AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, they’re locked up. The shooting was caught on video surveillance the cops had in the area.”
“Another lucky break. It may not seem like it from where you’re sitting now, but Lady Luck has been on your side lately.”
As much as I can, I look directly at her, hoping to convey much more than my agreement with her statement. “In more ways than one.”
NICO
Watching Maria marry Austin has filled me with a powerful feeling of yearning to have what they do. Well, I can’t swing the freaking mansion where they live, but my place isn’t bad. It has everything Sofia and I need to make a life together, including the pool Mateo loves. As soon as her divorce is final, I’m going to ask her to marry me.
I let that thought settle for a moment, waiting for something in me to fight back against an idea that would’ve been comical before I met her. Marriage was for other people. Not me.
But there’s no fight back. There’s just resolve to make it happen as soon as possible.
As I watch her talk and laugh with my sisters and cousin, I’m thrilled that my family already loves her as much as I do. Even after everything that happened this week, they haven’t missed a beat with her and were quick to reassure her that no one blames her for what her ex did. They not only talked the talk, but they’ve followed through with action, making her feel as welcome as she was before the shooting.
I’m watching her so closely that I notice when her entire demeanor changes after she checks her phone. I get up from the barstool and go to her while making note of Wyatt and Dee pushing Everly and Mateo on the swings. “What’s wrong?”
“I got a text from Joaquín’s mother. He’s asking to see me.”
“No way. You don’t have to do that, Sofia.”
“I know, but he says it’s important.”
Everything in me rises in protest of her seeing the animal who nearly killed my brother. But the last thing I want to do is behave with her the way he would have by taking away her ability to make her own decisions. “What do you want to do?”
“Not see him. Ever again.”
“Then you shouldn’t.”
“What in the world could he possibly need to tell me at this point, after he nearly murdered my boyfriend’s brother?” After a beat, she adds, “Why are you smiling?”
“You called me your boyfriend.”
“Nico! Focus.”
I put my hands on her hips and bring her in close to me, kissing the top of her head and breathing in the distinctive scent of her hair, the scent of my love. “I’m focusing on the most important thing here, and you calling me your boyfriend is a big deal. You want to know why?”
“Um, sure. Why is that?”
“Because I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”
“That’s not true. You’ve had all the girlfriends.”
“There have been girls, yes, and women, yes. But never one I would call an official girlfriend until now.”
“You’re thirty-two years old, Nico.”
“I’m aware.”
“It’s weird that you’ve never had a girlfriend before.”
“I never wanted one before I met you. Now that’s all I want, but only if it’s you, of course.”
The withering look she gives me is the one women have been giving men since the beginning of time, and I love it. I love her, and I need her to know that again. Right now. Leaning even closer to her, I whisper in her ear, “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”
“Nico,” she says on a long exhale. “How do you do this to me?”
“What am I doing?”
