Page 41 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

Steve shook his head. “I’ve got something else to handle.”

“All right. Text me if you need anything else.”

“Oh! Yeah. There’s something else. What can you find out about the counselor at Camila’s school?”

“Counselor? Which one?”

“Isabela Campos.”

Jose’s eyes twitched, narrowing slightly. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah. You know here?”

“Not really,” Jose replied. “I see her when I drop Camila off at school. She seems like a nice lady.”

“If you can find out more about her, I’d like to know.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Finished with Jose, Steve wandered through the house and found himself in the kitchen. Lola had Jasper in a baby carrier snuggled up against her chest. She stood near Beto, pestering him about something he was cooking on the stove. “No, I think Jovita uses more cinnamon.”

“If you want Jovita’s version, you’ll have to wait for her to come back to work tomorrow.” Beto flicked his fingers at his sister. “Get back. You're holding our nephew for God’s sake!”

“Oh my God. You know he’s not made of paper, right? He’d need to be closer than two feet to an open flame to catch fire.”

“And to think Sky and Rafa trust you over me with Jasper!” Beto acted put out.

Lola rolled her eyes and made an annoyed sound. “Just finish my hot chocolate so I can take the baby upstairs and put him to bed. I have a long day of work ahead of me and need to get a few hours of sleep before he wakes up.”

“Holy shit!” Beto stepped back from the pot boiling away on the stove and waved his whisk at his sister. “You sound like one of those angry housewives onTikTok.”

“If I was married to you, I’d probably be the most popular angry housewife influencer in the world,” Lola shot back. “Me stuck at home with our kids while you run off on your rust-bucket boat for months on end.”

“If I was married to you, I’d shipwreck myself on an island.” The hot chocolate bubbling in the pot started to foam over, and Beto quickly shut off the burner.

“If you burned the chocolate and made the milk curdle, you’ll have to start over,” Lola warned.

Beto exhaled roughly and glanced at the ceiling as if silently praying for patience. “Yes, dear.”

As if on cue, Jasper laughed in his sleep. All tension between the siblings was forgotten as they smiled and laughed at their nephew. The sight of such familial love made Steve feel suddenly protective. He’d do anything to keep them all safe.

“Hey!” Lola noticed him standing just inside the doorway. “Are you hungry? We have leftovers from earlier.”

“And burned hot chocolate,” Beto piped up as he sloshed his concoction into mugs.

“Hard pass on the hot chocolate.” Steve pointed at the giant wall of built-in restaurant style refrigerators. “Leftovers in there?”

“Middle shelves.” Beto pointed to the correct spot before handing a mug of hot chocolate to his sister.

Steve got what he wanted from the refrigerator and noticed the siblings exchanging strange looks. Figuring he knew what they wanted to ask, he said, “Yeah, Diego killed my grandparents.”

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” Lola hurriedly apologized. “He is such a monstrous shithead. Just the absolute worst human being that has ever lived.”

“We should have killed him when we had a chance,” Beto grumbled.

Steve glanced up in shock. “I didn’t realize you ever had the chance.”

“We did.”

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