by Kayla, Mia
“Okay, we don’t have to tell Sarah that we went on a date yesterday. What if we tell her we’re hanging out as friends?” The word tasted sour in my mouth. It wasn’t right. I wanted more. I already knew I wanted more.
She lifted a single eyebrow, disbelieving. “Like she’ll believe that.”
There was a little knock at the front window, and we peered over. Mary. Sweet Mary.
“Miss Cruz. Uncle Mason!” Knock. Knock. Knock. She flailed her little arms and jumped up and down.
Mary opened the door, ran outside, and hopped like a bunny on Easter morning.
“Come inside. Sonia’s here now!” She tugged my hand toward the door, and I thanked her for the interruption.
I shrugged my shoulders and gave Gabby a sideways glance.
Sarah was a short view away, coming around from the backyard. Gabby waved at her as she approached, and my whole body tensed, bracing myself for her reaction.
Surprised was an understatement. Sarah approached cautiously, her eyes wide and questioning.
Sweat beaded on the back of my neck. Shit, I knew I loved her, my niece, but why did this teenage girl have so much control over my emotions?
I waved. It was an awkward wave. “Sarah, hey. We got Sonia and your favorite cake.” I lifted the bag that held the chocolate cake and smiled.
She dug her Converse shoes into the gravel, silent as always. I could usually tell what Sarah was thinking. We’d been cut from the same cloth. We wore our emotions on our sleeves even though we didn’t have to say a word. And I could read all the emotions on her face right now—uncomfortable, cautious, confused.
“Hi, Miss Cruz.” Sarah waved from her spot, a small smile forming for her teacher, but not for me.
“We were just discussing the school dance,” I told her. Liar, liar, pants on fire. “So I … I invited her to dinner.”
“Okay,” she said it like it wasn’t okay and that she knew I was lying.
I clenched my teeth in a smile.
When will this get better? When will our relationship go back to how it had been?
Tension filled the air that I could feel in my gut. It choked me like a big cloud of smoke.
Mary pulled at Gabby’s shirt, her cheesy smile on display. “Want to see my tree house? It’s in the back.”
Gabby peered down at Mary and tugged at her blonde curls. “Sure, let’s go. Sarah, why don’t you lead the way?”
I watched them go around the house to the back and let out a long sigh. I walked into the house and found Brad seated at the kitchen table.
“Hey,” I said, lifting the cake.
It was Sonia’s favorite—a chocolate cake where one of the ingredients was mayonnaise. With her being my secretary, I knew the kind of cake she liked and made sure to get it for her birthday.
Brad peered up at me. “Hey.”
The house was empty and oddly quiet, given we were supposed to have a full-on family party today.
“Where did everyone go?”
“Girls are in the backyard, and Charles, Becky, and Sonia are in the garage, admiring the new van they got. Where’s Gabby? I thought you were introducing her to the fam today?”
I ran one shaky hand through my hair. “Yeah, I am.” I plopped down opposite him.
Brad was the last person I wanted advice from, but he was here, and I needed to get things off my chest. Before Sonia, he’d never been a relationship kind of guy. He had done the casual dating thing. We were opposite in every sense of the word. Where Brad had slept with half the city of Chicago, I’d had two partners and always been in monogamous relationships all my life.
“She’s in the back with the girls. Hey. I need advice.” Quick, fast, and to the point.
He eyed me. “Well, that’s a first.” He rubbed his chin with one hand, a know-it-all smirk on his face.
I debated on walking to the garage and talking to Charles, but I didn’t need the group listening in.
“I like her,” I said straight out, and when his smile widened, I added, “Gabby.”
“No. Really? I thought it was some new girl already.” He shook his head, and then motioned for me to continue.
“She doesn’t want to get in a serious relationship because she just got out of one.”
“So?” He leaned over, reached toward the center of the table, and scooped some nuts out of a bowl as if this was going to be a long conversation. It very well might be.
