Love By Chance (Chance Series Book 1)

by Blake Allwood

  Elian’s mother was as pretty as a picture. It was no wonder where Elian and Lucia got their looks. His father was handsome as well, and they made a beautiful couple, but you could tell from the ever-expanding crowd they were beloved as well.

  When we arrived at the beach, the party had already begun. It seemed hundreds of people lined the beach. Lucia and Manuel were working behind the food, and a young man who was a muscular version of Manuel was behind the bar. I assumed he had to be Manuel’s brother, which Elian confirmed when he went over to get us both a drink from the bar.

  It was at least an hour after we arrived that Elian introduced me to his parents. Elian’s mother smiled when she saw me and reached out a graceful hand to me. “It is unusual for our Elian to bring a date to meet his family. Maybe he thought you would be less intimidated by us in a crowd.” She pinned her son with a look, then laughed when he squirmed.

  I had a moment of paralysis when she laughed. The hateful memory of how my ex’s mother had attacked me hit me full on, and I was sure I paled from the response.

  Elian’s father must’ve noticed and said, “We love teasing our son, young man. You are welcome here, and we are very happy Elian brought you to play with us on our happy occasion.”

  Elian’s mother must have caught her husband’s tone as she too turned to me and smiled a happy, genuine smile, saying, “Don’t mind me, love, I’ve had way too many toasts, and it is so enjoyable to tease my Elian.” She mussed her son’s perfectly combed hair and grinned at him. “We are exceptionally pleased you are here.” She leaned over and kissed me square on the lips.

  Elian pulled me away and said, “My mom is sloshed. She will be mortified tomorrow when Dad tells her that she kissed you on the mouth.”

  When it was clear everyone had eaten, Manuel and Lucia came out from behind the buffet line and began dancing with the crowd. I was hesitant to dance, not knowing Elian’s family, but after Manuel’s muscle-bound brother soaked me with several drinks he was taking to a table I was standing beside, I let my inhibition slip away. I ended up dancing with a number of people I’d never met before. My experience with men was that they came and went. I figured it was unlikely Elian would last long, so I thought I might as well enjoy the party and let my hair down for a moment.

  At one point, Lucia came up behind me and slipped her arms around my waist from behind. “My mama and papa said they like you. That is a good sign, mi amor,” she said. “Mi hermano must really like you to bring you to meet us on such a special occasion. How do you feel about mi hermono?” We danced as she talked, and I—who was not good at keeping my opinion to myself even when sober—had been drinking since I arrived.

  “He is dashingly handsome,” I said. “Too handsome to trust this early in the relationship.”

  Lucia laughed so hard at that comment she almost fell to the ground. I turned around and reached down to steady her. “Tu puedes ser la pareja perfecta de mi hermano,” she said, and then danced away from me.

  Despite my pitiful understanding of Spanish, I understood what Lucia had said: “You are the perfect match for my brother.”

  I doubted that I was anyone’s perfect match. That was another lesson I learned from my past relationship; you can’t assume you are someone’s match. They will always surprise you. The sour thoughts took root in my mind, and I quickly needed space to process them. I slipped away from the party and found a nice round post to sit on several yards down the beach and a good distance from the party.

  I’d always enjoyed hearing the laughter and music of a party on the beach, but I also enjoyed being away from it as well. After my relationship with Peter, I thought it would be impossible to trust someone again. But this man was different, so much so, he undid my barriers. Also, unlike Peter’s mother, Elian’s family was full of life and happiness. There were no underlying hateful statements. Even the intense Lucia had warmed up to me. The way she harassed Elian made me smile. The two might not like to admit it, but anyone with eyes could see underneath their ongoing sibling rivalry was pure love and a great deal of attachment.

  My ex’s mother would never have touched me much less kissed me on the mouth. I doubted there was enough alcohol on earth to make that happen. Again, just thinking of her sent shivers along my spine. I doubted I’d ever get over having that much venom thrown at me..

