Tori clutched Les’s hand as they walked into Carnita Joe’s. It felt weird being here with him for dinner, not on her own or with those other two. They followed the hostess to a table and slid into a booth.

Maria walked up to their table, order pad in hand. “Haven’t seen you in here for a while.”

“It’s only been a week or two,” Tori said.

“That’s a long time when you are typically here three nights a week.” She turned her attention to Les and prattled off something in Spanish, an angry tone to her words.

Tori watched with wide eyes and then turned to Les when she left. “What did you do?”

“Why are you blaming me?”

“It sounded like she was blaming you.” Tori stopped speaking and straightened as the bus boy delivered chips and salsa.

She dipped a chip into the spicy sauce and began crunching.

“Sofi is her prima. I guess there is some drama going on between her and Hank,” Les explained.

“So why yell at you?”

“Mi amor, that is something you are going to learn fast if you are with me. You are your family. And mi primos are my brothers. We take care of each other, and we have each other’s backs. And in this case, Hank needs someone who cares to go bash his head in for messing up with Sofi. He needs to set it straight.”

“I thought they were serious,” Tori said. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been a little focused.” Les smiled.

Tori felt a flush creep up her neck. Since becoming romantic, they had been a little out of touch with the rest of the world.

“But if cousins are involved, it’s big, or it’s being blown all out of proportion. I’ll call him later.”

Maria returned, her fist on her hip, and looked at Les. “Well? What are you planning on doing about it?”

“I’ll bash his head in and make him see sense.”

Maria didn’t budge. Obviously his answer didn’t satisfy her.

Les opened his palms and raised his eyebrows. “What?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“Maria,” Les huffed. “I’m out with my girl. If it’s so urgent, you go.”

Tori felt butterflies when he called her ‘his girl.’

Maria switched her gaze between Tori and Les. “Oh, oh, when did you two…” She turned to Tori. “You sure you want this cabezón?”

Tori laughed.

“Fine, I won’t make you go deal with Hank right now. But will you talk to him? She’s heartbroken. So… margaritas?”

“And a flan,” Tori added. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m starting with dessert tonight.” She wasn’t about to confess to Maria that she was following tonight’s date in reverse order because Les had started her evening with some mind-blowing sex. Dessert seemed like the next logical progression.

Tori reminded Les to call Hank on their walk back to her apartment. The weather was nice, and she enjoyed being near him. She held his hand and strolled past the shops on Main Street. Tori window-shopped, and Les berated his cousin in a mix of Spanish and English.

“So what was that all about?” Tori asked when he finally slid the phone back into his pocket.

“That was mi primo being an imbécil over children they don’t even have.”

“Seriously? Are they getting married?”

“Apparently not if she has to name their firstborn after him, and he’s insisting on a little Hank Junior.”

“Wait, they are arguing over baby names? Are they even engaged?” Tori shook her head at the ridiculousness of it.

“They might be, but they haven’t told everyone yet. Ironing out the details first.”

“I would think the detail would be whether to have kids, not what to name them.” Even though she already had her first child’s name selected, she still wasn’t sure it was worth arguing over. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Les shrugged. “Hank never had his own name, so why should his kid?”

“What about you? Is your name your own?”

Les nodded. “Yep, all mine. You?”

“There was a Victoria a few generations ago, a vague family connection so that I could inherit some antique linens with the name embroidered on them.”

“Kids?” The question caught her off guard.

“Um, probably. I guess it depends on where I am and who I’m with.”

“But you already have the first name picked out, don’t you?” Les was razzing his cousin for arguing over names, but the tone in his voice didn’t make Tori think he was picking on her. She hadn’t expected to be at this bridge tonight.

She sighed, and nodded. That tightening at the back of her throat started. She pinched her lips shut and willed the feeling to subside. Her eyes flooded against her will.

“I think Sam is a good name.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Tori lost control and buried her face against his chest with a sob. She wanted Sam to meet him so badly. And here he was, understanding and wonderful.

Les held her while she cried the unexpected surge of emotion out of her system. He muttered soothing words in Spanish while he stroked her back and smoothed her hair.

She felt Les’s arms tighten around her.

“Look at that, Hernandez is so bad at everything that Tori the farm girl is crying in public. What did you do, asshole, cook for her?”

“Back off, Stevens,” Les growled. He shifted Tori to his side, leaving one arm free.

She looked up at Josh and wished he would just go away. In the group behind him stood Erin and Ali with another man she didn’t know. Tori leveled a glare at them.

“Come on, ignore him. Let’s leave.” Tori took Les’s hand and started to lead him away in the opposite direction. Les followed her.

“You’re just a hack chicken shit that needs to get out of my kitchen. Not so tough when Chef isn’t around, are you?”

Les stopped and turned around. “It’s not your kitchen, dickhead. If it were, you would be the executive in charge on Chef’s days off. And you aren’t. I am. What you are is some trumped up sous chef with a big mouth.”

Josh charged forward. Les stepped up to him and halted in his path. Les was taller, but Josh was broader.

“Because of you I had to gut and de-ink sixty pounds of calamari.” Josh pushed his snarling face closer to Les.

“No, Stevens, you did that all on your own.”

“You don’t know shit about real cooking. You only know how to make pansy-assed desserts. Anyone can make a fucking cake.”

Les snorted. “Apparently not. You didn’t get the position, did you?”

Josh fumed like a snorting bull.

Tori pulled on Les’s arm. “Leave it, Les. Come on.”

“Ya know, Josh, maybe we should just leave.” Perhaps Erin wasn’t as dumb as Tori had been thinking.

“Yeah, listen to your little girlfriend.” Josh sneered.

Tori had enough of him. “What is your problem, Josh? You were actually a nice guy once.”

“Fat girls think they can talk to nice guys. So why are you talking to me?”

Tori shook her head. He was a sorry asshole, and if he kept this up, he would be a sorry asshole without any friends.

Les looked at Tori. She blinked up at him and placed her hand on his arm, begging him to leave with her eyes. He eased a step toward her and she released the breath she was holding.

“That’s it. Run away with your little piggy girlfriend.”

Les froze. Tori pinned both Josh and her ex friends with a glare. They had least had the decency to look uncomfortable.

When Josh began making grunting pig sounds, Les tensed up under her hand.

Les coiled. “This isn’t Chef’s kitchen.”

Tori couldn’t exactly remember how, but one second she was behind Les urging him to leave. The next her knuckles cracked as she slammed her fist into the side of Josh’s face.

Josh staggered back, his hands covering the spot where she made contact.

“Ow, shit!” Tori held her hand to her chest. She looked at it and then cradled it again. “That really hurts.”

“She hit me,” Josh called out in shock. “I’ll get your ass fired for that.”

Les wrapped himself around Tori. “No, you won’t. Now get out of here before I knock those teeth out that she loosened.”

Josh turned to his group and muttered something.

Ali ran over and put a hand on Tori’s shoulder. “Are you okay? That was, wow, didn’t see that coming.”

Tori faced the other woman. She didn’t say anything, only shook her head.

“I gotcha. Sorry about that.” Ali left quietly.

“How’s the hand?” Les gently flipped her right hand over and had her wiggle her fingers. “I don’t think its broken. Let’s get an ice pack on it.” He lifted her aching hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back.