Page 23 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

“Shut up,” I sniped before snatching my now-open bottles of beer from his hands and hurrying over to the tables. I had to play this cool. It was the only way to fly under Mami’s ire. I had to keep a cool head and act like it was no big deal.

Piece of cake.

“Where’s the fire?” I asked as I slid the drinks onto the table.

“Que. Es. ¿Esto?” she gritted, giving D’Vaughn’s hand a little shake.

“Es un anillo,” I said carefully.

“What kind of ring, Kris?”

“Um.” I squinted. “I’m not sure. Looks like the kind that comes out of a Cracker Jack box. Can’t be more than twenty-five cents.”

She flexed and I clearly pictured her kicking off one of her sandals and slapping me with it. No big deal, I reminded myself. We just had to get over this hump and then we could return to the easygoing atmosphere we’d enjoyed thus far.

“Okay, okay!” I laughed, holding up my hands. “An engagement ring.”

Mami sucked in a breath and dropped D’Vaughn’s hand as if it burned her. I took the opportunity to move in between the two of them, acting as a buffer.

“She’s my...fiancée.”

There was a beat of silence while my announcement was processed, but then everyone exploded. Without me realizing it, the music had been turned down and most of my family had gathered around us. Mami’s mouth gaped open and eyes were wide with disbelief. She took a step back, her hands at her cheeks.

“Your what?!” she screeched in disbelief. “¿Por qué estás jugando conmigo, niñita?”

“I’m not playing,” I assured her. “We’re getting married.” D’Vaughn slipped her hand into mine and squeezed. I glanced down to find her eyes wide and apprehensive. She worried at her bottom lip almost absently as she looked around at everyone who’d gathered around.

“How are you engaged when we’ve never even met her?” Mami gestured at D’Vaughn but her eyes stayed trained on me. “Until today that is, and even that was only a brief moment and not nearly enough time to get to know someone.” Her lips were twisted into a frown and her brows were furrowed, but beneath her incredulity I could see that she was hurt, and that sliced at me. The last thing I’d wanted was to hurt her, but this was an unfortunate result of what I’d signed up for.

“Mami, please,” I begged, lowering my voice a little. “Just think about it for a moment. I share so much with everyone all of the time. I just wanted to have this one thing to myself. I wanted her to myself for as long as I could manage it because I knew once I told everyone, the bubble of peace would pop. I won’t apologize for that.” I had no idea where the words had come from, but once they were out, I realized that they weren’t too far from being real. If this had begun organically, I might’ve still gone this route.

Silence fell around us and I glanced around the room, locking eyes with Papi, who gave me a nod of approval. He and his brothers were among the last to join the crowd, but he weaved through bodies easily until he was standing just behind Mami. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. Bit by bit I watched as she deflated right before my eyes. Taking advantage of Papi’s magic, I said my lines.

“Mami, Papi. Just because you weren’t there for the proposal doesn’t mean we’ve cut you out. D’Vaughn and I want you to help us plan the wedding.”

Her hanging head snapped up and her eyes immediately brightened. “Oh?”

Smiling, I nodded. Her interest was about to be tested.

“Of course. We don’t have a lot of time, so we need to get on it.”

“¿Qué?” Papi muttered, his face scrunched in confusion. “What does that mean?”

I took a deep breath. D’Vaughn squeezed my hand again.

“We don’t want a long engagement. We both know what we want so we’re thinking six weeks.”

Murmurs went up as everyone reacted to my announcement. Mami frowned, stepped closer to me, and cupped my face.

“That’s so soon, mija. Are you sure?”

“Six weeks?!” Kiana pushed her way through our family and propped her hands on her hips. “Are you pregnant too, bitch?”

Rhea burst out laughing and I glared at her before turning back to Kiana. “No. And fuck you for that.”

“Be nice,” Papi scolded.

My eyes ballooned. “Be nice?! Papi, she just asked if I was getting married because I’m pregnant and you want me to be nice?”