Mom laughed. “I know what love looks like, sweetie. I’ve seen it on your dad’s face for years now.”
I flushed. There it was again. The wordlove.Who said anything about loving Mateo?
I walked them out and kissed them both goodbye before hurrying back inside to finish getting ready for work. Yet Icouldn’t stop thinking about Mateo. I needed to see him tonight, no matter how tired I was.
My phone buzzed.
Mateo: Good morning. Happy weekend! Dreaming of you…
That confirmed it.
With a deep breath, I pressed the phone icon next to his name and listened while the phone rang.
“Hi.” Mateo’s voice came over the line and I nearly fainted. It had felt like forever since I heard it last.
“Hi. I’m free tonight.”
“You just made my day. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
When he picked me up later, we didn’t make it past the door again. Within minutes, he was in my bed, our bodies tangled in the sheets.
Life continued that way for a while, seeing each other on the weekends, but after a few weeks, I decided it was time for Mateo to meet Charlotte.
He had proved to me he was committed, he was a good, hardworking man, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
I invited him over for dinner on a Friday night, our usual night for homemade pizza, which I thought would be some hands-on fun for them to interact.
And I was right. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect meeting.
Slowly but surely, Mateo fit into our life naturally. Over the next few months, Charlotte and I visited his woodworking shop, met his gaggle of cats, met his adorable sister at the boutique shop she owned, and Mateo met my parents.
But the best thing?
Saying I love you for the first time under the starry night sky while dancing on his patio.
I dreamed of finding what my parents had found and hoped it would happen for me. And now it had.
I’d finally found my forever.
EPILOGUE
Mateo
One year later
“I love seeing you so happy.”Malia said as I walked through the back door of her boutique, carrying a large custom piece I finished. The customer was due to pick it up today. “You’re like a whole new person.”
I laughed. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’d like to think I was a spectacular person before and after.”
Malia rolled her eyes affectionately. “Sure, thing buddy.”
I set the piece down in the designated area Malia set up. “We’re still good to go tonight, right?”
“Yep. I plan on picking charlotte up at six and I’ll drop her off at her grandparents by nine. I’m going to take her to see the new kids’ spy movie that’s out. She’s so excited.”
A warm feeling spread throughout my body. I loved it.
