Page 54 of The Lost Guardian

“Maybe not.” Ali picked up her fork and focused on her food.

The blush crept from the back of his neck to his face. He knew she was teasing him, but he couldn’t help his response. He tucked in to his dinner to hide it. When the first bite hit his tongue, all previous thoughts were abandoned.

Oh my God.

Oh. My. Goooood.

Santiago might have moaned. He couldn’t be sure. It would have been earned.

The perfectly golden-brown exterior of his fried potato was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and stuffed with savory ground beef flavored with a beautiful mix of ají amarillo, cumin, and paprika. The top of each stuffed potato fritter was slathered in a salsa criolla—raw and finely chopped onions, lemon, salt, pepper, and more of the same yellow chili.

When he finally leaned back, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin, he caught Ali looking at him with an amused expression.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she replied, but her mouth quivered with a repressed smile. “Good?” She motioned to the food.

“Soooo good,” he replied, beaming unrepentantly.

Ali matched his grin.

“Try the humitas,” she urged him.

The humitas were corn cakes wrapped and steamed in corn husks, and at first Santiago expected them to taste like a Peruvian version of tamales.

He could not have been more wrong.

They were sweet, their coarse paste made up of corn, milk, butter, sugar, and cinnamon.

Santiago had four of them and another refill of the chicha de jora.

As night settled around them like a velvet blanket, the music grew louder and the festivities wilder. Santiago found his chair pressed tightly against Ali’s, her mouth constantly hovering near his ear to be heard above the din. She told him about the last wedding she had attended.

“As a guest?” he asked abruptly, squinting at her.

“Yes, Rios,” she confirmed, looking amused. “I’ve never been married.”

Santiago felt that his answering smile was less than controlled but was feeling too happy to care. “Me neither,” he told her.

“You don’t say.” She laughed. He was glad he could make her laugh, even if it was at him.

“So, this wedding,” he prodded her, “that you attended as a guest…”

“Yes, I was at this wedding, that I attended as a guest,” she joked before continuing. “The best man got so drunk, so ‘moved by the love in the room,’ that he decided to propose to his girlfriend in his speech. His ex-girlfriend.”

Santiago gasped. “And at someone else’s wedding? Yikes.”

Ali nodded. “Worse…his new girlfriend was there, too. And they were both bridesmaids!”

Santiago’s mouth dropped open. He had never heard of a person ruining their life so quickly.

“Wow,” was all he managed to say. Ali grinned at him.

“Pretty exciting night, as you can imagine,” she said with a laugh.

They slipped into a companionable silence as the party pulsed around them. The festive mood was a living, tangible thing. Joy like a throbbing heartbeat shared among the crowd.

The center of the square was explosive with movement, guests circling and stepping to the rhythm of live music. Practiced hands met drums, and Santiago’s feet tapped in time with the beat. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ali swaying with the melody of a well-worn guitar.