Page 25 of Broken Chords

“Charlie, this is so extravagant. You didn’t have to do this.”

I shrug, trying to play it off. “I wanted to.” I glance at Damian out of the corner of my eye. “Damian’s told me about what you’ve gone through the last few years, and I didn’t know how much pampering you’d have had time for in the midst of all that. It’s good to be pampered every now and then.” My voice gets smaller the longer everyone stares at me.

Is this really an inappropriate gift? I talked to Lauren about it, and she seemed to think it was okay. Well, she actually said, “Girl, you can get me that kind of a gift certificate any time.”

“If it’s too much …” I make a sort of helpless gesture toward Elisa, which seems to bring everyone out of their daze.

Sara leans over so she can see it and lets out a low whistle. “If you don’t want it, Mamá, I’ll happily take it off your hands.”

Elisa jerks it closer to her chest, her face morphing into a scowl. “No! This is my birthday present. Butter her up and tell her when your birthday is, and maybe you’ll get lucky enough to get one too.”

Everyone laughs, and I let out a weak chuckle. Now I feel weird about my gift. Maybe I should’ve just signed my name to Damian’s card, which I know contains an Amazon gift card. His mom loves to read, so he always gets her money to spend on books, even if he can only afford a few dollars.

I have no problem affording an expensive gift card to a spa. But sometimes I forget that I’m just a freshman in college, and most college students don’t have access to unlimited funds.

After presents we have cake—chocolate layer cake that’s moist and delicious. When we all exclaim over it, Carla executes a little bow. “Thank you, thank you.”

“I think I’ll hire you to make my birthday cake next year,” I throw out.

She grins. “I’d be happy to let you. Especially if you’re serious about the hiring part.”

“Carla,” Elisa chides, but I laugh it off.

“It’s fine. And yes. For cake this good I’ll happily pay.”

After laughing and talking till after nine, Hector stands and claps his hands together. “I know all you young’uns can stay up till all hours and still go to work in the morning just fine. But I’m an old man, and I need my sleep. It’s been great having you, but it’s time to go.”

Elisa tsks at him, but stands. “Damian, let me pack you up some leftovers to take back to your house. I know you and those boys you live with don’t eat decent meals very often. Come with me into the kitchen.”

Carla scoots over into the seat Damian vacated, butting her shoulder up against mine. “I’m glad I finally got to meet you. Damian’s told me about you some, but it’s nice to put a face with a name.” She glances around, but Ben, Sara, and Josh seem to be deep in their own conversation. “He seems to really like you. Are things serious between you?”

“You’re the first girl he’s brought home since Adriana, his high school girlfriend,” Ben puts in. I guess they weren’t as deep in conversation as I thought, because Sara and Josh are paying attention to us too.

“Oh, well.” I look between the four of them all staring at me expectantly. “Yeah. Yeah, I think things are getting serious.”

The older siblings nod, but Carla puts her hand on my arm, focusing my attention on her. “Good. He has a tendency to go after outgoing girls who don’t always necessarily return his depth of feelings. So if you don’t feel the same about him, don’t string him along, okay? He doesn’t deserve that.”

I blink at her, questions warring in my head. What would Damian think about his little sister trying to protect him? Has anyone ever tried to protect me that way?

“I won’t. I wouldn’t. That’s not a problem with us.”

She stares at me a moment longer, then nods decisively. “Good.”

“Charlie?”

Damian’s voice pulls my attention away from Carla, who jerks her hand away from my arm. He cocks his head to the side and cuts his eyes at his sister.

I just shrug and smile in return, picking up my bag and standing. “Ready to go?”

Holding up the plastic containers of food in his hands, he says, “Yeah. My mom thinks this should last me the week, but she doesn’t know my roommates.”

I step to his side as his parents reenter the living room. “Thank you so much for having me.”

Elisa crosses to me and wraps me in a hug. “Thank you so much for coming. It was lovely to meet you.” Then she lowers her voice. “Be good to my son.”

“I will,” I whisper back as we separate. She smiles at me, and we say our goodbyes to everyone else before heading out the door.

Damian looks down at me as we walk to his car. “And? Was it as bad as you thought?”

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