Forever Yours

by Elizabeth Reyes

  There was footage of her and Sofie running at several of their high school track meets her senior year. Some of them made Sarah blush because she won in several and they all cheered even now as if it were just happening. They all even looked as excited as they all did in the videos way back then. Then there was graduation followed by the party at the restaurant. There was a bunch of short videos of them all at their restaurant, Andolini’s, the bowling alley, the beach, and many of their bonfires. The videos of all of them hanging out everywhere seemed endless but brought back so many memories; some even choked her up.

  The videos moved on to the ones from Facebook and Instagram, some of the ones Leonardo had told her he’d watched: Sarah and Valerie goofing off in front of the webcam then Sarah and Angel doing a dumb YouTube boyfriend tag that had Sarah laughing out loud and blushing.

  Sarah hadn’t noticed there was music playing in the background. She was so busy and enthralled by all the old memories until she noticed the odd choice of song for videos of old times with friends—“My Girl” by The Temptations. It got a little louder with each slide and video that was shown, and she noticed too many of them were of just her or her and Angel being cute—cuddling—kissing.

  She turned to look at Angel, wondering now if he’d put the video together and a little embarrassed that he’d make everyone sit through so many of what she was sure everyone else was thinking were cheesy videos and slides. Finally, it was over, and she felt a little relieved though she’d definitely be asking for a copy.

  “Who put that together?” she asked.

  “There’s more,” Sal said, hitting a few things on the tablet connected to the TV.

  More recent video of all them started playing, including this past Thanksgiving and Christmas then Sarah and Angel’s big birthday bash with everyone from his family. Even the out-of-towners were present. The video had Sofie and Sal in front of a webcam, reminiscing about their big family. How they all had their quirks, but they’d never trade anything for it. Then Romero’s charades video played, and all of them nearly fell out of their seats laughing. When his clip was over, it cut away to him talking into his toothbrush and looking into the camera.

  “I just wanna say even though I grew up an only kid I’ve never felt like it because I grew up with my brothers and sister, the Morenos and my boy Eric. I have mad love for all of you.”

  Sarah turned to Romero, who smiled big, obviously happy with his addition to the tape, then noticed Sofie wipe away a tear.

  Next there was the video of them the last time they’d come up on the slopes just a few weeks ago and the music started again. “We Are Family” mixed with something else but whoever mixed it didn’t do a great job because it had two completely different beats until “We Are Family” faded away and all that was left was the other song. “Marry You” by Bruno Mars was the only thing playing, and the video cut to Angel’s parents smiling and waving at the camera.

  “Muchachita linda”—his mother blew a kiss with her hand, and then his dad smiled and said—“say yes.”

  That’s when a mixture of confusion and nervousness started to flutter in Sarah’s belly, and she looked around, but strangely they were all staring straight ahead at the television.

  Next were Sofie and Eric on the webcam again. “I’ve always dreamed of having a sister. And you’re a dream come true,” she said, clutching her heart with a big smile. “So say yes!”

  Sarah smiled, instantly choked up. Then there were Alex, Romero, and Valerie at the restaurant, standing behind the bar, holding up drinks all smiling big. “Say yes,” they all said simultaneously as the music got even louder.

  The kicker was seeing Sydney’s face on the screen in front of his webcam, and now Sarah clutched her heart, swallowing back the emotion. “You know I’d never steer you wrong, Lynni. You’ve always known how I feel about you being happy. So say yes.”

  Sarah pressed her quivering lips together as the next one started. It was Sal, Mr. Serious, in front of the webcam in what appeared to be the back room of the restaurant. He smiled, showing his dimples. “I need another baby sister, sweetheart. My other one is getting way too feisty.” He smiled, making that dimple go impossibly deeper. “Say yes.”

  Sarah was a mess now even as she laughed, wiping the tears away. Her mom’s face in the screen unable to keep from crying did it. “Oh my God.” Sarah gasped, bringing both hands over her mouth.

