Page 28 of Entangled With You

I put the phone away, and try on the dress. Once I have it on, I twirl around Dani’s living room feeling like a gorgeous ballerina. I’m about to take a selfie to see how the dress looks on me, but the girls come out of the office. The moment they see me, they both gasp.

“Well? How do I look?” I say as I twirl around one more time.

“You’re stunning. Are you sure you want to be a professional soccer player? I’d love to have you as my full-time supermodel,” Dani says as she fluffs my skirt to make it look fuller.

I chuckle at her. “I’m sorry, Dani. Soccer is my life, but I promise you’ll be my go-to designer every time I need something special to wear.”

Dani’s grin is wide, and her eyes sparkle. “Deal, I can already see the headlines,” Dani says as she sways her arms like she’s creating a billboard. “Ballon d’Or’s Athlete of the Year, Cattleya Cardona wearing a Daniela Garcia exclusive.”

I chuckle at her, but my sister claps her hands like she can’t contain her excitement.

“Yes. I can see it too,” Sofi says as she hugs me. “You were born to shine, baby sister.”

“Ugh, I love you. Thank you for always being my biggest fan. Both of you really.” We get into a group hug, and then I feel a little pull on my skirt. Sure enough, when I look down, Tinta is creating a nest on my skirt. We all explode in laughter.

Chapter 13

Matías Moreno

These past couple of days with my friends in Alamo Peaks have been like a balm to my bruised soul. It’s been hard seeing them find their forever partners while I simply let the world go by without finding mine. That’s because you found her and screwed it up. My shoulders sag as the little voice in my head whispers the harsh truth. “Hey boludo, what are you thinking about so hard over there?” Marco asks, sitting next to me on the guest house patio with a huge cup of coffee in hand. The view is unbeatable; we are on top of a hill over roads upon roads of vines that are starting to sprout. The weather is perfect, as it’s not too warm yet, and the humidity is low.

“Just about how this weekend has been so good for a lot of reasons. The three of you have moved on and have families of your own, whereas I’m still alone. It’s just good to hang out with you all like this again.”

Marco takes a sip of his coffee as he ponders my words.

“I know I was the first one to find my girl, but if you remember it wasn’t easy. Even going to Colombia to practically beg Dani not to dump me didn’t work. I’m thankful she saw the light and came back to me but dude, once she came back, it became a choice for us to make every day. To work on our relationship and be the person each other could lean on, every single day.” I nod at him because I remember when Dani got scared and broke up with Marco. He was so depressed; I thought he was never going to recover.

“I get it man, but what are you trying to get at? I haven’t been able to find a girl I can see forever with.” The lie rolls off my tongue so easily that if I didn’t know the truth, I would totally believe it. Marco looks at me with judging eyes, and I chuckle.

“What?” I ask as Franco joins us on the patio.

“What Marco is saying is that we know how much you liked Cattleya years back, and to this day we have no clue what happened. Why did you just stop talking to her?”

I’m about to bare my soul to my brothers, the guys who know me best when Luca shows up sipping his mate.

“Pará, pará, pará (stop, stop, stop). How the fuck dare you spill the beans on the story of our last man standing without all of us in attendance?” I chuckle at Luca’s antics as I go for a sip of mate myself. Ines, the lady who helps Luca and Karina with the house, shows up with a tray full of media lunas, croissants, and fruit.

“A little something to tide you boys over until you come to the main house for some food.” She smiles at us as Luca stands up to help her with the tray. He hugs her as we all thank her. That lady is an angel; she has fed us this weekend with so many delicious foods. I kind of don't want to leave.

“Okay, where were we?” Luca asks with a mouthful of media lunas. I clear my throat as I feel all eyes on me.

“I was about to tell you what an idiot I was for not pursuing something with Cattleya all those years ago. And what an asshole I am now for feeling jealous about you all having amazing women by your side while I’m still all alone.” They’re all looking at me, waiting for me to elaborate, but when I see Franco’s eyebrows rising to the sky, I freeze.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say that we love you and want what’s best for you, but I’m going to refrain from speaking much since Cata is my sister-in-law. She’s an amazing woman, and I know for a fact that you hurt her back then.”

I close my eyes and feel pain growing in my chest. She’ll never forgive me. I can already feel my brain spiraling down and drawing in guilt and remorse.

“I don’t want to make you feel bad, I’m just sharing what I know. I also know she hasn’t had any boyfriends, although has gone out on dates. I’m not sure if this is related to you, or if she just doesn’t want to date. These days, she’s been one hundred percent focused on her game and adapting in Buenos Aires.”

“Speaking of, she’s such a badass player. She seems sweet and kind, and I’m sure she is, but once she’s on the pitch, she transforms. She’s fierce,” Marco says, and I chuckle.

“Yeah, she’s a badass. Did you guys see the nickname the press gave her?” They all shake their heads, so I tell them, proudly. “The Amazonian Warrior.”

They chuckle, and Franco is the first to speak. “Damn, that’s the perfect nickname for Cata. She truly is a warrior on the pitch.”

When the silence starts becoming uncomfortable, Luca speaks up. “So what do you want to do? Do you want to reach out to Cata? Or do you want to give it a try with the girl you’ve been chatting with?”

Marco and Franco turn their heads toward me. “A girl? What did we miss?”

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