“Oh yeah, darlin’,” I whispered, leaning in to give her a kiss.
“All right, enough,” Dean called out to us. “Details, kids,” he said as he patted the empty seat next to him.
“But before you start—here.” Dean handed me a bottle of beer. “To the long road to happiness and its glorious destination.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said, clinking the neck of my bottle to his before I took a long pull.
We were together in all the ways that mattered and permanent as far as I was concerned, but our marriage was still just on paper. I had plans to make it official in every sense, but I was waiting for the right time. We threw around the words husband and wife for a joke and sometimes for foreplay, but the day I finally made her my wife for real wouldn’t be in secret.
We took Dean and Maria through the shortest version possible, and I was thankful when cake time gave us a reprieve from questions.
“I want to point out,” Dean said as he handed me a piece of cake, “that I didn’t sayfinallyonce.”
“I’m honestly a little disappointed,” I said as I passed the first piece of cake to Julie.
“Nah, I’ll save it for your wedding toast.” Dean jabbed my arm.
“It’s okay. Titi Maria will clean it up.”
We turned to Maria’s niece, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched on to an empty cake plate. Her mother was trying to calm her down, but she only cried louder as Maria wiped the cake remnants off the kitchen tile.
“Here, sweetheart.” I went over to her with my piece of cake and a fork. “Don’t cry. See?” I pointed behind me. “There’s plenty of cake.”
Her big brown eyes studied me before they darted from me to her mother.
“What do you say,mija?”
“Thank you,” she said, eyeing me as she took the plate from my hand. A tiny smile pulled across her lips as her sniffles ceased. I hated seeing kids cry, which would probably make me a wimp as a parent.
When I turned around, Julie was already in the living room, settled into an empty corner of the couch as she sipped from her paper coffee cup with an empty gaze, ticking up my concern from the beginning of the night.
I turned to go join her and figure out what was bothering her when I felt a tap on my leg.
“Since you gave me your cake, do you want a cookie? Titi bought them for me, but you could have one.” Lila handed me a paper plate with an oversized chocolate chip cookie.
“Thank you, Lila.” She smiled widely when I took the plate out of her hand. “That’s very nice of you.”
“I think my niece is trying to steal your man,” Maria said to Julie as she squeezed my arm.
“She is beautiful, but my heart belongs to the brunette on the couch.”
Julie’s smile was tight when she lifted her head, tempting me to say a quick goodbye and get her out of here so she could tell me what was wrong.
“You guys can stay later,” Dean said, pulling me out of my panic for a moment. “We can give you a tour.”
“No, we’ll head home in a little while. Next time.”
“Headhome?” He chuckled and dropped his hand to my shoulder. “So, tell me something,” he whispered. “It’s new, but is it serious?”
I glanced back at Julie, a bit of relief flooding through me when she gave me a real smile this time.
“Fuck yes.”
And I meant that with every bit of my soul.
“Everything okay?” I asked Julie once we were almost home. She’d been quiet since we’d gotten into my truck, but I didn’t press, hoping she’d open up on her own. “You seemed a little quiet tonight.”
“I’m fine. Just a crazy few months, I guess.”
