Page 92 of Amor Prohibido

I sipped my glass of water as Mandy applied the finishing plume of hairspray over Lozza’s loose curls. Once done, she invited me over to take Loz’s place.

“You want a glass of bubbles, J-dogg?” Loz asked.

I grimaced inwardly at the thought of alcohol. “Not at the moment, babe. Sparkling grape juice, please; I’ll save the bubbles for later,” I lied.

I retreated within myself as Mandy worked on my hair, thinking about everything Jace and I had been through. I thanked my lucky stars we’d gotten stinking drunk that night, which resulted in two reasons worth fighting hard for. It hadn’t been an easy road, especially when we hadn’t given ourselves time to ease into our relationship. Jace had shown me what it meant to love unconditionally, through the tough times and the times where life overwhelmed us. It seemed that fate had a plan for us all along, scheming away behind the scenes until finally throwing us together in a make-or-break situation. Luckily for everyone involved, we made it.

An hour later, Mama, Kath, Callie, Lozza, and I finished getting ready in the spare bedroom as Rom, Val, and Emmie checked themselves out in the full-length mirror. Our twins were a perfect mix of me and Jace with their lovely, tanned skin, darker hair, and cheeky smiles. The pair of them were unique in their own right.

Valentina had the most divine chocolate-brown eyes and long, dark lashes. The amount of sass she had for an almost four-year-old made me fluctuate between pride and wanting to tear my hair out. Right now, though, in her sparkly blush-coloured princess dress, she was the epitome of angelic.

Romeo, the little heartbreaker, was Jace’s mini-me. With green eyes that contrasted beautifully with his caramel skin and a dimple on the same cheek as Jace’s, damn did I have a soft spot for the little guy. Watching him look himself over in the mirror, checking out his dark grey dress pants, white-collared shirt, and a dark grey herringbone hat, was my complete undoing.Myheart was the first victim of his gorgeousness, and I could already hear teenage girls’ hearts breaking ten years from now.

Mama and Kath zipped up each other’s dresses; both telling the other not to cry while dabbing their own eyes. All I had to do was glance at them and my usual non-emotional self flung herself out the window.

Mama tugged at the hem of my sundress. “Dress time, corazón. My heart is already beating so hard,” she gushed.

“Mama.” I hugged her tight. “Can you help me into it?”

She sniffed and dashed away tears. “Of course, of course.”

Her emotion pushed mine to the surface, and I bit down hard to keep myself in check. “Mama, if you cry, I’m going to ruin my makeup.”

“Oh,tisshh,”she admonished and waved a hand. “I’m not crying.”

If that was her ‘not crying’, she was definitely crying once I’d shimmied into my dress and turned to face the mirror. With its classy neckline and dipping dangerously low at the back, the satin fabric lavishly hugged my body, adding extra sensuality to my curves before flowing to the floor.

“Oh my, you are so beautiful, mi bebé.”

“¡Mamá, no llores!”

Shetskedagain. “I’mnotcrying!”

A knock on the door announced Papi’s arrival. He kissed Mama and Kath on their cheeks, then announced that it was time to start the ceremony.

Our mamas hugged me fiercely, then made their way into the back yard.

Lozza snickered when I dabbed at my eyes. “Since when do you cry in public?”

I flipped her off. “Since I’m—” I swallowed. “—about to getmarried.”

She laughed and handed me the bouquet of flowers the kids handpicked from Kath’s garden this morning. The simple yet sentimental offering from the kids had my heart aching with love. I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, releasing the residual tension in my shoulders.

Once composed, I gathered the kids in for one last pep talk, making sure Papi was listening too, because he needed to make sure things went smoothly for this part.

“Okay, Romie. This little box has Mama and Papa’s special rings in it. You need to keep it super safe and give it to Papa when the man at the front asks for them, okay? Donotopen it.”

Romeo nodded and held up his tiny fist, which I gently bumped mine against. “Sure, Mama, I got this,” he said in his big boy tone.

“Good man. You will walk with us, then sit with Abuelo andAbuela.”

Val was pushing between us, and I had to bite back the urge to growl at her.

“Mama, Mama. I want a special box too! Where’s mine?”

“Wait, Val. I’m giving Romie his special instructions at the moment.”

Gently moving her back, I pulled Rom into my arms and hugged him, closing my eyes and smiling when his little arms wove around my neck and squeezed in the most delicious way.

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