this is too little too late?” She shook her head in frustration. “It’s like putting a band-aid on an amputation!”
“You’re being over-dramatic as usual,” he dismissed scathingly.
“Oh you knew what my reaction would be and the only reason you knew that was because you recognised how inadequate and pathetic this gesture really is.”
“And how do you figure that?” He asked defensively, crossing his arms over his broad chest and glaring down his beautiful nose at her.
“Why else would you be so sneaky about bringing me here?”
“Maybe that’s because you’ve been so ridiculous about going anywhere with me lately!” He snapped angrily. “I knew you’d refuse if I asked you to come here tonight, so I had to fabricate a business dinner. Recently you’ve done nothing but over-react to everything I say and do, as well as completely misread my intentions, so I couldn’t take the chance. I was hoping that for once I’d be wrong about you… but sure enough you had to go and be unreasonable about this too. You’re so determined to put a negative slant on everything I do these days, that you’re not willing to accept anything at face value. There are no ulterior motives here… I realised that you had a point about never meeting my friends, I realised that I have been… unfair and I wanted a chance to make it right,” she bit her lip, unwilling to trust him but unable to resist the earnestness in his eyes. He looked like he actually meant his words.
“Don’t you realise how foolish I feel?” She suddenly whispered, lowering her gaze to her feet. “Meeting them now… what must they think of me? I feel like I’m on display… your mystery wife who has shunned them for more than a year.” He took a hesitant step toward her before wrapping his arms around her and dropping his forehead to hers. He brought his hands up to cup her face.
“They’ll know whose fault it was, Theresa… I’ll make sure of that,” he promised huskily.
“How?”
“I’ll get them to believe that I really was too possessive to share you with them. They’ll think that I wanted you all to myself.”
“But that would make you look…” she struggled to find the correct word. “… insecure.”
“Maybe…” he shrugged carelessly. “Or maybe they’ll take one look at you and understand why I’d react like that.”
“What do you…” his thumbs pressed to her soft lips, silencing the question.
“Silly little Theresa,” he chided softly. “I may not have said it much, or at all for that matter but you’re so beautiful I ache just looking at you sometimes.” She wasn’t beautiful; she knew she wasn’t but just this once she wanted to believe him, especially since he seemed to mean it. She had never seen such stark honesty in his eyes before and it warmed her down to her toes. He leaned even closer, his lips just millimetres away from hers when an amused voice had them leaping guiltily apart.
“Come on guys, your honeymoon ended a year and five months ago. Give it a rest!” It was Gabe, coming up behind them. Theresa went a fiery red, while Sandro merely frowned, hunching his shoulders and dropping his hands into his pockets. He slanted a quick and inscrutable look at Theresa, who immediately averted her eyes. She couldn’t think about that achingly sweet moment and she certainly couldn’t wonder about that near-kiss, not right then.
She was quiet on the drive home and still confusing reality with fantasy. Sandro‘s friends had been lovely and she’d enjoyed cheering them on from the sidelines. She had been a bit uncomfortable around the other wives and girlfriends at first but they’d been so genuinely welcoming that Theresa had relaxed almost immediately. Sandro’s constant attention had helped a lot. He would often trot over to where she was sitting to ask if she was okay, if she needed anything, if she was warm enough and it had become embarrassing after a while, especially when his friends had started ribbing him about it. Theresa had known, of course, that it was all an act but it had still been a heady sensation to have his entire focus on her like that. Theresa had found the actual football game surprisingly riveting, especially since she had been unable to tear her eyes off of her graceful, talented husband. Afterwards they’d had a barbecue and again, Sandro had been constantly attentive and almost affectionate, holding her hand or wrapping his arm around her shoulders. After the initial awkwardness, Theresa had found herself relaxing more and more.