Page 38 of The Spring in My Heart

I don’t breathe until I’m able to hang up the phone, open my bank app, and shoot her and Eddha the money. I don’t know what Cam, Chase, and I would do without Eddha, that saintly companion who takes care of our mother so we don’t have to relive our traumas on an hourly basis. Every year, we raise her salary. It always feels like we don’t pay her enough, though.

I finish applying my lipstick and head out the door, but unfortunately, I’m not alone. Marilyn’s voice is with me as I hop into my Uber and the whole way there.

I’m going stag to a wedding where my brother is getting married to my closest friend, and everyone there is a couple except for the children. Now, in my family, everyone will be married after tomorrow, and I’m the single auntie with no prospects.

Maybe I should call someone to come with me. Lauren wouldn’t mind. Fabian would be willing to fly to Baltimore. He’s a safe choice, as we are not interested in each other. He would be Instagrammable AF, but that would be a scandal, as everyone knows he and Mateo hate each other. I don’t care what Mateo thinks, but that’s not a good look for me. It would look like I’m trying to get his attention.

No, I am staying the course because this is the kind of thinking that would have landed me in Mateo’s bed or making some type of desperate decision.

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor peeks in between buildings, giving me a view of the ships docked and people walking along. I smile at the people paddling on the pink swan boats. Brave souls.

As metropolitan as this city is, it’s not New York. There’s a bit of a small-town feel, and here I’m not depending on one person to make me feel less lonely.

You’ll be with family. You don’t need anyone else today.

I don’t know why I’m letting Marilyn get in my head. It leads nowhere good. So, I go through one of my favorite mental exercises. I take Marilyn’s words, put them in a box, and hurl them out the window into the harbor. The mental imagery makes me smile.

My Uber pulls up outside of Lauren’s red brick rowhouse. The black door with its glass and iron paneling creates a wonderful contrast, as does the matching trim on the windows. It’s so simple and elegant. A white stretch limo is parked outside, waiting for us. I thank my driver and rush out of the car.

Ayla’s waiting outside the rowhouse door with her bag at her feet. She waves at me. “Hi.”

Her smile is so warm you can’t help but return it.

I hug her. “What are you doing outside by yourself?”

“I just got here. Papi is getting something for the boys from the car.”

She points at something behind me, and when I turn, her dad walks toward us. When his gaze lands on me, the smile materializes on his face. All white teeth, full lips, and perfect. There’s a little stubble over his cheeks and such heat in his eyes that he sets off sparks, igniting all my sensitive areas.

Yeah, I was right the first time I met him. Total DILF. And no matter how much time I get to spend around him, my body reacts the same way in his presence, like an overheated carburetor.

“Luciana, hi.”

The sound of his voice brings me back to our last interaction at my place and sobers me up.

“Hi,” I say.

We lean forward, and I catch a whiff of something so mouth-watering I have to squelch the urge to sniff him like a hound in her first heat. Our cheeks brush, and for a nanosecond, his stubble sears my skin in what feels like slow motion. The wave of need scratches through my insides.

“How are you?” he asks, and there goes the stir in my belly. Between his accent, his face and body, and the mouth-watering manliness of his cologne, I don’t know what makes me more wet. I definitely have a type: him.

Down, girl. Remember you swore off men.

“I’m doing well, Ollie. How about you?” Yeah, that’s good. Call him Ollie. He’s just a family friend. You’re not attracted to him.

But I am. Since the first time I saw him.

He was an ass to you the other day.

“Papi, can you take our photo?”

He blinks and fishes out his phone. “Sure, negrita.”

“We’re bridesmaids,” Ayla says proudly.

I put my arm around her. “Yes, and we’re going to have so much fun today and keep Lauren relaxed.”

“B and I can’t wait until you show us how you do your makeup. Papi, send me the pic.”

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