“That’s right, I did.” I took a breath to steady myself. “Carlos had a meltdown because Diego got into Isabella’s makeup and said he wanted to be like me. Carlos doesn’t want his son to turn out gay. Because, of course, that’s how that works.” I paused in an effort to calm down. “I went through a lot of therapy to become comfortable with who I am. I’m not letting anyone take that away from me. Not even family.”
“Miguel,” my mother chided, “Carlos is looking out for his family. He said he tried to talk to you, and you threatened to call the police.”
I barked out a bitter laugh. “You know, Mama, you should go ahead and adopt Carlos. He’s the son you always dreamed about having.”
“Miguel!”
I gripped my phone so tightly it hurt my hand. “Carlos came to my place of work,” I ground out. “He yelled at me in front of my staff. He called me vile names, and then he put his hands on me. My friend, Zach, stopped him and threatened to call the police.” I closed my eyes against the stupid fucking tears. “I’m done talking about this. You know where I stand, and I certainly know where you stand.”
Her voice was quieter now. “Miguel, surely we can work this out. It’s only for the children.”
“No, Mama. It isn’t only for the children. It will be for every holiday, birthday, wedding, christening, and any other family gathering. You’ll want me to not wear makeup so I don’t upset this or that relative. It will never end.” I sucked in a shuddering breath. “I love you, Mama, but I’m going to take a break from the family for a while.”
“What about Easter?” she protested.
I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. “I’m going to spend it with people who love me for me.”
There was a sharp intake of breath and a whispered, “Miguel.”
I heard a noise in my doorway, and I looked up to see Zach standing there. By the look on his face, I guessed he’d heard at least some of my conversation with my mother. “I have to go, Mama. Goodbye.”
I hung up and carefully set my phone down on my desk so I wouldn’t give in to the urge to throw it against the wall. “Hey,” I said, trying to hide the quaver in my voice. “How did you sleep?”
Zach came into my office and closed the door behind him. He walked around my desk until he stood beside my chair. He opened his arms and said, “It seems you could use a hug.”
I couldn’t even pretend to deny it. I turned my chair, stood, and walked straight into his outstretched arms. He pulled me close and held me wrapped in his strength, letting me borrow it for just a little while.
“I’m sorry you had to do that,” Zach said quietly. “That must have been hard.”
I nodded, my head still against his chest. I didn’t trust myself to speak just yet. When I felt steadier, I gave him a quick squeeze and stepped back. “You give the best hugs. Thank you.”
“Any time,” Zach said. “Besides, I like hugging you. You’re pocket-sized.”
I poked him in the ribs. “Ha-ha.”
He handed me the room key. “Thanks for letting me get some sleep. It really helped.” He pulled out his cell. “So, what do you want from the diner?”
After I gave Zach my order, he headed out, and I went to change the sheets in the room he’d used. When I got back to my office, Liam O’Neil was sitting in my chair eating a sandwich. A takeout bag from the diner was on the desk with what I assumed was my food. “Hey, Liam,” I said. I looked around, noting Zach’s obvious absence, and asked, “Where’s Zach?”
Liam swallowed his food before he answered. “He’s outside talking motorcycles with Marco. Marco’s Harley wouldn’t start. Zach saw he was having trouble, pulled some gadget out of his trunk, and attached it to the motor. It turned out to be a dead battery. Did you know Zach has a battery charger in his car? Anyway, he got the bike started. So Marco cornered him, and now they’re talking about Harleys.”
“And I guess they sent you to get the food,” I said as I opened my teriyaki chicken wrap and sat in the chair in front of my desk.
Liam nodded. “Well, I volunteered because Marco gave me puppy eyes.”
I snorted, trying to imagine the big, bad ex-Navy SEAL giving Liam puppy eyes. “Speaking of tall, dark, and broody, you’re awfully smiley and chatty this afternoon. When I saw you in the dining room this morning, you were playing and singing all the saddest of sad love songs.”
Liam ducked his head and his cheeks turned pink. “You saw that, huh?”
“Yeah. I was going to ask you what was wrong, but you seemed like you wanted to be alone.” I tilted my head. “So, what happened?”
Liam put down his sandwich. He blew out a breath and said, “Marco did something…not great, and I walked out on him.”
My hackles went up immediately. “What did he do?” Then my stomach dropped. “He didn’t…hurt you, did he? I mean, physically.”
Liam shook his head vehemently. “No. He would never do that. What he didwaspretty bad, but I don’t want to get into it now because they’ll be here soon looking for their food.”
“Okay,” I replied, “But you have to tell me later.”