  “Hey sweetie, her mom attempted to smile. “We’ve tried this so many times, and I messed every single shot up with my crying, so this is as good as it’s gonna get.” She sniffled as she began again, her voice breaking all over. “There is no doubt in my mind that you’d be beyond happy, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” She stopped to try and compose herself then managed to squeak the last part out. “So say yes.”

  The last shot had them all in it, not just his entire family but his parents, her mom and aunt and uncle, even Manny and Max and the entire extended family—the restaurant crew—sitting and standing around a table at the restaurant.

  Sarah swatted away the tears that blurred her eyes because she didn’t want to miss a second of it. The camera panned out over all of them waving and blowing kisses. Then Angel stepped into the picture.

  “Just remember, baby, if you say yes to me, you’re saying yes to—” His eyes opened wide as the camera panned away from him and out onto the crowd behind him.

  “All of us!” They all yelled out at once. “So say yes!”

  The TV turned off, and Sarah was glad to see she wasn’t the only blubbering mess. Sofie and Valerie were in tears as they all turned to watch Angel get on his knee in front of her, holding a ring.

  “Now that you’ve been thoroughly warned, will you make my life complete and become part of this crazy family?” Sarah could barely see the ring, her vision was so blurred. “Will you marry me, Sarah?”

  Nodding like crazy to make up for the fact that she couldn’t speak, she watched as he slipped the diamond on her finger then wrapped her arms around his neck nearly knocking him over.

  “Rewind to the part with me,” Romero said. “I look pretty good. Maybe I’m in the wrong business.”

  Sarah laughed, finally able to pull it together to say what she wanted to say. “Yes, yes! A million times yes!” She turned to the rest of them. “To all of you. Thank you so much!” She looked around then turned back to Angel and nearly broke down again. “Thank you,” she whispered, knowing exactly why he’d gone out of his way to do it this way. “I didn’t think it possible to love you anymore than I already did. Thank you so much.”

  After being torn apart and practically smothered by Sofie and Valerie then hugging all her other genuinely happy family members, she was finally free to hug her fiancé again. They fell back onto the sofa laughing and kissing.

  Angel held her tightly for a long time then inhaled deeply. “Thank you for saying yes,” he whispered in her ear. “The day you marry me my life will be complete.”

  Sarah held on to him, never wanting to let go, but finally had to pull away. “Now can we sneak away?” she whispered.

  Angel jumped to his feet, taking her hand in his, and they rushed away towards the stairs.

  “Talk about being discreet,” Sal said with a smirk as they rushed by him.

  Angel looked back, laughing. “Since when does anyone in this family do discreet?”

  “Yeah,” Sarah laughed. “And you guys are the ones who insisted I say yes. Maybe Angel forgot to mention I can be just as obnoxiously indiscreet as the rest of you, but it’s too late. You’re stuck with me now.”

  They turned the corner, and she could hear Romero laughing. “In case you didn’t notice, Manny and Max were in that video too. Ha! Now who’s laughing?”

  Sarah laughed stopping midway up the stairs to kiss Angel. Here she’d been so preoccupied with having a bigger family, and for years she’d had one all along. And she loved each and every one of them. Even Manny and Max .

  A Note to
My Wonderful Readers

  To all my wonderful readers, I hope you enjoyed reading more about Angel and Sarah. Please take a moment to leave a review on Smashwords.

  Fate is a spinoff series of my first series, The Moreno Brothers. Also in the Fate series and now available!

  Fate (Fate #1)

  Breaking Brandon (Fate #2)

  Still to come in the Fate series are Sydney and Lorenzo's stories.

  The first four books in the 5th Street series, Noah, Gio, Hector, and Abel are also available.

  In case you're wondering if Felix will get his own story the answer to that is . . . yes! Stay tuned! If you haven’t already read them, please check out the books in my first series, The Moreno Brothers!

