Page 61 of All I Desire

She pulls back, her cheeks tinged with pink. “My sister-in-law, Kate, asked me to come get the dog. She’s going through some, ah, stuff. You saw Kate that day at the beach. She was one of the crazy spies who came with Chunky in sunglasses. You’ll meet her tomorrow; she’s doing the face painting.”

“Cool, cool. She’s the one married to your brother Damien, right?”

Her mouth sets in a grim line. “Yeah. And apparently, he’s thinking about staying in Syria for four extra months because of the money they’re offering. So, a total of about eight and a half more months.”

I grunt. “Sounds dangerous. I know some military pilots who are contractors, and that’s some tough work.”

“No kidding. And now that Kate’s…” Her voice trails off.

“Now that Kate’s what?”

“Pregnant. Kate’s pregnant.” Natalia fixes her big eyes on me. “Which is incredible. I’m going to be an aunt. But I need to talk with my brother, because he needs to get back here pronto. Jerk.”

She finishes the beer and we sit in silence, swaying back and forth.

“I’m looking forward to being an aunt.”

“Oh yeah?” We’re holding hands now. As much as I want to take her into my bedroom and get her naked, I’m loving this, too. Sitting together in the warm Florida night, our hands intertwined.

“Yeah. I guess I should tell you up front: I’m not sure if I want kids of my own. But I sure do want to be an amazing auntie.” She blinks, as if she’s holding back tears.

“Why do you sound like you’re apologizing, when you have nothing to apologize for?”

She shrugs. “I want you to know that I’m probably not going to pop out a bunch of kids. In case that’s what you’re looking for in a woman.”

“Oh, babe.” I cup her neck and jaw in my hand. “I’m not looking for a baby incubator.”

“What are you looking for?” Her teeth are piercing her bottom lip, quite forcefully, it looks like.

“Someone smart and hilarious and fun. So, you. That’s all. I’ve got a daughter. It’s not that I don’t want to have more kids, but I’m content if Chloe’s my only offspring.”

She nods, and a smile spreads across her face. It seems like we’ve just taken our relationship to the next level with this brief conversation, and I’m a hundred percent on board.

My heart’s pounding fast as I pull her close. She rests her head on my shoulder and we sit like that for a long time, rocking in the night air.

* * *

NATALIA

“Leilani,how the hell am I supposed to get this fin thing on?”

I look up, and there’s my brother Remy in a red Speedo. And nothing else. He’s standing in the middle of Mermosa. The sight of him right now makes me wince, because it reminds me of every time he ran around the house half-naked as a kid. He’d chase me and attempt to sit on my back and give me a wedgie. This went on until I was about twelve and kicked his then-scrawny ass.

I was a pre-teen brawler.

“Eye bleach,” I cry, shielding my face with my hand. “Remy, my God. There are going to be children here soon. Put on a robe or something.”

“I’m trying my fin on, sis. C’mon. I look pretty hot.”

Leilani giggles and wraps her arms around my brother. “I think you do look super hot as a merman. Let’s go in back and I’ll help you.”

I grimace, as if I’ve eaten something sour, and turn to Kate. “I can’t look at them.”

Kate smiles and arranges various brushes and pots of face paint and glitter on a table. Nearby, Chunky is on his orthopedic dog bed —Ma brought it for him — and he’s wearing a shark costume. His face sticks out of the shark’s mouth. Surprisingly, he’s unbothered by the outfit.

“He looks like an angry, old man in a hoodie,” I say, pointing at the dog.

Kate laughs. “Your mom bought that for him. Your family is hilarious.”

---