I wince. “Of course not.”
He arches an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine. I’ve been a little stressed.”
He chuckles as his hand lands on my leg, stilling its nervous bouncing. “I know. Why don’t you take a nap on my shoulder? Sleep it off. Wait to stress until we’re driving from the airport in Bend back to Bolt.”
I shake my head. The mention of Bend reminds me of my brother and how much he loves Reina. “I still can’t believe Alex worked it out so there’s a flight from LAX to Bend now.”
Mateo smiles and stretches out his legs as much as he can in the confined space. “It’s a much shorter drive from Bend versus from Portland. Can’t blame the man, with how many times he flew to visit Reina during filming last year. It was an investment he and I talked about, and I have to say I’m grateful he’s cooked this up. One of the perks of marrying into a family of millionaires.” He winks, and I nudge his shoulder with mine.
A memory of Alex laying dramatically on my couch when he was between shoots surfaces. He didn’t have enough time to visit Reina because of the flight schedules and driving time from Portland. He hadn’t seen her in three weeks, and it was the last straw for him.
“You don’t want to know how many times he came to my house bemoaning the distance between Portland and Bolt.”
Mateo laughs and I join in. “I can imagine, seeing as Reina came to talk to me about Alex whenever he was gone. I got a lot of free labor out of it. Putting her to work on the farm when she wanted to chat was a genius idea on my part.”
I shake my head. “All I got was grief over my snack choices.”
Mateo looks offended on my behalf. “What’s wrong with your snack choices?”
I roll my eyes. “Apparently they weren’t healthy enough for his trainer's approval. I got many lectures about how pretzels and Nutella aren’t a food group.”
Mateo gasps. “Psh, well, he’s wrong.”
“I know right!” I exclaim as I burst into giggles, spurred by Mateo’s own laughter.
Mateo leans over and kisses my forehead. “I love your snack choices, Hols.”
“Good thing we’re married so I can keep you supplied with the superior snacks.”
“Yes, it is," he murmurs as he kisses my temple. When he straightens, I seize the opportunity to snuggle into his side as much as I can. I lean my head on his arm, his bicep providing a nice cushion to rest on.
“Don’t worry, mi amor. We’ll eat Mami’s food, I’ll show you around the farm, and we’ll have a great time. I’ll show you my favorite haunts, my pet cow, and you know I’m going to cash in on that dirt biking date you promised me on the red carpet.”
My nose automatically scrunches. “I didn’t promise I’d go dirt biking. I was in distress and thought you were joking.”
I can feel Mateo’s chuckle through his arm, and the deep vibration makes me smile. “You should know, I take jokes very seriously.”
I yawn and squeeze his hand tighter. “What prank do you have planned for your sisters again?”
My eyes are closed but I can hear his mischievous smile as he says, “Dead bugs frozen in ice cubes. I’ll slip them into their drinks.”
I shudder. “Don’t slip one into my drink. I know where you sleep.”
“You’re telling me you don’t want a frozen spider in your soda?”
My nose wrinkles and I nuzzle into his arm, inhaling his pine scent to ban the thought of drinking water with a spider ice cube.
Why does he always smell so good? Somebody should make a Mateo cologne. I want it on my pillow, my clothes, on everything I own.
Mateo’s hand squeezes mine, and he brings it up to his lips, placing a kiss on my knuckles. “Don’t worry, I won’t risk any prank that would keep me from kissing you. No bugs in your drinks, I promise.”
“Wise man. I’m still not going dirt biking with you.”
Mateo kisses my hair again.
“We’ll see.”
