It wasn't often that Caroline got a phonecall out of the blue from a cousin she hadn't seen in over a decade, much less one that included an invitation to lunch. She did, however, jump at the chance. She loved her grandfather, and her cousin Jon, but get them in the same house and focused on a discussion, and it could take hours just to be able to get them aware of anyone else around. She had no idea how Vicki put up with it so calmly. Of course, Caroline had hormones to contend with herself, and with her fiance out at sea making money the way he most enjoyed, she jumped at the chance to get out of the Grove.
Arriving early at the cafe, she settled herself down at a table by the window, absent-mindedly drumming her fingers on the gentle swell of her belly. She wasn't going to be able to keep the baby a secret very much longer, but hopefully the sight of her pregnancy wasn't going to turn Leonel into a gibbering mess as it seemed to do with every other male in their family.
Leo was actually a bit late. If anyone would care to take a guess, they would probably very easily deduce that he had been having second thoughts about this meeting with his cousin and it had taken a very strong, very stubborn woman to push him out the door before he decided to go through with it. Thus, he shuffled into the cafe and asked around for his cousin before being directed to her table by the window. He approached with his hands held together in front of his chest as though he didn't know what to do with them as he squinted down at the woman who he hadn't seen in...oh, years and years. He didn't keep track of things like that.
"Caroline," he greeted her with the faint undertone of discomfort just barely evident in his voice as he squinted at her from behind his glasses.
He hadn't changed that much from the last time they'd seen each other, Caroline decided as her eyes looked her cousin over. A little more brawny, a little grayer, but still definitely Leonel. "Hello, Leon," she smiled to him, remembering as always the grumpy teenager who'd had to babysit her during her adolescence. She stood to greet him, offering a hand for him to shake even as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Family, not strangers.
His own smile was somewhat reserved and lacking as he leaned over to shake her hand, only blinking once in surprise at the familiar way she greeted him. He never understood that about people. "It's uh, good to see you. You're looking..." his gaze flicked over her briefly, noticing the small swell of her belly, "well."
She glanced down, laughing a little. "Ignore it, I do," she suggested, lowering into a seat and gesturing for him to take the other. "You're looking tired, but I have to admit the broader-shouldered look suits you more than the skinny one ever did. How have you been?"
He slowly lowered to sit across from her and nodded slowly, reaching up to remove his glasses so he could wipe a smudge off on his shirt. "Tired, that's a given. I don't sleep much. Been very busy. Good, but very busy."
She smiled, glancing up as a waitress brought them a jug of iced water and two glasses, leaving menus on the table with them before leaving. "You dropped off the radar for a while there," Caroline said quietly, pouring from the jug into both glasses. "No trouble, I hope?"
"Oh, well...I got wrapped up in work at the hospital. Then I quit that job, went back to school. Now I'm teaching at the university and working at smaller clinics part time, I haven't had much time in the last decade to drop by and visit anyone." He poured himself a glass of water and lifted it to his lips for a long drink. "What about you? What have you been doing?"
His cousin's smile deepened in a sefl-deprecating manner. "You're going to laugh yourself silly," she predicted mildly. Leonel had been witness to several insistent rants when she was a child on the subject of never, ever working for the Guild, ever at all. "I ended up working transport for the Guild for a while, then Humph got me chauffeuring him around. And then last year, he retired and made me CEO of the whole damned company." She leaned back with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes, I had heard you were the new CEO." Leo's smile came a little more easily as he remembered her insistence from the past. "How's all the responsibility treating you so far?"
"Well, let's just say I know now why Humph's always had such a bad reputation for being grumpy and difficult," she snorted with laughter, shaking her head. "Mind you, with Brynne for my P.A., I have a lot more help than he did, and once news of this -" she gestured to her belly "- breaks out, people will start falling over themselves to delegate and take over tasks. I'd still rather spend all my time on the boat, though."
"The boat?" he asked with an arch of a brow. "You have a boat now?"
"My fiance does," she clarified with a faint smile. "Richmond owns the Whispering Wind, down in the harbor, and he hires her out with himself as captain for pleasure cruises and fishing trips. I'd never ask him to stop, he loves it too much, but it does mean I'm back living at the big house during the tourist season."
