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“Mi amor.” The minute Dad speaks up, Mom steps back, and instantly, protection along with safety replaces her softness while my dad practically swallows me in his arms, rocking me back and forth. “Welcome home, princess.”
Sighing heavily, I accept his warmth and gather strength from it, closing my eyes for a second and letting all the worries wash away, leaving me in the presence of two people who always loved me.
Who never ever allowed anyone to hurt me.
Who are the best parents in the whole world, even if I can never be the child they wished for.
“Gracias, Pápá,” I whisper, hoping they both hear the gratitude and apology in my words. “I brought gifts,” I tease when he leans back. His thumbs rub over my cheeks, and it takes everything in me to hold his stare. “Even your favorite brand of whiskey.”
He chuckles and kisses me on the forehead. “We’ll talk later about you buying alcohol. Someone forgot the rules.” Oh crap. Busted. “How was your flight?”
“Great. Can’t imagine having a bad flight on a private jet, though.” Mom chuckles, and Dad raises his brow, amusement dancing in his eyes. “What are you guys doing? Besides being adorably and disturbingly in love.” Squeezing Dad one more time, I step away and go to the nearest table, snagging a grape and popping it into my mouth. “You know, sometimes your love is traumatizing.”
“I’ll pay for your therapy, princess.” I laugh at Dad’s bored tone, and he wraps his arm around Mom’s waist. “There are worse fates in this world than having loving parents.”
Oh, there for sure are.
“We’ve been going over the party guest list. It’s a small gathering, but it’s the first one in years, so I’d like for it to be perfect,” Mom says, reaching for the notebook she held earlier that has her various sketches in it along with some notes. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking, and I don’t want to do it again anytime soon.”
“Really?” I ask in disbelief, munching on the grape and frowning when Dad shakes his head in warning, clearly not wanting me to continue the subject.
Since when do my parents care about anything being perfect for society?
“Our thirtieth wedding celebration deserves the best,” Dad says, kissing Mom on the neck again. However, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something because a weird tension fills the space around us. “Since it’s tomorrow, your brother will see you there.”
In other words, he won’t come tonight as he usually does to check on me, and that’s when it dawns on me.
Even the small gathering would take hours, which means my brother would have to actually spend some time at the family mansion for more than twenty minutes and try his best not to go for Dad’s throat in the meantime.
My parents are nervous about celebrating their anniversary tomorrow, as they don’t know how my brother will behave and if he can control his temper long enough to forget about the permanent rage and resentment living inside him.
He always aims those two emotions at Dad, and Dad takes it like a pro, never shying away from it, but their relationship hurts Mom.
Which means one thing.
Tomorrow, it will be my job to keep the peace in the family.
“Your party is going to rock, Mom,” I tell her, hoping to reassure her. “I’m going to freshen up, and then we can have lunch together and play board games.”
In this household, competitive games are our jam, and joy crosses their faces, welcoming the distraction from their worries.
“See you in a few, then. Prepare for a battle,” Dad warns, and I roll my eyes, although he’s probably right.
We have no mercy when it comes to victories.
I’m almost out of the living room when I hear Mom exclaim, “I’m so happy to have all the kids back in the country.”
“Ah, yes. Florian’s back as well.”
“He left around the same time Jimena did, and his business trips in Asia lasted for longer than anyone anticipated.”
I freeze, my breathing speeding up while my heart beats so wildly in my chest that I expect it to jump out of me.
No.
He’s back?
I thought I had a little bit more time before facing my brother’s best friend, but he’s back.
