Page 65 of Worth the Heat
“Oh. You’re very tall, Uncle Leo.”
Leo’s eyes bounce between the three of us. “I didn’t say — I mean, I — what the hell is happening right now?”
Isabella smothers a laugh. “Leo, this is Sebastian’s daughter, Camila. She’s five. She demanded that we also bring her grandparents and great grandmother, so it’s a full house tonight.”
Leo looks to me. “Anyone else in the car? Are you part of a clown circus, and siblings will start falling out of there?”
“No, my two sisters moved out of town. One is up in Loveland, and the other is in New Mexico. This is it. I can call my MC Club guys, if you want to have more people attend,” I volunteer, pulling my phone from my pocket.
“No, we’re good. Although I’ve been told I should talk to you about that club of yours,” he says, scratching the back of his head.
“I’ll give you my number before we leave. You call whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Leo nods, then motions for us to walk down the sidewalk to the front door. “Oh, Bells, in case you forgot —”
“Shit,” Isabella grumbles.
“Daddy, we need a swear jar. I heard about it at school. Why is everyone waiting at the door?”
I look up and find thirteen adults and a handful of children staring expectantly at us. “I’m not sure,Mija.”
Isabella grabs my hand. “Has anyone ever told you about the stupid threshold thing that Alex made up?”
I struggle to keep my expression nonchalant. “That’s real? I thought it was an urban legend.”
“It sort of was, until everyone failed it. Then suddenly one by one, everyone sailed right through. So it’s a big thing, and they’re expecting us to do it now.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,Naranja. I can carry you perfectly well.”
She looks toward the sky and sighs. “I have to carry you.”
“Who is carrying someone?”Abuelaasks loudly.
“Rosario? Is that you?” I hear shouted from the Santo family.
“Annamaria! We finally got them together!” A loud cackle sounds from both women as my grandmother shoves me aside to shuffle over to her octogenarian friend. They link arms and slowly walk into the house, obviously done with whatever embarrassment is going on here.
“Let’s get this over with,” Isabella mutters.
“What exactly is going on here?” My mom asks. Isabella turns to her and quickly explains.
“My brother Alex came up with this stupid tradition where we have to carry our partner across the threshold of our childhood home. It was funny, until everyone failed the task, even Alex with his first wife. Then suddenly, everyone started passing it, and the silly tradition became lore. If we’ve found the person we’re supposed to be with, we’ll be able to carry them across the threshold.”
“And you’ve done this before?” I ask. I know the answer, but want to hear it from her perspective.
Isabella nods, and I hear my own teeth grinding. She explains, “I tried with my high school boyfriend, but I fell. Then the first time I brought my college boyfriend over, we attempted to explain it, and he freaked out. Bolted before I could even try. Since then, I haven’t bothered.”
“So you didn’t try with Rick the Dick?” I blurt out, making Isabella laugh.
“No, I didn’t try with him. There’s been no one worthy of the task. That is, until …” she trails off, looking up at me hopefully.
I take her head in my hands, cradling it gently, as I bend to give her a sweet kiss. Resting my forehead against hers, I breathe her in.
Isabella sighs softly. “Until you.”
I hear a couple women whisper how cute we are, then one of her brothers grumble about ‘getting this show on the road.’Probably Dominic. He’s basically the most likely of the bunch to be an asshole.
“Alright,” I say, clapping my hands together and looking at Isabella. “You ready?”