  Forever Mine—Angel and Sarah’s story

  Always Been Mine—Alex and Valerie’s story

  Sweet Sofie—Sofia and Eric’s story

  Romero—Romero and Izzy’s story

  Making You Mine—Sal and Grace’s story with a bonus Angel and Sarah short story.

  Will there be more Moreno’s coming? I never say never anymore so stay tuned. Lot's of exciting new things coming this year including my debut traditionally published novel with Simon & Schuster/ Atria

  Desert Heat

  Coming May 13th.

  Please visit my blog on Feb 6th I will be unveiling the cover of Desert Heat.

  Also check my blog for my Schedule of signings and appearances to see if I'll be in or around a city near you. I'd love to meet all of you!

  Acknowledgments

  To my beta readers, Dawn Winter, Judy DeVries, Emily Lamphear, and my commadre Inez Sandoval, I was really counting on you guys this time because I was so unsure if I should even write this one for so long. As usual you guys came through for me with your complete honesty. I TRULY appreciate your dedication and the time you take to truly think about your feedback and take on my stories. This year should be interesting yet exciting. I look forward to having you in my corner the whole way. <3

  To my husband, Mark, for believing in me always and encouraging me to do this, I couldn't have done any of this without you.

  To my babies, Marky and Megan, thank you for understanding when I disappear into "the zone" for days at a time. I think we're all used to this, and you've been troopers all the way. I love you!

  I'd also like to thank the many bloggers out there who have supported me and have pimped, reviewed and participated with my cover reveals and announcements. You guys have been a HUGE part of my success, and I thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart!

  Thank you to Theresa (Eagle Eyes) Wegand, my one-stop superhero beta reader/editor/formatter, listener to all my whiny rants/vents and obsessive worrying, and—I should've added this several books ago—my friend, even when you tell me I need to get a map. LOL ;) As always, your work is impeccable, and I can’t say enough about it. I hope to be working with you for years to come! Thank you so much!

  I want to give a special shout out to “my FP girls,” my incredibly talented group of superstar authors. I feel absolutely blessed to have found you. I owe you all so much. Thank you for the love, empathy, and your friendships. Each and every one of you!

  I'd also like to thank my cover artist, Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations. Thank you for making Angel and Sarah look so awesome on this cover! You're awesome, and your work speaks for itself. I'm so excited about working with you on future projects!

  And, of course, my incredibly awesome readers! This one is for you, my Moreno die-hard fans. If it hadn't been for you, this story wouldn't have come to me so relentlessly until I just had to write it. Thank you so much for your continued support, emails, messages, and comments, which always seem to come at the most perfect time, making me smile and sometimes even tear up. I've had the enormous pleasure of meeting and chatting with many of you, and I really hope to meet you all one day! I love you guys, and I can’t wait to get the next one out to you!! I wish there were more ways I could show you all my appreciation. I hope to have a few surprises for you guys in 2014 just to show you that I really am listening and reading ALL your messages and comments!

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author, Elizabeth Reyes, was born and raised in southern California and still lives there with her husband of almost twenty years, her two teens, her Great Dane named Dexter, and one big fat cat named Tyson.

  She spends eighty percent of time in front of her computer, writing and keeping up with all the social media, and loves it. She says that there is nothing better than doing what you absolutely love for a living, and she eats, sleeps, and breathes these stories, which are constantly begging to be written.

  Representation: Jane Dystel of Dystel&Goderich now handles all questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of Ms. Reyes’ work. Please direct inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights availability to her.

  For more information on her upcoming projects and to connect with her--she loves hearing from you all—here are a few places you can find her:

  Blog: www.ElizabethReyes.com

  Facebook fan page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Reyes/278724885527554

  Twitter: @AuthorElizabeth

  Email EliReyesbooks@yahoo.com

  Add her books to your Good Reads shelf

  She enjoys hearing your feedback and looks forward to reading your reviews and comments on her website and fan page!