Page 138 of Riding the Pine

I grip my head with both palms, my fingers stabbing into my hair. Have I just lost a Rojas heirloom ring? I have, haven’t I?

Shit. Shit. Fucking shitting, shitting fucking shitting shit.

Fuuuuuuuck.

I can’t even make a noise, scream through my aggression. I can’t draw attention to the fact I’m in here. I thought I was being so fucking smart. I knew in my gut this was the place I’d want to propose, Athena has fallen back in love with her mom’s house now that her asshole father is gone.

It’s one of her favorite places to spend time.

I force air into my lungs on a beat of rational thinking. Perhaps their housekeeper found it while dusting. She’d knowwhat it looks like, and she’d have given it back to Abuelita. That’s it. I haven’t lost a family heirloom that an ancient woman gave me to propose to her granddaughter.

Right?

Right. That’s exactly what has happened. Or at least, it’s what I keep telling myself as I walk back into the living room.

CHAPTER 60

Athena

It’s so fucking hard not to laugh when a stricken Scott comes back into the living room.

Making sure the rock on my finger is visible if he looks in my direction, I turn my attention back to packing up the extra decorations.

Is it mean of me to have stolen the ring I know he hid in the library? Maybe he shouldn’t have been so careless with his things.

I turn to the tree, so no one sees me smirking to myself. When I turn back into the room, Scott is pale as a sheet, sitting in the same seat he was in before his big “we’re a safe space,” moment. To be honest, I felt like stripping naked and boning him right there. But as weird and uncomfortable as it was for my grandmother to join us for a conversation all about sex, I draw the line atactuallyhaving sex in front of her. Or any of my siblings for that matter.

Scott avoids all eye contact with me, which makes watching him super easy. He’s staring at Apollo like his life depends on Apollo accepting his subliminal messages.

He can’t get Artemis’s attention because Artemis is deeply involved with his phone. Also laughable, he’s gone from hatingtechnology and criticizing people being stuck to their devices, to being one of the people he bitches about.

Guess a good dicking will do that to you.

When Apollo finally looks over at Scott, he widens his eyes and flaps his phone on his lap. Not needing additional context or instructions, Pollo picks up his phone and reads the screen. I look away, knowing he’s going to look right at me before he turns his attention back to Scott.

In my periphery, Apollo mouths ‘Oh, fuck,’ with a shake of his head.

The two of them type back and forth to one another for a few minutes. It’s so hard to swallow down the laughter bubbling in my bloodstream. Ares scrunches his face up as he looks at me. “¿Estás bien, Hermana?”

I nod.

“You look like you’re doing a pee pee dance.”

A snort of amusement bursts from me, and everyone looks my direction. When I cover my mouth with both my hands, the ring catches the light and the only sound you can hear in the room is Scott’s gasp. “Oh my God.”

I send the most innocent grin in his direction. “Everything okay, Gizmo?”

His jaw drops.

“Ask no questions, and you’ll be told no lies.” I quote from the book I found my ring behind.

He blinks.

“Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations.”

He points at me. “You found it.”

“Found what?”

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