“She cried. Thought I was breaking up with her.” I strip the bed, then bundle it all into my arms and carry them to the laundry room.
“It would have been easier to keep your mouth shut.” He pauses. “Most boys your age would have taken what Carolina offered and never told Beatriz. Would have had both and felt entitled to it.” His voice drops. “I would have. I did, many times. But you didn’t.”
I shove the sheets into the machine and start it running. Beatriz and I had spent that whole summer together, and the night before I flew back to the States, she’d given me what she’d been saving for marriage.
“That’s who you are, filho. You don’t play games with people you care about.”
We talk for a few more minutes about when he can visit, about meeting Jasmine and soccer. When we hang up, I head back to Jasmine’s bedroom.
She is asleep, exactly where I left her. The bonnet covers her hair, and her hand rests on her belly. Our daughter is in there, growing, depending on me to get this right.
I shower quickly, then pull on clean boxer briefs and slide into bed beside her. She shifts, unconsciously moving into my warmth, and I wrap my arm around her waist.
Jasmine
A few days afterreturning to Winter Bay, my phone buzzes with a text from Antonio.
Ready for tonight?
Tonight. Our first official date. He’d been planning it for days, refusing to give me details despite my increasingly creative interrogation techniques. All I know is that I’m supposed to wear something comfortable and that he’ll pick me up at seven.
As ready as I’ll ever be.
Wear flat shoes. Trust me.
Meesha stands at my closet, rifling through hangers. She’s already rejected four dresses, holding each one up to the light before shaking her head and tossing it onto the growing pile on my bed.
Meesha and Jessa showed up three hours ago, armed with iced coffees and pastries, staging what they called a “writer intervention.” I’d been holed up in my apartment since returning from the lake house, riding the momentum of finally having words flow again.
Jessa sits cross-legged on the floor, my laptop balanced on her knees as she reads through the chapters I wrote this week. “Oh, I love this,” she says. “The tension is perfect in this scene.”
During our last week at the lake house, I’d written more than I had in months. Three chapters became seven, then twelve. The words poured out of me as if they’d been dammed up for years.
But it wasn’t just the writing. It was waking up next to Antonio every morning, his hand already resting on my belly. It was the way he’d disappear for hours so I could write in peace. It was the reading sessions that became our nightly ritual before bed.
And then we’d returned to Winter Bay, and Carmen had put her foot down.
“You are not living with a woman unless she’s your wife,” she’d announced over Sunday dinner, her accent thickening with conviction. “My granddaughter will not be born to parents who are shacking up.”
Antonio had argued while I’d tried to disappear into the roast chicken. Neither approach worked. Across the table, Meesha, Connor, Jessa and Jaxon shook with laughter.
So for the past four days, I’ve been alone at my apartment, and he’s been at his condo. We’ve been texting and calling every day. It’s ridiculous. It’s also kind of wonderful.
“Which one?” I ask, trying to peer over her shoulder.
“The one where they’re arguing, but you can tell they both want to kiss each other.” She grins up at me. “Reminds me of Jaxon and me after getting snowed in.”
Meesha emerges from the closet holding the white maxi dress. “This one. Definitely this one.”
“Isn’t it too casual?” I ask uncertainly.
Meesha holds it up against me, studying the way the fabric drapes. “I happen to know where you’re going, and this dress is perfect. You’ll need something that moves with you.” She tilts her head. “Where is your small gold necklace? The one with the small pendant?”
“This is really good, Jasmine,” Jessa interrupts, still focused on the laptop. “Like, really good. The character development in these chapters? Chef’s kiss. This will be the best book in this Celestial series.”
I feel a flutter of pride. “You think so?”
“I'm understanding Celeste more.” She looks up, her expression warm. “TheAntonio lake house retreatclearly worked. You’re back in your zone.”
