Page 39 of Slay Bells

And yet this man cared so much for her, he was willing to move to San Diego to be with her. Gabriela’s heart melted at the thought.

“I can’t believe you’d be willing to move here.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” His expression was serious.

“Because you are not in love with San Diego.”

“I’m in love with you,” he replied.

“And I am in love with both you and Montana. I crave the fresh air, the open spaces and ranch living. When I’m here, I miss you terribly, but also miss being there.”

When his lips curved, she rushed to him and pulled his face down for a kiss. The longer they kissed the harsher his breathing became, and Gabriela feared losing control.

“Get away from the edge. I’d hate to have to identify your bodies when you fall over and splat on the sidewalk,” Nana called from the door.

Gabriela groaned.

“We’ll finish this later,” Jeremy whispered into her ear.

Chapter Twelve

Jeremy enjoyed spending time with Gabriela’s family. They were warm and welcoming. Her mother, Isabela, an older version of Gabriela, reminded him of his Mom. She was easy going, soft-spoken but also not one to hold back or mince words. Gabriela’s father, Juan, was jovial and boisterous. Mr. Diaz didn’t have any problems showing affection to his children.

Juanito, Gabriela’s brother, reminded Jeremy of the actor who played Aqua man. He was taller than Jeremy by at least two inches. With long wavy shoulder length hair and football player wide shoulders, he was intimidating until flashing his ever-present wide grin. Like his father, Juanito preferred bear hugs to handshakes.

They sat at a round table in a Mexican restaurant where the waiters knew the Diaz family. Everyone was talking at once, pairing up into conversations and then switching to talk to others.

When Gabriela threw her head back and laughed at something her Nana said, Jeremy couldn’t help but wonder how hard it would be for her to be away from them.

A waiter neared with a tray of shot glasses. Jeremy eyed the bottle of tequila and let out a long sigh. Tequila was his kryptonite. No matter how little he drank, it always kicked his ass.

“For the ladies,” the server announced.

“In our family, men don’t drink tequila,” Juan said. He leaned across to talk to Jeremy. “It makes us do crazy things.”

“Me too,” Jeremy admitted and they both laughed.

Everyone lifted their glasses. “To Gabriela and Jeremy, may they be happy in Montana,” Mr. Diaz toasted.

Gabriela threw back the shot of tequila and smiled. “I can’t wait for everyone to come and hang out in Missoula.”

“Are there any single senior men in Montana?” Nana asked as she put her shot glass down. “I think it would be a good place for me to retire.”

“You moved here to retire, Mama,” Juan reminded her.

Nana scoffed. “Retired people can move around. It’s one of the perks.”

A few hours later, totally spent Jeremy lay sprawled across the bed with Gabriela’s head on his chest. The sounds of traffic permeated, and he couldn’t help but frown at the sound of sirens growing progressively louder until the emergency vehicle went past and the sounds began to fade.

It would have been an adjustment for him. There was so much concrete where Gabriela lived. However, once they drove a few miles out of the city, the scenery did change.

They’d discussed neighboring areas on one of his earlier visits and different police departments. They were not bound to remain downtown.

Gabriela’s breathing evened out and Jeremy slid from under the beauty. He was as restless as he was tired.

Unlike in Montana, he was unable to walk out to a porch, so instead he slid the sliding glass doors open and stepped outside to the balcony.

Humidity and lights greeted him. He looked across from one side to the other, admiring how alive the area remained despite the late hour. Although the street straight below was pretty quiet, there were customers seated outside at the corner café and cars continuously went past.