"No speeches. You don't owe me anything. I knew from the start this was a four-person story. Just waiting for the rest of you to catch up."
I exhale. The tension I didn't even know I was holding releases all at once.
"Guess that just leaves Ethan, huh..." Mateo muses.
"Actually... it doesn't," I say quietly, watching both their reactions.
Declan just nods like he's receiving and accepting information. But of course, Mateo can't let this one slide.
"That old dog! Here I was thinking that stoic Ethan would be the last one to cave. Goes to show you, Ethan's all 'do as I say, not as I do.' Classic."
Then with his eyes softening just slightly, he steps forward, cups my jaw, and kisses me.
"Mi Reina," he whispers.
It's not a possessive kiss. Not a challenge. It's Mateo being Mateo. Open, warm, utterly confident in who he is and what we are.
When he pulls back, his golden eyes are dark with desire and a wicked grin makes his dimples appear. "If Iweren't so busy, I'd take you right here on this counter just to make up for lost time."
Declan clears his throat behind us, and I turn to see him watching with a mixture of fascination and hunger.
Mateo leans in again, voice lower. "But what I want to do to you? That's going to take time."
Declan finally speaks. "Yeah... about 3 minutes," he says with a smirk.
Mateo barks a laugh. "That a challenge?"
"Not a challenge, just a time estimate. You'll be three minutes in before you're calling for backup."
Just like that, the moment shifts. No awkwardness. Just something lighter, easier, like we've always belonged in this room together.
We eat quickly, the kitchen filled with a strange new energy. Mateo regales us with stories about the security upgrades he was implementing, making Declan chuckle with his dramatic retelling of Gloria's reaction to the new camera system.
I laugh, feeling something unwind in my chest.
Too soon, Mateo glances at his watch and groans. "Duty calls. Some of us have actual work to do rather than just..." he waggles his eyebrows suggestively, "burning calories in other ways."
He kisses me again, briefly but with promise, then claps Declan on the shoulder as he heads for the door. "Don't have too much fun without me," he calls over his shoulder.
Then it's just Declan and me again.
His presence beside me so solid, reassuring, so different from the tense, distant man who had first walked into my life.
He reaches for my plate, brushing his fingers over mine in a casual touch that still makes my skin heat.
"I should go too," I say finally, reluctant to break the spell of the morning but aware of the day ahead. "Gloria will start wondering where I am."
Declan nods, brushing a strand of hair from my face with surprising gentleness. "Go. I'll finish here."
He catches my wrist before I turn away. Just long enough to pull me in for a soft, lazy kiss. No pressure. Just lips and breath and the taste of coffee between us.
Then he lets me go.
The water in my shower is hot and steady, and I press my palms against the tiles, eyes closed, letting it wash over me.
Everything about today has been surreal.
Declan and I. Mateo, walking in like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The three of us, laughing over eggs like we're not living inside some kind of emotional minefield.