  My mind was just beginning to slip down the slippery slope of self-doubt and skepticism when a middle-aged woman came up behind me and asked if she could share the area. Without an answer, she leaned against the post I was sitting on.

  “Quite the party up there, huh?” she asked.

  I smiled at the lady. “Yep, it is a celebration.”

  “Do you know them?” she asked.

  “Not really,” I admitted. “I’m here with a date.”

  “Date not going so well?” she asked.

  I smiled again. “No, it is going fine. Although, it has been a while since I’ve seen said date,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m guessing with the free-flowing alcohol, he is asleep under a chair somewhere.”

  The woman chuckled too. “So, you must really like this one to come to a family gathering like this,” she commented.

  I hadn’t mentioned it was a family gathering, so I assumed the woman must be a guest of the party as well. “I didn’t know it was a family affair, to be honest,” I said. “I was just told it was going to be a party.”

  The woman laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me, considering who your date is.”

  I glanced at her and said, “So, you are coming from the party as well, then.”

  She nodded her head. “I am… but like you, I sometimes need to get away. The family can be very intense. My name is Bonita Alverez. I think you met my husband Raul earlier today.”

  “You are Elian’s aunt,” I said with a little shock, rewinding what I’d said earlier, hoping I hadn’t been offensive.

  “Si,” she responded. “I saw you wander off after Lucia danced with you. I hope she didn’t say something to offend you.”

  I laughed, “No, she seems to like me, which is good because I’m guessing she could be quite a handful if she didn’t.”

  The older woman sighed deeply, “You have no idea. When you walked away, I was afraid, Lucia and Elian tend to battle each other, but she is fiercely protective of her brother and all of us, really. If she likes you, then you must be worth liking. She doesn’t tend to allow many people in; we call her the family watchdog.”

  I nodded my understanding. “You would think Elian would avoid her, but he brought me to her restaurant on our first date, then told her I was a food critic. At first, I thought she was going to tackle me and rip me limb from limb.”

  Bonita laughed. “She could have, too. Never doubt that.” She stared ponderingly at the ocean and said, “It is strange that he would bring you there, at least at first. He must have wanted to size you up. Lucia is the best judge of character. There is some inner compass in her that points toward good and bad. If she doesn’t like someone, we’ve all learned to listen to her instincts. If she does, well, then tend to be OK. Our boy must have wanted to consider your measure.”

  I wasn’t sure if I liked this or not. At first, I’d assumed I’d been brought to Lucia’s to conduct a free review of her cooking. Then, I took Elian’s word that he’d wanted to use his sister as a way to show me he wasn’t just about the money, which of course, made me even more suspicious. However, it appeared the review Elian wanted wasn’t from me, but about me.

  “I guess since I’m here, I must have passed her compass test. Tonight, before I walked down here, she told me I was the perfect match for Elian.”

  The woman returned her attention back to me and asked, “This is what made you uncomfortable?”

  “Not uncomfortable,” I responded honestly, “I’ve just been burned by someone in the past. His mother was pretty tyrannical, and she said some really nasty stuff to me. When I told him, he turned on me. He and I had been engaged…”

&
nbsp; I was surprised I’d disclosed so much to a stranger, and worse, a stranger who was related to a man who I was here with. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I think I may have had too much to drink. I don’t usually spill my guts to strangers on the beach.”

  “No worries, young man, I have that effect on people,” she said, patting my arm.

  “You need to know two things, which you won’t believe right now. First, my nephew is a stand-up man. He is solid as a rock, and I know because I’m one of the people who raised him. You can—and I think eventually you will—trust him. Second, we are far from perfect, but when one of us finds that special someone, we will bring you into our family and love you as if you were always a part of it. That is just how we are made. I’m very sorry you were hurt in the past, but give this one a chance. You might be surprised by him.”

  She pushed away from the stump, then laid her hand on mine. “I am headed back up to the party. You should come, too. I’m sure you have been missed by now.” Then, she leaned over and kissed my cheek.

