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“This looks fantastic, Lena. Thank you!” Her eyes gleam with pride after hearing the praise. Gabriel fills our glasses withhorchataas we start eating.
Not a single drop of alcohol to be seen. I know what they are doing, but there is no need. They don’t need to deprive themselves of having a beer at lunch just because I’m an alcoholic. My triggers are mine to deal with, not my family’s. I’ll talk with my father in the morning.
I’m halfway into my soup when Destinee comes to sit at Martin’s side. The sight of her makes my heart pound faster. She looks amazing. More beautiful than ever. No, I’m not in love with her. Maybe I never was. But this is the first time we meet after that day in Lake Tahoe, just after Gabriel’s wedding. I can feel Melanie’s gaze on me, and instinctively our eyes meet. She knows this isn’t easy for me, and for her either.
“Hey, David,” Dee is the first to talk. In her arms, there is a dark-haired baby, their daughter. Seeing my ex so happy makes me feel even better. I acted like a jackass, a coward, but in the end, the river always goes back to its course. She always belonged to Martin, and I found Melanie.
“Hi, Dee,” I reply, feeling a little shy. “Who’s that little girl?”
She smiles and then caresses the girl’s plump cheek with a finger. “This is your niece, Liah.”
“She’s beautiful,” I say, then turn to talk to Davi. “Look, son, you’re meant to be around beautiful girls.”
Three female cousins at home and two more around here, Davi isn’t impressed. “Myweloknows dinosaws,” he replies animatedly. I don’t know if that’s true, but my father plays the part perfectly. “We go hunting tomorrow.”
We spend the next two hours eating, chatting, and being the noisy family we have always been. My siblings bombard Melanie with questions about her family, and Ruben—of course—makes a couple of jokes about her ability to deal with a man like me. If he only knew….
By the time Gabriel and Cardan are serving coffee, Melanie is sitting by my side. My arm is stretched on the back of her chair as if we had done this a thousand times. Slowly, the kids grow tired, and Davi comes to Melanie’s arms, rubbing his eyes.
“Your room is ready,” my father informs us. “You’re staying in your old room.”
Then Ruben adds: “No worries, bro. We removed the naked girl’s posters long ago. You can take Mels there. And the magazines….”
I roll my eyes before replying: “Yeah, sure.Mamánever allowed us to hang that kind of art on our walls.” And for the couple of old Playboy mags we owned years ago, those were always safely hidden in the shed we used as a lair as teenagers.
“Fair point,” he concedes as we stand. Davi needs a bath, and we need peace and alone time after this emotional rollercoaster. Tomorrow will be another crazy day. God only knows what my siblings have in store for us.
Yup. Home, sweet home.
Chapter Eighteen
Melanie
I’m living in an alternate reality. Or at least it seems like that. I’m getting used to waking up with David every day, but it still feels like a miracle, too. The feeling of his strong arms around my body, holding me close. He’s loving and passionate. I swear, one of these days, we will break the bed. Also, he’s so caring that my heart melts at the sight of him. Right now, he’s in the en-suite bathroom taking care of Davi while I stay in bed.
“Rest, Ella,” he said before giving me a deep kiss. “After everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, you need it.” So, who am I to complain?
Now we are at the patio in his father’s house, sitting and sipping a cold beer, talking withpapa Nachoand a very pregnant Erin, while David and his brothers are around the grill makingcarne asadabecause we are having authentic Mexican tacos. Destinee and Elena ushered us out of the kitchen, saying they had everything under control.
David’s family is amazing, rumbustious, and caring. Just like mine. He was so nervous about coming back here. I understood his fears, but now I just want to celebrate his bravery and the decision to come back. Ignacio is on cloud nine having all his kids under the same roof again.
The boys are blasting old rock classics, from Guns-n-Roses to Def Leppard and everything in between. Right now, a Queen song is playing, and the four are singing it out loud. Erin excuses herself and runs inside the house.
I remember those days when I was round as the moon and rushing to the bathroom with the urgency to pee every two minutes. She and Gabriel aren’t revealing the sex of the baby. They want to be surprised at birth. The thought makes me smile. As hard as it was, I enjoyed my pregnancy. Davi changed my life, and I wouldn’t change him for anything in the world. How would it have been with David by my side?
Here we are, born to be kings…Freddy Mercury sings, and the four Posada brothers follow the lyrics making a show of it.Is Ruben on his knees singing?
“That’s their song, you know?” Ignacio surprises me as he moves to sit beside me on the outdoor couch. “My boys were born to be kings of their own worlds.”
Fatherly pride fills his words and the gaze he gives to his sons.
“They are different,” he continues. “My wife and I tried to understand their quirks and celebrate them. We were heartbroken when none wanted to stay here and take care of the orchard. Then little Elena, being just a teenager, dropped the bomb saying she would love to manage it. Life surprises you left and right, doesn’t it?”
Last night I learned Elena is running a successful dried mango business and helping Ignacio with the orchard management.
“Gabriel was always the responsible, reliable, big protector brother,” he continues. “Martin, with a book under his arm and a fishing rod, running with Dee to the creek to spend time together. Ruben is the funny one, the soul of the party. Now he’s doing so well as a lawyer in the big city. Elena was the apple of my eye since the first moment the nurse laid her in my arms. And David… David was the….” The man chokes with unsaid words.
“The rebel?” I dare to say.
