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Whatever existed between us didn’t change the facts.
And I’d been dead serious when I told her she deserved more.
My leg acted up during the night.
And that meant a longer than necessary shower.
After weeks of traveling and staying on my feet almost all day, a long day like yesterday had this kind of effect.
It was the price to pay for ignoring physical therapy and skipping more than a third of the sessions advised. But what point was there? I’d been told since I’d woken up in that hospital bed in France that there was no going back to hundred for me. So, I just… didn’t bother trying. I let them do whatever they needed to and the moment I could walk without an obvious limp, I went home.Home.
Taco’s image flashed in my mind.
But besides my best friend, and my family, what did I have left in Spain to call it home? The feeling of belonging had dulled since the accident. It was as if something was missing. It no longer called me back. And I had no family of my own. No one I called mine and longed to go back to. With all the traveling and demands of my career that had never… happened.
With a shake of my head, I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist before stepping out of the bathroom. Feeling strangely weary, I came to the decision that I’d ask Rosie if she minded having me around today. Even she was planning to write, I could be quiet and keep to myself.
I threw the bathroom door open, and my gaze immediately zeroed in on my roommate as she stood there in her sleeping shorts and tee.Dios, those shorts were going to be the end of me one of these days. “Morning, Ro—”
“Te voy a matar.”The threat to my life cut my words right off. It came from somewhere to my side and it was delivered by a familiar voice that shouldn’t be here. Unless—
“Lucas, ¿qué está pasando aquí?”
The query was sputtered, and it was only then that I noticed Rosie’s face. The warning. The pained expression.
I turned very slowly.“Hola, prima,”I said, welcomed by Lina’s contorted face. My eyes jumped to the man standing beside her. His eyes were on me and while they looked a little less murderous, they still managed to be threatening. “Nice to meet you, Aaron,” I continued. “Congratulations on the marriage to this little treasure here.”
Aaron didn’t even give me a dude-nod; he just cocked a brow and greeted me with a curt, “Yes.”
Yes, to what exactly, I had no idea. But by the looks of it, it probably meant that a double ass whooping was in the cards for me today.
A strange sound came from my cousin, returning my attention to her. “Why are you roaming around halfnaked?” That last word was a high-pitched squeak. I looked down, taking in my bare chest, the towel wrapped around my hips. My mouth opened, but Lina let out another strangled sound, stopping me. “Why is my best friend here, in her pajamas, so early in the morning, with you”—she paused—“half naked?”
“Lina,” Rosie interjected, coming to my side quickly. “It’s not what you think.”
Lina’s forehead vein, the one I had memorized from when we were kids, pulsed. “It’s not what I think?” she asked before pointing a finger at me. “Is he wearing some kind of invisible sweater?”
I snorted, and I felt Rosie’s elbow on my side. On reflex, without even thinking about what I was doing because I hadn’t even had my goddamn breakfast and not thinking seemed to be my thing lately, I grabbed her arm and muttered, “Not nice, Rosie.”
Which clearly was a mistake because my cousin stiffened, her face turning even redder.
“Before you start jumping to crazy conclusions—”
But Lina lunged forward, succumbing to all and every crazy conclusion she could possibly come up with.
Luckily, her husband intercepted her, snaking a strong arm around her waist. “Baby,” he told her, securing her against him. “Don’t.”
At the same time, Rosie cried, “What the hell, Lina?”
But Lina was busy growling and pointing a tiny fist at me. “This is my best friend, younitwit.” She waved that arm in the air. “My best friend in the whole world. Couldn’t you keep your Lucasjujuto yourself? Couldn’t you keep your penis in your silly nitwit pants?”
I should have probably been offended by Lina acting like myLucas jujuhad just ruined her best friend, but I wasn’t. In that moment, I could only focus on how distressed Rosie looked, and how her lip was doing that thing it did when she was upset. Trembling. And I knew the reason. I knew Rosie well enough by now to guess that she was feeling responsible for this. That she felt guilt over not telling Lina that we had been sharing the studio.
That was why I lowered my head a little and whispered to her, “What the hell is a nitwit?”
Her head turned very slowly toward me, and when she looked up at me, it was with wonder in her eyes. Also, a little humor. Just like I’d wanted. “Lucas, be serious,” she reprimanded me. But at least, her lip was not doing that thing anymore.
“Aaron,amor mío,” Lina said, returning me to the matter at hand. “Can you please put me down so I can kick my cousin’s nitwit nuts? Apparently, he thinks this is all a joke.”