  “I’ll be back up in a moment. I would just like a little more time to process.”

  “You take all the time you need, querido. I’ll let them know you are fine.” She left me alone after that.

  Things were moving too fast. Sure, it'd been a while since Peter and I split, but the pain from it was just as intense as it had been when it first happened. I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship and I sure as hell wasn’t ready to be meeting some man’s very large and very involved family. If I had my car here, I’d have already left, but as it was, I was dependent on Elian. I liked this family, but it was time to put on the breaks. Time to protect my heart.

  When I got back to the party, Elian was waiting for me. He looked at me, concerned. “Elian, thank you, for tonight, but I’m really not ready for this. I’ve already ordered a cab, so you don’t have to leave your party.”

  I kissed Elian on the cheek and walked toward the stairs that led up to the front of the condominiums. “Can you tell me what we did wrong?” Elian asked.

  This stopped me in my tracks. I turned around, worried that Elian had gotten the wrong impression.

  “You did nothing wrong, none of you did. Your family is amazing, and I liked everyone I met, but Elian, I had a nasty break up that I’m not over. I just wasn’t ready for all this,” I said as I gestured back toward the party. “ I’m sorry, this was just too much.” Then, all I could do was shake my head and walk away.

  Elian called my name again, but I decided to keep walking. I was going to put an end to this, and as I walked away, I figured I had.

  I was relieved when Elian hadn’t tried to call me the next day. There was some regret, but having left things like I did, I probably had put an end to the whole mess.

  I called Kristine first thing the next morning and told her what had happened with the goal of talking her into coming over to hang as I got stinking drunk.

  She, of course, refused to do that, but she did say she’d be glad to take me out to get me hammered. “Just as a girlfriend should,” she added.

  She arrived at my apartment around seven in the evening and had a party of women with her, many of whom worked with us at the paper. “Tonight,” Kristine said, “you need to party with girlfriends, no men allowed, and certainly no man’s damned family.”

  I laughed and agreed. After Peter and I had broken up, my friendship with Janice, and my new relationship with Kristine, had pulled me through. Although, back then, there was a lot less getting hammered and a lot more eating ice cream. These friendships were just what I needed.

  Unfortunately, this time I was the one who’d left the guy at the beach, literally and figuratively. It was better to end things before they became too intense, and having intimate discussions with a guy’s aunt about becoming a member of their family was way too intense for a second date.

  The men trashing party was fully underway as we left my apartment. Kristine had ordered a limo to escort the group of us. This was perfect. As soon as I stepped into the limo, the beer and wine were passed around, and Kristine ordered me to fill the group in on what had happened.

  When I explained that Elian had brought me to his sister’s restaurant on a first date, all the women moaned in unison. “Oh, that isn’t the worst of it,” Kristine replied. “Tell them about your second date.”

  I shook my head, “It was his parent’s anniversary party.” Kristine yelled, “Anniversary party! His damned parent’s anniversary party. Can you imagine?” The entire limo was full of women’s voices, lifted in unison at the outrage.

  “So,” Renee, a woman I worked with but didn’t know very well asked, “What did you do?”

  I responded, “I danced. I got drunk. I kissed his mother on the lips, or actually, I got kissed on the lips by his mother. I got overwhelmed, and I ordered a cab and came home… where I’ve been licking my wounds ever since.”

  “The bastard,” one of the other women said. “Who takes a first date to meet someone’s family? No one,” she answered her own question. “No one does that!”

  “I liked them,” I said too quietly, then turned toward the group. “I actually liked them. They were sweet and accommodating and even understanding but…” I drifted off, then said to the woman next to me, “Pass me another beer. I plan to get totally wasted, ladies.”

  They all cheered, but not as much as they had before. “Martin,” Kristine asked, “if you liked them, why did you leave?”

  After a moment I replied, “It isn’t them; it was me… really. Actually, it was Peter, or at least his mother.” Everyone seemed confused, except Kristine, who just looked sad.

