Falling with Grace - Page 144

Opening the bathroom door, I tucked inside, did my business, and washed my hands.

My hair had lost its dampness a long time ago and hung around my shoulders in voluminous strands, my long, thick lashes curled upward, and my brows needed plucking.

Turning the handle, I stepped out of the bathroom and into Ramirez’s broad chest.

“Oh. Sorry.”

We did a side-stepping dance as he maneuvered into the bathroom, and I shuffled back down the aisle and into my seat.

At least he wasn’t mean, like Eduardo.

Silence reigned supreme on the luxury plane, aside from the men still arguing about sports.

“Hey, what happened toAntonio?”

Elias exhaled, raised his gaze toward me, and then returned to his phone.

I frowned as I pushed the window shutter up.

Is that an answer without an answer?

My face twitched as I gazed at the fluffy clouds beneath us, reminiscent of a snowy landscape.

I miss snow.

The last time I’d seen the cold stuff, I’d had a snowball fight with my best friend Megan and a snowman-building competition with my parents.

We’d lost…big time.

A small smile spread on my face.

“What are you thinking about?” Elias switched seats, positioning himself next to the window and across from me.

The smile slid from my face as if I had been caught red-handed with my hands in the proverbial cookie jar.

“Nothing. Just staring at the clouds.”

“What about them makes you smile with sadness?”

“You caught that?” I frowned, my fingers touching the rosary in my pocket.

“You’re an open book.”

I puffed up my cheeks and released my breath. “Thanks.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” He sat back and glanced out the window. “It’s refreshing.”

“How so?”

His shoulders rose and fell with each breath, yet his gaze remained fixed on the scenery outside. Crossing his ankle over his knee, he rested his elbows on the armrests, hands steepled beneath his chin. “Everyone, except Mamá, wears a shield of armor constantly, especially around me. Heaven forbid I catch a glimpse of the person beneath their facade.”

“So you’re upset that the hardened men you have around you are hard?”

He chuckled. “When you put it that way.”

“I’m only asking. Not judging.”

“Now, you answer my question.”