"Fiance, huh?" He took another sip of his water and set it down, now contemplating a stronger drink. "Well. That's good. How long has this been going on?"
"About a month," she chuckled, eyeing her cousin thoughtfully. "Are you making small talk, Leon' Because you've never been interested in any of us."
Arriving early at the cafe, she settled herself down at a table by the window, absent-mindedly drumming her fingers on the gentle swell of her belly. She wasn't going to be able to keep the baby a secret very much longer, but hopefully the sight of her pregnancy wasn't going to turn Leonel into a gibbering mess as it seemed to do with every other male in their family.
Leo was actually a bit late. If anyone would care to take a guess, they would probably very easily deduce that he had been having second thoughts about this meeting with his cousin and it had taken a very strong, very stubborn woman to push him out the door before he decided to go through with it. Thus, he shuffled into the cafe and asked around for his cousin before being directed to her table by the window. He approached with his hands held together in front of his chest as though he didn't know what to do with them as he squinted down at the woman who he hadn't seen in...oh, years and years. He didn't keep track of things like that.
"Caroline," he greeted her with the faint undertone of discomfort just barely evident in his voice as he squinted at her from behind his glasses.
He hadn't changed that much from the last time they'd seen each other, Caroline decided as her eyes looked her cousin over. A little more brawny, a little grayer, but still definitely Leonel. "Hello, Leon," she smiled to him, remembering as always the grumpy teenager who'd had to babysit her during her adolescence. She stood to greet him, offering a hand for him to shake even as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Family, not strangers.
His own smile was somewhat reserved and lacking as he leaned over to shake her hand, only blinking once in surprise at the familiar way she greeted him. He never understood that about people. "It's uh, good to see you. You're looking..." his gaze flicked over her briefly, noticing the small swell of her belly, "well."
She glanced down, laughing a little. "Ignore it, I do," she suggested, lowering into a seat and gesturing for him to take the other. "You're looking tired, but I have to admit the broader-shouldered look suits you more than the skinny one ever did. How have you been?"
He slowly lowered to sit across from her and nodded slowly, reaching up to remove his glasses so he could wipe a smudge off on his shirt. "Tired, that's a given. I don't sleep much. Been very busy. Good, but very busy."
She smiled, glancing up as a waitress brought them a jug of iced water and two glasses, leaving menus on the table with them before leaving. "You dropped off the radar for a while there," Caroline said quietly, pouring from the jug into both glasses. "No trouble, I hope?"
"Oh, well...I got wrapped up in work at the hospital. Then I quit that job, went back to school. Now I'm teaching at the university and working at smaller clinics part time, I haven't had much time in the last decade to drop by and visit anyone." He poured himself a glass of water and lifted it to his lips for a long drink. "What about you? What have you been doing?"
His cousin's smile deepened in a sefl-deprecating manner. "You're going to laugh yourself silly," she predicted mildly. Leonel had been witness to several insistent rants when she was a child on the subject of never, ever working for the Guild, ever at all. "I ended up working transport for the Guild for a while, then Humph got me chauffeuring him around. And then last year, he retired and made me CEO of the whole damned company." She leaned back with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes, I had heard you were the new CEO." Leo's smile came a little more easily as he remembered her insistence from the past. "How's all the responsibility treating you so far?"
"Well, let's just say I know now why Humph's always had such a bad reputation for being grumpy and difficult," she snorted with laughter, shaking her head. "Mind you, with Brynne for my P.A., I have a lot more help than he did, and once news of this -" she gestured to her belly "- breaks out, people will start falling over themselves to delegate and take over tasks. I'd still rather spend all my time on the boat, though."
"The boat?" he asked with an arch of a brow. "You have a boat now?"
"My fiance does," she clarified with a faint smile. "Richmond owns the Whispering Wind, down in the harbor, and he hires her out with himself as captain for pleasure cruises and fishing trips. I'd never ask him to stop, he loves it too much, but it does mean I'm back living at the big house during the tourist season."
"Fiance, huh?" He took another sip of his water and set it down, now contemplating a stronger drink. "Well. That's good. How long has this been going on?"
"About a month," she chuckled, eyeing her cousin thoughtfully. "Are you making small talk, Leon' Because you've never been interested in any of us."