Page 61 of Taming Liberty

I put my hand on Lib’s back. “Liberty is actually here to visit friends.” I point to the silver SUV. “She won’t be coming to the house, unfortunately.”

Luis rears back. “Nonsense.” He moves his eyes to Lib. “Please, won’t you let us split you with your friends? We see Angel once a decade, so there aren’t many opportunities for me to get to know the mother of my nephews.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh, we’re not…” She laughs, obviously uncomfortable. “We don’t have children.”

“He’s teasing,” I assure her before addressing Luis. “Her friends haven’t seen her in a long time, and she’s been looking forward to catching up.” I try to say it with finality, but Luis ignores that.

“Just for a while,” he says to Lib, putting on a charming smile that reminds me too much of our eldest brother. “It would mean so much to our mamá to meet her son’s woman.”

I open my mouth, ready to snarl at him for crudely trying to guilt trip Lib like this, but I stop myself when I question if he’s right.

I’ve never brought a woman home before. The only daughter-in-law my mother has ever had left our family long ago, and I’m sure she never expected me to get married or start a family of my own.

Is that what she wanted for me?

“I’d love to,” Lib says, snapping my attention to her. She has a sad smile on her face like she already knows what’s going on in my family without me having to tell her.

She glances at me as if searching for the okay, but she’s already done the damage. I can feel Luis about to burst with approval. As inappropriate as this is, I’m glad I didn’t have to decide. Because I would’ve said no, and Luis might be right... This might mean a lot to my mother.

“My friends can wait a little while, don’t you think?” she asks me.

A few moments go by before I force a smile. “Why not?”

14

Liberty

An upbeat Spanish song filters through the speakers of the tiny car, but I don’t know why Luis bothered to turn on the radio. He’s working so hard to talk over it.

“Is Liberty a common American name?” he asks, his head turned slightly to speak to me in the back seat. The car keeps swerving left and right as we fly down the streets of Madrid. I’d be nervous if I wasn’t so amused at the way Angel tenses and braces a hand against the interior. It’s cramped for me, but Angel’s knees dig into Simone’s seat even with it slid all the way forward. We have one suitcase stuffed in the trunk, and another bag is wedged between us.

“No, not really,” I say, smiling when Luis takes a sharp turn and Angel grabs the bag between us for support. “My parents are really patriotic, and my mom liked the name.”

“They are?” Angel asks, his accent subtle compared to his brother’s.

I turn to look at him and nod. “My dad is a retired master sergeant for the army.”

“You don’t know your woman’s parents?” Luis asks Angel. “What kind of boyfriend are you?”

“They live far away,” I answer for Angel. “I don’t see them often.”

“Ah, I see. Where do they live?”

“Florida.”

“The beaches!” Luis exclaims. “How nice. You should visit your folks more, and take me with you.”

“We have better beaches here, mon amour,” Simone pipes in, rolling her eyes at him but smiling lovingly. I’ve known them for all of fifteen minutes, but it’s blatantly clear they’re sickeningly in love. It’s sweet, though.

“How would you know?” he asks. “You can’t believe everything you see on TV.”

She says something in French, and he laughs. He slams on the brakes when we come to a light, then he turns to face us fully. I can’t tell who he’s looking at behind his shades.

“Angel, are the beaches in America as good as in Spain?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t been to many of them.” Angel points ahead. “Green light.”

Luis pushes on the gas before he even turns around.

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