“I don’t want her dating other people. I’m not the sharing type.” The thought made me sick. It also made me want to hit something when I didn’t have a violent bone in my body.
“How do you know she’s dating other people? Did you ask her?”
“Well, no,” I grumbled, drumming my fingers against the table. “We decided we’re taking it a day at a time.”
He raised an eyebrow and lifted a shoulder. “So, what’s the problem then?”
“The problem is, I want more. A commitment.” I scooped some nuts and jammed them into my mouth, and my whole face pinched, annoyance seeping through every part of me. I didn’t do well with not knowing where things were heading, in a meeting, at work, in relationships. I prided myself in always being prepared therefore, I could almost always predict the outcome of any situation. With Gabby, everything was unpredictable—from how we met, to our first kiss, to our first date.
He lifted both hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You just met this girl, and you went out with her for the first time last night. I mean, have you even slept with her yet? Knowing your five-date—”
“We have.” Multiple times, I thought but didn’t add.
He leaned back in his chair, angled closer, eyed me as though he didn’t know me, and then covered his mouth. “Well, well, well.” Brad’s face exuded amusement. “I think Gabby has let out your wild side. I’m impressed.”
I groaned. “I’m serious, Brad. I want a date.”
“What does that even mean? A date?”
I clenched my fists. How am I not clear? “A date of when we are officially together.” That sounded crazy and irrational and so unlike me, but I wanted to know that this was going somewhere—that Gabby and I were on the same page.
His eyes rolled up. “Okay, cornball. Why is that so important? You know she likes you. You like her. Sex is good, I’m assuming …”
He paused for me to agree, but I didn’t give anything away. I didn’t want to disclose our sex life or how amazing it’d felt to be inside her.
When I just stared at him, Brad continued, “Why does it matter if there’s a date?”
“Because I want to know when she’s officially mine.”
I wanted her to be mine. Call me possessive. Call me whatever. I was a serial dater, and monogamy was the only type of relationship I could do.
“You’ve got it bad.” His face turned serious. “For a girl you hardly know …” His voice trailed off as though he was speaking mostly to himself.
It was so unlike me, but it was like I’d known Gabby all my life. Though we were opposites in so many ways, I felt as though I knew her. We had the same values, we loved our families, we believed in what we were doing at our jobs, and we loved children. If those weren’t the qualities that you looked for in a forever partner, I didn’t know what was.
Becky’s and Sonia’s voices echoed in the garage, carrying toward the kitchen.
Gabby’s laughter rang through the hallway in the front foyer, followed by Mary’s cheery voice.
I shot up to a standing position from my chair. My heartbeat picked up in my throat. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Brad chuckled. “Man, oh, man. Here I thought I had it bad for my girl. You have it as bad as me or even worse.” He tipped his chin toward the seat I’d just vacated. “Sit down. Don’t look too anxious. You might scare your girl away.”
My girl … I liked the sound of that.
And I headed down the hall toward the front of the house to get her.
Chapter 18
Gabby
The man
sion was massive. As in I could fit three of my houses or more into this one big house. I had known that the Briskens had money. I mean, the majority of the kids who went to my school had money. But at school, you just see the kids, and since it was a private school, you couldn’t tell which kid had more money than the other since they were all wearing the same uniforms. Or maybe I’d never thought about it too deeply. And now … well … yeah.
A smiling Mason greeted me in the foyer. He didn’t hide a thing. I loved this about him. The previous bad boys I’d dated always put up a front, as though they wanted to maintain their machismo or flaunt their manhood. Not Mason. It was like what you saw was exactly what you got, and he was never apologetic about who he was.
He took my bag and my jacket from me and leaned in, but I pulled back, my eyes flittering toward his nieces walking in front of us.
He nodded and then whispered in my ear, “I missed you.”
He’d just seen me minutes ago, but the way he’d said it and the way he was looking at me made my stomach flip.
