I Know I Was for a While

The room was quiet for a few seconds before Lionel cleared his throat, the most polite smile he could muster appearing on his face. He knew that it was something that Camila wanted to avoid for a while, with things between her and Noah’s parents already awkward, he knew that she wanted to hold off introducing him to them for as long as she could, but he knew that there was no getting out of it, even if he didn’t want to make things any harder for Camila. He knew that he couldn’t just back out of the room and pretend that he wasn’t there.

Sparing Camila a brief look, he offered her a small reassuring smile before he took a couple of paces forwards, offering his hand out ahead of him. “Hola” he greeted gently “I’m Leo” he added.

Isabel, who’d been staring up at him, blinked a couple of times at the sound of his voice before she quirked a small polite smile, moving to shake his hand gently. “I’m Isabel” she mused “And this is my husband, Victor” she added, sparing a look towards her husband who sat beside her, his eyes studying the younger man.

Lionel nodded before he turned towards the older man, holding his hand out. “It’s good to meet you” he mused politely.

Victor eyed his hand for a second before he placed his own into it, offering it quick shake. “You too” he noted stiffly.

Lionel offered the older man a polite grin before he took a pace backwards, allowing a few beats of silence to pass before he turned to Camila, offering her a small smile. “You want me to leave you to it?” he asked.

Camila was quiet for a few seconds, mulling over his question, before Isabel chimed in. “You don’t have to do that, Leo” she mused “I mean, this is your home, and we don’t want to make you uncomfortable” she added gently.

Victor, who was sat beside his wife, rolled his eyes a little at her words before he shook his head, something which caused Camila to shake hers. “You have something to say, Victor?” she asked.

Victor was quiet for a few seconds before he shook his head, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Not really” he quipped “You just...you didn’t really waste a lot of time finding someone new, did you?” he asked, sparing a brief look towards Lionel before he turned his eyes back to Camila.

Camila followed his glance, looking at Lionel for a split second, before she shook her head. “How is that your business?” she muttered “I mean, after what Noah did, how is anything that I do, your business?” she added.

Victor shook his head, holding his hands up innocently. “I’m just saying” he quipped with a smirk.

Camila watched the older man for a second before she scoffed quietly, shaking her head. “You should go” she mumbled.

“Camila...”

“You can’t show up here unannounced” Camila interrupted, cutting Isabel off “That’s not fair. You said that this would be on my terms, and that you were OK with it being a little tentative at first, and I think that that means that you can’t just show up here without calling me first. It also means that you don’t get to come in here and ask about my love life. That definitely has nothing to do with either of you any more” she added, her voice a little firmer than even she had been expecting it to be.

She wasn’t surprised, after Isabel and Victor’s first visit, she had been sure that it would have only been a matter of time before one of them attempted to broach the subject of her love life, and how quickly she had moved on from her relationship with their son, and she wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss with them. It had nothing to do with them, her relationship with Lionel was something which was between her and the argentine, and she wanted to be clear with the older couple that she didn’t care about what they thought of it. Lionel made her happy, he had done for a while, and to her, that was the only thing that mattered.

Isabel blinked a couple of times, surprised that Camila had cut her off, before she shook her head. “Camila...”

“I am happy” Camila interrupted “And I am not going to let you two come in here and ruin that for me. Noah messed things up between us, he’s the one who ended things, and I am not going to feel bad about the fact that I’ve found a man that I am crazy about. He’s been amazing for me, amazing for your grandson, and I...I love him for it” she babbled, her dark eyes meeting Lionel’s for a split second before she ducked away, trying, and failing, to hide the blush which had quickly spread over her cheeks.

Lionel, who was stood at her side, quirked a small smile at the sight of her blush before he shifted a little closer to her, his fingers brushing against her hand.

Isabel watched the two of them for a second, not missing the small smile which crept onto Camila’s face, before she nodded her head, a polite smile passing over her features. “You’re right” she mused “We should get out of here. I’m so sorry, Camila” she added gently.

Camila nodded her head stiffly. “If you want to see Oscar, all you have to do is call, Isabel” she mused “It’s just going to take us all a little getting used to” she added.

Isabel nodded. “It is” she agreed.

Camila offered her a halfhearted smile, something Isabel returned before she stepped out of the room, her husband trailing after her. Standing quietly for a few seconds, Camila listened for the distant thump of the front door closing before she shook her head, letting out a quiet groan.

Lionel watched her for a second before he took a pace towards her, gently levering her into a soft hug that she didn’t hesitate in returning, tucking her head beneath his chin. “I’m sorry about that” she mumbled.

Lionel smiled a little before he tilted his head slightly, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. “You don’t have to apologise for them” he mumbled into her hair “Besides, I think it could have gone a lot worse” he teased, kissing her head again.

Camila, who’d closed her eyes, scoffed at his joke. “You think so?” she mumbled as she pulled back a little, her eyes peeking into his.

Lionel nodded. “I do” he agreed “And something good did come out of it. You said that you love me” he added, grinning widely.

Camila’s cheeks flushed pink, something which made Lionel chuckle before he shook his head, his smile softening a little. Taking half a pace forwards, he gently cupped her cheek in his hand before he leant into her, pressing a soft kiss against both her forehead and nose before he reached her lips, kissing her softly before he leant back, resting his head against hers. “It goes without saying that I feel the same way, right?” he mumbled, lightly brushing their noses together.

Camila closed her eyes at the touch before she gently shook her head, smiling gently. “Say it” she mused.

Lionel was quiet for a second, briefly contemplating teasing her a little more, before he stole another soft kiss. “I love you, Mila” he mumbled as he pulled away.

Camila smiled quietly for a second, allowing the words to hang in the air, before she pressed her lips to his again, pulling away just long enough to mumble ‘I love you too’ to him.