Page 150 of The Fallacy of True Love
“How does that work with your fiancé being—” I stopped myself, not wanting to say the wrong thing.
“A celebrity?” She laughed. “It can be hard, especially at the start. But I’m getting used to it, and it helps that we talk things out and have these signals to let each other know if we need an out.”
“Signals, huh? I should talk to Alonzo about that.” It might come in handy on my next visit, when he hoped to introduce me to his parents.
Tala gave me a conspiratorial look. “Mine is tugging my left earlobe.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for that then.”
“I like you already,” she said.
I frowned. “You don’t even know me.” She sounded sincere, but I couldn’t figure out how could she come to that conclusion within mere minutes of meeting me.
“I know I’ve never seen my brother look at anyone the way he looks at you. And when he talks about you?” She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. “He used to tease Jason and Gabe, and now he’s just like them.”
“You don’t have to say that. I know he loved Dani.”
“He did. But it’s different with you.” Her gaze turned inward. “He seems a lot more…settled. Like he’s truly comfortable in his own skin. It makes me happy to see that.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. All I knew was that it felt good to know I was doing something right.
Luckily, Tala’s phone rang, saving me from filling the silence with nonsense.
She gave me an apologetic look and said, “It’s Luna. I told her to wait for me to call, but she’s been dying to meet you.” Her voice held a silent question, like she wanted to ask if I was okay with that but didn’t want to pressure me.
I took a breath and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Alonzo
When Jason and I entered the living room, Maya and Tala were sitting side by side on the sofa, video-chatting with Luna. Maya was shaking her head at something Luna had said, but there was a genuine smile on her lips.
“I can’t wait to meet you in person,” Luna said. “We need to set up a girls’ night next time we’re there.”
“You can’t steal my girlfriend,” I announced as I walked over to the back of the sofa. Putting my hand on Maya’s shoulder, I crouched so my head fit in between hers and Tala’s. “Hey, Ate L.”
Luna grinned back at me from the screen. “Hi, Lonz. You’re too late. We’ve already claimed Cam.”
Meanwhile, Jason moved to Maya’s side and held out his hand to her. “Hey, Cam. I’m Jason.”
Maya craned her neck to look at him, then stood to shake his hand. “Hi. Thanks for having me here.”
“You kidding? Come over anytime,” he said, grinning at her.
I inserted myself between them and wrapped my arm around Maya’s waist. She seemed more relaxed now, which relieved me. The introduction to my parents would come another day—I didn’t want to overwhelm her—but for now, I loved seeing her interact with my siblings.
“Gabe’s here too,” Luna called out. “Ate, can you move the phone so we can see them?”
“We need to find a better setup for this,” Tala said as Jason took her phone and held it up in front of us. Now Gabe was sitting beside Luna.
“Professor, this is my girlfriend, Cam,” I said before anyone else could.
“Hi, Cam,” Gabe’s deep voice came from the speaker. “Good to meet you. It’s Gabe, by the way.”
Her head jerked in an awkward nod. “Hello, Gabe.”
“I can’t believe it. My baby brother is actually being territorial,” Luna crowed.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m bigger than you.”