My jaw dropped to the floor as I walked farther in the house. There was a marble floor and a display of orchids and roses on a round table that split the room. Behind it, a double staircase opened to a second floor, and like a cherry on a sundae, at the tip-top of the ceiling, a chandelier sparkled.
“Nice house.” I shifted with unease. I didn’t know why.
Maybe because I always associated being rich with being an asshole.
I shook off the thought. Either way, I was utterly in awe of this place.
“Yep. Becky’s really added her touch,” Mason added, noting the way I was staring at it all. Like I had known what it was like before Becky did anything. I was impressed in general at its immenseness.
“Well, it’s beautiful.”
“I’ll tell you what’s beautiful.” His intense gaze made my cheeks warm.
He pulled me in and left a lingering kiss on my lips once his nieces were out of sight. And I was a breathless girl of sixteen again, palms sweaty, heart pumping, and utterly infatuated with the man kissing me. I placed a hand on his chest to keep him from doing it again.
“Sarah …” My one-worded whisper was shaky, but it was all he needed, and he nodded in understanding.
I hadn’t talked to Sarah, and he hadn’t made up with Sarah. Outside, when I was admiring their pool and their tree house, I hadn’t mentioned why I was here, and she hadn’t asked. It was awkward, but I knew Mason had to have this conversation with his niece, not me. I loved Sarah to pieces, and it wasn’t like I needed her permission, but … I wanted her approval if Mason and I were to progress into something more. Not only because she was my student, but also because she meant so much to him.
Without a second thought, Mason reached for my hand and squeezed it, dragging me into the kitchen. My pulse sped up, and I realized I was dragging my feet.
I bit my lip and gripped his hand tighter. I’d met his family before, but that had been at a club and at a parent-teacher conference, not in such an intimate setting.
He peered back and locked eyes with me, pulling me in for another quick peck before we stepped into the kitchen, where laughter filled the air.
“Gabby!” Brad roared, standing from his spot at the kitchen table.
Before I even had a chance to greet him, he engulfed me in a hug, and then I was passed like a rag doll to Sonia, to whom I whispered, “Happy Birthday,” before being bum-rushed by Mary as if she hadn’t just seen me outside.
“Hi, Miss Cruz.” Charles waved from the stove.
“Gabby,” I said. “Miss Cruz is only in the classroom.”
My eyes took in the state-of-the-art kitchen built for a king—the stainless steel appliances, the copper pans hanging from the ceiling, the marble island that was as big as my bed.
“I hope you’re hungry because I cooked a feast.” Becky, with her oven mitts on, held a pan of something that smelled divine.
When she placed it on the center island, I realized it was lasagna.
“I am. Eating is one of my favorite hobbies.”
Sarah approached slowly. I could read her eyes, and it wasn’t malice I read, but an unease. She was fine with me when it was just the two of us outside, talking about the functionality of the tree house.
She smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze dropped to Mason’s hand wrapped tightly around mine, and I knew he sensed it because he slowly released me.
I’d never been in this predicament before. I’d never dated my student’s uncle—or anyone related to a student, for that matter—and it put a sour taste in my mouth.
“Hey, Sarah.”
I walked toward her and gave her a hug. Why not? She was the one I knew the most. She hugged me back but in the most awkward of ways, as everyone’s eyes were on us.
* * *
We were midway through dinner when Mary, the conversationalist, was telling us about gymnastics and her ability to do the high beam, which I didn’t doubt. Abruptly, Brad clinked a fork against his glass as though we were at a wedding and he was about to give a speech.
“So … I want to make a toast.” He lifted his glass of Coke.
I couldn’t stop smiling because it was Brad, and I had a feeling this was going to be funny. And I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say about Sonia. And after experiencing their engagement yesterday, I wondered if he was going to break it to the family now.
But then his gaze turned to my direction, and I froze. The smile slipped from my face, and I held my breath.
“To Gabby …”
Mason stared at Brad, narrowed eyes, lips pursed, and with this look of warning in his eyes.
