Page 53 of Love at First Ink

“Surely you are going to grow tired of that.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Maybe when I’m dead, but even then, I doubt it.”

Her laugh filled his chest with warmth. He loved hearing it. Loved seeing her smile. She didn’t do it often enough, and eachtime he was able to make her let her guard down, he counted that as a win.

“Fine,” she conceded. “We can go. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I promise not to hold it against you.” He winked and leaned down to kiss her one last time. He couldn’t foresee dinner with her parents going badly.

And even if it did, he planned to be by her side through it, even if that meant rearranging some appointments at work. Tiny would have her work cut out for her, juggling his schedule, but he needed to be with Marisol this weekend. Even if that meant he’d be working a few extra hours, his girl was worth it.

CHAPTER 23

Marisol

Was it possible for someone to die from having her heart pound out of her chest? Because at the rate her heart thumped anxiously inside her, she was certain it was trying to separate itself from her body. But it didn’t get really bad until they reached the entrance to her parents' property.

Intimidating iron gates with red brick walls surrounded the entire estate. The house sat back another half mile from the entrance, nestled behind the sparse forest area. A black box with a number pad sat right outside the gate. Cisco’s car came to a rolling stop. She was too busy pulling down her blue dress, making sure it covered the tattoo on her thigh, to notice they’d arrived.

“Passcode?”

His words took a moment to register in her overactive mind. Her leg began to bounce, and she swore the space around her was caging her in, becoming smaller and smaller by the moment. Her heart was thudding so loud,it was the only thing she could concentrate on. Pounding over and over and over?—

“Princesa.” A gentle hand went to her bouncing leg, stalling her movements. She blinked once, the fog in her mind slowly clearing as she looked up to stare into Cisco’s warm brown eyes. They grounded her in a way nothing else could.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said, his voice soothing something deep inside her. She might not quite believe him, but she wanted to believe everything would be okay. “It’s just one dinner. We eat their food, and I take you home to Snowball.”

“Right, okay.” She breathed in once before giving him the four-digit passcode. Cisco was quick to type it in. The gates squeaked as they opened, in desperate need of WD-40. The driveway to their house was full of twists and turns, until finally the grand Mediterranean-style villa came into view.

Cisco let out a whistle as he parked behind an older pickup truck. It belonged to Javi, so at least she knew her sister was already here. Maybe seeing her grandchildren would mellow her mom. Not likely, but there was a little hope.

“They’rerichrich,” Cisco said with admiration in his voice. “Damn, Princesa. Did you grow up here?”

Marisol shook her head. “No, they only moved into this house a few years ago. Though my childhood home looked similar. It’s my mother’s favorite architectural design.”

There were no subtleties about the house. No expense was spared when you ran a thriving winery business. The interior of the house only proved that. When Marisol led Cisco inside, they entered the grand foyer with a soaring ceiling. A massive window at the top bathed the room in natural light. The curved staircase to their left led up to the guest bedrooms and her father’s office.

Marisol hesitated slightly, gathering the last of hercourage, before taking Cisco’s hand. His warmth felt good, providing her with the strength and security she needed to take the first step down the hall. She heard high-pitched giggles coming from the outside family room, an enclosed outdoor area her parents enjoyed entertaining in. It was located next to their outdoor kitchen, overlooking the beautiful landscape of their backyard. Just last year her parents had finished their pool, complete with a hot tub. Her father said he had wanted a pool for a long time, but Marisol knew he wasn’t the best swimmer and built the pool for his grandchildren.

Just as she suspected, when she opened the door to the outside living room, her niece and nephew were getting ready to swim, taking advantage of the last hour of sunlight. Javi struggled with Fabian, trying to put the floats around his chunky arms. Lola rubbed sunscreen into Camilia’s back. Both Javi and Lola were in swimwear.

Marisol was surprised that Lola decided to wear a two-piece. Not because her sister didn’t look absolutely stunning in a two-piece, but rather because she liked to keep her body covered up when around their mother. The absolutely unhinged and completely awful things their mother had said to them, but more specifically Lola, over the past few years would leave them both in therapy for the rest of their lives.

Her father turned from his position at the grill when he heard the door shut behind them. His face lit up, and Marisol couldn’t help but smile. For as strained as her relationship with her mother was, her relationship with her father—though not thriving—was still pretty good.

“My girls are here.” He wiped his hands off on the cloth next to his grill before coming over and giving Marisol a hug. He smelled of charcoal and fire. “And who is this? He looks familiar.” He pulled back to lookover Cisco.

All eyes were on them now. She felt the curious stare of her sister and brother-in-law. “Dad, this is Cisco. My—” Her brain went blank. Her…what? “Friend” wasn’t right. Friends didn’t give each other amazing orgasms or eat them out first thing in the morning. But was “boyfriend” the right word? They hadn’t talked about labels, but she knew her feelings for him were stronger than any other man she had in her life before. She certainly couldn’t address him as “lover.” That term seemed dated, and anything involving the L word needed a private conversation that wasn’t in front of parents.

Luckily, she didn’t have to look like a complete fool for long. Cisco offered her father his hand. “I’m the boyfriend. I believe we met at your store not too long ago.”

Her father pondered this before realization dawned. “Ah, yes. The young man interested in the spot next door. How’s that going?” Leave it to her father to always find a way to talk about business.

Cisco, luckily, didn’t seem to mind. “Should be squared away soon. Looks like we’re going to be neighbors.”

“You don’t say? How exciting. What is it you plan on opening? Should I be nervous about competition?” Her father laughed good-naturedly, but Marisol still squirmed uncomfortably.

“Daddy…” she warned.

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