  I sighed then explained, “Peter is my ex. We were actually engaged to be married at least for a few days. His mother was a psychopath who hated me. So, on Christmas Eve, she cornered me where Peter couldn’t hear and ripped me up and down, saying some of the nastiest things anyone has ever said to me. When I told him what she said, he broke up with me, telling me it was best that he understood what kind of person I was before we got married.”

  Several of the women gasped. “Oh, honey,” Renee said and put her hand on mine.

  “So, last night, I’m at this party and hanging out with these people, and they were all wonderful, but I couldn’t think of anything except that horrible woman. No amount of alcohol drowned her hatred out. So, I ran. I’m a total chicken shit that ran away because I was being haunted by my ex’s evil mother. How pathetic is that?” I asked the group.

  “Not pathetic at all,” Kenise, a women who I’d not met before tonight said in a Jamaican accent. “There is nothing worse than a man’s evil mother. My first husband’s mother was Lucifer himself wrapped in the cloak of a woman’s body. She terrorized me from the day we met until the day I cast her spawn aside. If anyone can haunt your dreams, Martin, it’s the mother of your man.”

  The rest of the women agreed with her and each took turns sharing horrifying encounters with disapproving mothers. “We should all vow never to be evil mothers,” Kristine chimed in, and they all toasted the vow.

  The night was exactly what I needed: we drank, danced, bar hopped, ogled men, then trash-talked them in general when we got back into the limo. I got way past drunk, and I wasn’t exactly sure when we got back home, but somehow, I’d been dumped back in my apartment and into my bed.

  _________

  I woke the next morning to a monster hangover. Crawling out of bed, I was surprised I didn’t upchuck the night’s consumed liquor. Luckily, I managed to make it to the kitchen where I whipped up my hangover treatment, downed it, gagged, and lay back down on my couch until the room stopped spinning.

  The door buzzer echoed in my head. Assuming it was Kristine come back to check on me, I stood only long enough to buzz her in, then lay back on the couch, covering my eyes with the pillow.

  I heard the door open and shut. “How can you be awake after all we drank last night?” I asked.

  Then, I heard, “Ahem, Martin. It is me, Elian.�
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  Without taking the pillow off my face, I replied, “Shit, Elian. Why are you here?”

  “I came to apologize. Were you expecting someone else?” he asked.

  “No, not really, but I assumed you were Kristine come to harass me about my hangover.”

  I slowly removed the pillow from my eyes and slanted them at Elian. “You didn’t need to come. I was an ass and left you hanging. It should be me that’s apologizing. It just took ten gallons of assorted varieties of alcohol to figure that out.”

  Elian smiled. “If you stick to just one type of drink per night, the hangover isn’t quite a bad the next day. A trick my papa taught me when I turned twenty-one.”

  “Yes,” I replied, “but your papa wasn’t hanging out with a group of men-hating, vengeful women last night. We were all plying ourselves with alcohol to nurse our men-inspired wounds.”

  “You needed to apply ten gallons of alcohol to nurse wounds I created?” I could hear the hurt in his voice.

  “No, silly,” I replied. “I haven’t known you long enough to get that many wounds from you. These were wounds created before I even moved to Fort Lauderdale.”

  Elian

  I watched him as he got out two Alka-Seltzers from the cabinet and droped them into a small glass of water. When the fizz died down, he downed the drink in one gulp. Then, he leaned over the counter, waiting for his stomach to settle. He sighed, then turned back to me.

  “You don’t know me well, Elian. I probably should have been more upfront with you, but, honestly, I didn’t think you’d expose me to your family this early in the game. We haven’t even decided if we like each other or not. Hell, before the kiss I gave you in front of your uncle, who, by the way, I didn’t know was there, we hadn’t even kissed. At least not a real kiss. For all I know, you didn’t even think I was attractive. Most of the time, my dates and I would have had sex twice and secretly vowed never to see each other again at this point. That’s the usual lifespan of my post-Peter, my ex,” I clarified, “dates.”