Page 80 of Love at First Ink

“Shhh, Princesa, I’m so fucking proud of you.” Cisco pulled her into his lap, gently rubbing her back. “You aren’t losing me. Let me make that very clear. I’m so fucking proud of you for standing up for yourself. I know it was hard, but you did it.”

Marisol wiped away a few tears, shaking her head. “It was a lot. Which is why I don’t want to do a damn thing today.”

“And we don’t have to. We can stay in bed all day.”

“You’ll stay with me?” she asked, looking up at him. “I don’t want you to go.”

“And I don’t want to go.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Why don’t we eat some of that food your brother-in-law made and watch movies in bed?”

“And you’ll stay the night?”

“Try kicking me out.” He smirked, which earned him a small smile. Marisol leaned back against him, and for the first time in the last twenty-four hours, he felt at peace.

CHAPTER 36

Marisol

There was a delicious ache between her thighs after a full day of sex. When they weren’t cuddling or watching a movie, they were finding new ways to draw out pleasure. Naturally, Cisco excelled in every way. If she hadn’t been in love before, yesterday cemented her feelings for him.

He had come clean about his past. A past he was unjustly accused of and worked his ass off to break free from. She had never had anyone betray her in the way his roommate betrayed him—though, arguably, her mother was just as bad. Still, she knew what it was like to be perceived as something you weren’t. She couldn’t imagine the darkness Cisco had to face. But he did face it and came out stronger on the other side. It was inspiring because it made Marisol feel she was capable of that too.

If it were up to her, she’d stay in bed all day. But earlier this morning, she got a text from Stella asking if she and the others could come over to finalize the plans for the fundraiser. After everything that happened these last fewdays, the pet fundraiser was the furthest thing from her mind. But it was quickly approaching, and she wanted to make it a successful event for the shelter. With so much still left to plan, she would need every spare second to pull this off.

When she told Cisco, he said he needed to go into work today to make up for the clients he had to cancel. He promised to come back after work, though, and confirmed he’d tattoo at the fundraiser. After a quick shower and breakfast, Cisco left Marisol to get her house ready for her visitors.

This would be the first time she was hosting friends at her house. It both excited her and made her want to throw up. If she had more notice, she would have hired someone to make them snacks, but all she had was a random assortment of cheeses and nuts, so that would have to do. She put out a charcuterie board, bottled water, and wine with glasses on her coffee table in the living room.

Just in time too, because there was a loud knock at the door. Snowball, who had been playing with a stuffed mouse toy, looked up as if asking,“Are you going to get that?”With one final look around her house, she took a deep breath and went to answer the door.

Stella was the first person she saw, offering her a big smile. In her arms was a casserole dish with what appeared to be spinach artichoke dip. Next to her was her husband, Blaine, holding a bag of tortilla chips. “Hi! Thank you so much for letting us crash your house today,” Stella said, moving to give Marisol a one-handed hug, carefully balancing the dip between them.

“I’m happy to.” She surprised herself because she actually meant it. She really liked Stella and the other volunteers.

Antonio and Paul hugged her next, both carrying packagesof cookies. “This condo is insane. In a good way.” Antonio looked around with wide eyes. “I need a tour ASAP.”

“Careful. If he loves the house too much, he’s going to move in with you,” Paul whispered conspiratorially. His gaze lingered around the room, falling on Snowball, still playing with her toy. “In the meantime, I’m going to stare at your cat until she loves me.”

Izzy was the last to enter. She was in another fantastical, pale-yellow dress that reminded her of a summer fairy, with her hair braided down her back. “Marisol, I’m so happy to see you again.” The woman leaned in for a hug. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you.” Marisol’s cheeks hurt from smiling. If this was the price for friendship, it was one she was happy to pay. “Please come in. I have some finger foods out to graze on. Can I get you something to drink?”

“A water, beautiful. Thank you.” Izzy rubbed her shoulder and made her way inside.

The others had already made themselves at home by gathering around the coffee table. Someone had found—or brought—paper plates and started to pass them out. Blaine started scooping spinach artichoke dip on everyone’s plates. Paul called for Antonio, who was missing. A moment later, Antonio popped out from the hallway, holding a sequined dress he must have dug up from the bowels of Marisol’s closet.

“Please tell me you didn’t just break into Marisol’s closet and steal her dress,” Paul groaned.

“Okay, I didn’t do that,” Antonio said, ignoring his partner as he looked at Marisol. “This is fucking stunning. Please tell me you wore it out to a club and brought home a silver fox.”

“Antonio,” the others chastised in unison, doing nothing to rein Antonio in. She had a feeling Antonio did this often.

“I’ve never been to a club,” Marisol admitted. “But I did wear it once at a mixer. Does that count? And I didn’t take home a silver fox, but I was given wine.”

“Wine is probably better than a man.” He shrugged. “Anyway, it’s gorgeous, and I think we need to go partying in it. You have a man, right?”

“She does, remember?” Stella piped up. “And he’s hot.”

“It’s true. You should see his pictures,” Blaine said.

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