Jess leans back in her chair. “See? Not everyone in this town is an asshole.”
“Just Judith and Owen,” Macy adds.
“Just Judith and Owen,” Jess agrees.
My phone buzzes on the table. I glance at the screen. Mateo.
Dean and I are finishing up at the shop. We’ll be there in ten minutes,tesoro. Want us to bring you anything?
I read it aloud without thinking.
Macy grins. “Tesoro. He always calls you that.”
“It’s just a nickname.”
“Is it though?” Jess leans forward. “Has he ever told you what it means?”
“It means treasure. He came up with it at that Halloween costume party my first year here. He thought it was amusing that I was dressed like a pirate’s booty or something.”
“Right, but do you know what it means?” Macy asks.
“I don’t understand. Treasure is treasure, isn’t it?”
They exchange a look.
“Don’t do that.” I point between them. “What’s that about? Why are you two looking at each other like that?”
“No reason,” Jess says.
“Jess.”
She shrugs. “We’re just saying that maybe you should ask him about it.”
“Ask him what? It’s a joke. I dressed up as pirate booty. He started calling me treasure.”
“But why does he still call you that?” Macy interrupts. “If it was just a Halloween joke?”
I open my mouth. Close it.
I... I don’t know.
“Okay, seriously, what am I missing?”
“It’s not a booty joke,” Mateo says quietly from behind me.
I turn.
He’s standing in the doorway with Dean, both of them covered in dust from the shop. He looks exhausted. And maybe a little... caught.
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
“Tesoromeans ‘my treasure,’“ he says, his eyes holding mine. “In Spanish, it’s a term of endearment. Like ‘my darling’ or ‘my love.’” He pauses. “Mytreasure.”
The coffee shop goes silent. I think. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe my brain stopped processing for a moment and shut everything else out except him, because it’s been five years. He’s been calling me his treasure for five years.
“It never was just a joke,” he adds quietly.
Macy’s grinning. Jess watches me with knowing eyes. Dean’s pretending to be very interested in the menu board.
