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“Okay, uh…” I clear my throat. “I might need a moment first.”
Luz bites her lip, her cheeks darkening in realization. “I’ll wait for you inside, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” My hand shakes as I push my hair away from my forehead. “If anyone asks, just say it took me a whole ten minutes to grab the tiramisu from my truck.”
That’s about how long it will take me to will away the desire coursing through my veins. The two options are really only one, because if I drive away without facing her parents, they will never, ever forgive me. And I want to stay in Luz’s life. Knowing I have to face them after that little, uh, spectacle, sends my nerves into overdrive. That alone is enough to sober me.
I grab the Tupperware and realize its purpose hasn’t changed. Instead of bribing Tinker Bell, I now have to use its powers on her family. Who all probably think I’m some sleazy horndog.
I still knock on the door, as if nothing’s amiss. The spy from earlier must’ve been Tinker Bell’s little sister, because she’s the one who opens the door. Her eyes are wide as saucers as she looks up at me.
A hand falls on her shoulder, and I trace it up to a very angry man. The dad. To be honest, if looks could kill, I would’ve died the second his eldest daughter kissed me.
“Um, hi. My name is Max Cassiano and I’m?—”
“Just let him in. He’s freezing!” The scream comes from Luz, who’s somewhere inside the house.
Wordlessly, her dad steps aside to let me in. I keep as wide a berth as I can, even though I’m a whole head taller than the man and significantly bulkier.
“Sit.” He points at the couch.
I do, placing the container with cake on my lap. In an armchair across the coffee table sits Luz’s mom. Her expression is blank, as is her son’s. Luz mentioned he’s the middle kid, but he’s as big as I am. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought him to be our age or even older. The kid cocks an eyebrow, as if defiant.
The couch sinks beside me. Luz sits perhaps a bit closer to me than she should. I take the steaming mug she offers me, so relieved by the warmth I don’t even care that she swipes the Tupperware from my grasp. She lifts the lid and stabs the cake with a spoon.
I watch her take a big bite. Her eyes widen as my mother’s culinary talents hit her.
“Oh my.”
“That was supposed to be for your family, you know?”
She shakes her head. “No way. All mine.”
Her dad sits on the other armchair, diagonal from me. The glare hasn’t dimmed even a notch. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”
If I’d been drinking the tea, I’d have choked.
“Ugh, Dad.” Luz groans but doesn’t stop chewing. “That is so old school.”
“He needs to answer the question, Luz Maria. Especially after that—after that?—”
“For your information, I was the one who kissed him.”
“But he grabbed your…” He can’t even say it. His whole body shakes. “In public!”
She has the nerve to shrug. Shrug. Even though I feel like death is creeping over me.
I smack her thigh softly with the back of my hand and hiss. “Luz, you’re really not helping.”
Is that amusement in her mom’s face?
Behind us, I hear the younger girl say, “I told Brooke that Max Cassiano is here, and he’s on his way.”
Who? What?
I do a double take and glance back. “Do you know me?”
It’s her brother who answers. “Everyone who follows hockey in this town knows you.”
