Dancing On The Edge Of A Knife

35. Family

"No problem. You're all set. Let's get going." Ester felt as if a bucket of cold water was dumped over her head when she heard his words. She watched Devon smile at her and then turn around without taking her hand this time.

It took her a second to realize what just happened. Oh Lord. She almost kissed him again. Well, she would've never kissed him on her own but if he wanted to kiss her, there was nobody who could've stopped them. Because she sure as hell didn't have the strength.

"You coming?" She heard and quickly followed Devon downstairs. How did they even get in this position? It was them walking out and then Devon rubbing his big thumb over her cheek. And then? Ester knew she was blushing again and forced her mind to stop thinking about him.

If she walked into the dining room with a blush, everybody would think something's up. So she kept her gaze on the floor when they finally reached the ground floor again. They silently walked through the living room and stood in front of the double doors.

"Let me do the talking." Was all Devon said before pushing the doors open and walking inside. Ester followed suit, not surprised to see everybody already seated around the table. It looked like they were patiently waiting when Ester glanced at the untouched food.

"Finally, sit down." Alejandro said and just to Ester's luck, she had no other chance than to sit next to Devon and across from Sierra. Once she looked up from her lap, she noticed everybody staring at both of them, awaiting an explanation. So she slightly touched Devon's hip under the table.

He jumped slightly before looking at Ester and widening his eyes. Ester looked at him and then at the direction of Mason and Sierra in front of them, silently telling him to say something. Devon nodded before clearing his throat.

"Sorry for the wait. I was showing Ester the wine cellar and we lost track of time." Not exactly a lie, Ester sighed inwardly. She wondered how his family will react once they see the mess in the cellar.

"It's alright. As long as you're here now." Martha told him before looking at the rest of the family.
"Shall we start then?" She asked with a genuine smile, which immediately helped Ester relax. That was easier than both of them expected it to be. His family didn't even seem surprised and now that she looked at Sierra, who was smiling at her mom, a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Everybody started digging in and it was silent for only a few seconds before Alejandro made a joke that had everybody around the table laughing. For the first time, Ester experienced a family sitting around the dinner table, chatting and laughing like happy people.

And she was a part of that. It meant a lot to Ester, probably more than she ever thought it would. She just came here to show Devon that he was not the boss of her. But she would leave tonight with a lot more knowledge and sense of familiarity. That was priceless.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand wrap around her thigh and she blinked after snapping out of it.
"Are you okay?" Devon's voice sounded very close and all she could muster was a nod in reply.

"If you're worrying about the cellar, don't worry. I'll tell mom and Alejandro later." Devon thought she was overthinking again as he let his thumb move up and down her thigh.
"It's not about this. I was just overwhelmed for a second. Everything's fine, Devon. Don't worry." Ester saw no point in lying.

"Yeah, I get that. My family can get quite overwhelming. But you'll get used to them." He smiled at her, making Ester smile back at him. Could he get any more perfect tonight? Ester never felt as comfortable around him as she did in that very moment. Gosh, she wanted to kiss him right now.

"They're amazing, actually. You're very lucky to have a family like this." She told Devon, making him nod. He figured there was more to her statement than just a compliment. But he refrained from asking right now. He would come back to this later. But for now, he just squeezed her thigh and resumed eating.