“What?” He looked around the room. “I’m not going to roast her or anything. I just want to say, thanks for taking the stick out of my brother’s ass.”
Sonia laughed beside him. “I wished I got to see you guys dance. Mason, did you bust a move or two?”
“Mason? Dance?” Charles let out a bellow of a laugh from across the table.
“I want to see proof,” Mary piped up. “I want to see Uncle Mason dance now.”
“Actually…” He nodded for emphasis. “I did do a little dancing. I also had the perfect teacher.” Mason squeezed my leg under the table, and the warmth of his touch spread everywhere. “And no. No proof will be shown.” He motioned to Brad and tipped his chin. “Isn’t there something else we need to toast about?” There was a long, pregnant pause after that loaded question.
Sonia nearly choked on her water, and Brad’s smile widened.
“Yeah … so everyone.” He clinked the fork against his Coke glass as though he hadn’t had everyone’s attention already. Without skipping a beat, he belted out in a singsong voice, “Sonia and I are getting marriiied.”
Everyone was on their feet. Well, besides Mason and me because we’d already known.
“And,” Brad added, “we’re having a baby.”
Everyone went from standing to jumping and clapping and hugging Sonia. Even Sarah, who had been pretty quiet earlier, was now ecstatic.
Brad spread his arms. “Space. Space. The future wife needs space.”
“When are you getting married? How far along are you?” Becky pressed a tender hand on Sonia’s flat stomach.
“I’m early.” Sonia glowed. “Just shy of three months.”
Mary hugged Sonia’s middle and kissed her stomach in the tenderest of ways. “Now, I won’t be the youngest anymore.” She squeed with delight. “I’ll be the one bossing someone around.”
“Sit, sit, sit.” Brad pointed to the empty seats, and he slowly ushered Mary to hers. “Give MILF some room to breathe.”
Sonia hit her future husband.
Mason rolled his eyes.
“What’s a MILF?” Mary asked once everyone was seated.
The whole table laughed, but no one addressed her question.
“When?” Becky asked eagerly. “When is the big day?”
“A week from tomorrow.�
�� Brad beamed. “We’re getting married in court. My future father-in-law—”
“Wait. You told Sonia’s dad?” Mason was almost laughing beside me—almost.
“Yes. And he’s happy.” Brad tipped back his Coke, his smile wide. “I mean, he finally was after the initial shock.”
“You should have seen Brad’s face.” Sonia grinned humorously. “He walked into our house, and it took a good four hours right before my parents were going to bed to slip in that he’d knocked me up.”
“I didn’t say that.” He playfully poked Sonia’s side. “I said we’re having a baby … in a very quiet tone.” Brad laughed.
“Well … what was his reaction?” Mason leaned in, elbows on the table, like he was waiting to hear about Brad’s demise.
“He … well …” Brad rubbed at his jaw, and his gaze flickered to Sonia. “He was none too pleased until I explained that Sonia was going to be taken care of and that we were going to get married … yes, in a church eventually.”
“Yeah, the house shook at first with his yelling until my mother calmed him down.” Sonia giggled.
“Shit. Yeah, that too. I thought I was a dead man.”
Sonia placed a hand on Brad’s forearm. “You were like, ‘You don’t want to kill your grandchild’s father. Do you want Sonia to be a single mother?’’”
Brad’s face reddened. “I meant it as a joke.”
“He didn’t think it was too funny.” Sonia placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “What matters is that I love you.”
An obvious pout formed on Brad’s face where he puckered his lips, trying for cute. “But he’s your dad. I want him to love me too.”
“We’re giving him his first grandchild, and you’ve made his little girl so happy. How can he not love you?” She leaned in and placed a light kiss on his lips.
My insides swooned and a jealousy burned in my veins. Not because she had Brad, but because she had her one.
“We’ll have a party here … after your court wedding,” Charles announced, lifting a forkful of food to his mouth, which essentially had dinner starting all over again and talks about the wedding in full swing.
