Page 104 of Resilient Love

I sit up and pat him on the back, my cheeks aching from my unrelenting smile. “Well, this conversation has been positively enlightening. Now, what are we having for dinner?” I ask as my stomach rumbles loudly.

Despite the formal setup of the dining room, Dad serves uscroque monsieur, which is essentially a grilled cheese with Gruyère, ham, and béchamel sauce. It’s one of my favourite comfort foods, but I’m entirely too lazy to learn how to make a bloody béchamel.

The time passes quickly as we discuss the trips we took together without Dad knowing, and I apologise about a million times because the guilt of not including him in so much has been gnawing away at me. Dad sets that to rest after the millionth and one time, all but shouting at me to quit apologising.

Laughter is wheezing from my lungs as Dad and I make jokes at Rafael’s expense. “And then—” I suck in a breath. “You should’ve seen his face when Santiago admitted that he didn’twant Rafael’s autograph, he wantedmine.” My cheeks burn. “He didn’t even know who Rafael was.”

“And someday, everyone in the world will know who you are,mi vida,” Rafael says against my ear, but apparently not low enough because my dad makes a mock-vomiting sound.

“Come on! Not at the dinner table. People are trying to eat here,” Dad whines. “Save the sugary sweet crap for dessert.”

Rafa’s face has been glowing red the entire time we’ve been here, and I’m not sure that’ll stop anytime soon.

After dinner, we all work together to clean up before crashing on the couch, where Dad demands we stick around for a movie, the time passing too quickly.

I stretch my arms over my head, yawning loudly as the romcom comes to an end. Dad swipes at his eyes watching the credits roll by. “That damn movie gets me every time,” he murmurs.Such a softy.

He flicks the telly off and turns the lamp beside him on. “I guess you two should be heading home, huh?”

“Probably, but we can have dinner anytime. You know, now that you’re in the loop,” Rafael tells him.

Dad rolls his eyes, standing, and we follow suit, heading to the door. He wraps me in a crushing hug that’s so comforting I don’t bother telling him that he’s ripping my hair out with his big arm.

“Goodnight, Dad. Thanks for having us, and for”—I look down at my feet—“for everything else.”

“Anything for you,mon petit chou,” he tells me. He turns his attention to Rafa, opening his arms wide, and that signature smirk is plastered on his face again. “Come here, big guy. We’re family now.”

Rafa reluctantly steps into his arms, and IswearI see him melt just a little bit.

“This day has been so fucking weird,” I whine, stripping out of my clothes, leaving pieces littered on the floor as I make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“You’re telling me. I was ninety percent sure your dad was going to kill me and the nice guy act was to throw me off so I wouldn’t see it coming,” he says.

“Yoo nefer know,” I mutter around my toothbrush, “coot still hapfen.”

I don’t miss the way a shiver runs through him, but ignore it, fearing for his pride if I bring up his completely unwarranted fear of my father.

I spit out the toothpaste, rinse the brush and then my mouth, padding across the plush carpet with Rafael trailing dutifully behind me. I find Mrs. Purrito curled on top of Rafael’s pillow when I crawl into bed. “Seems she’s come to love having her own pillow,” I say.

“Yeah, well, I hope you like sharing because I think that’s going to be our reality,” he grumbles, climbing in behind me and tugging on the end ofmypillow.

“Absolutely not, I refuse to share,” I whine.

His hand lands on the base of my belly, rubbing soothing circles, and a sigh slips past my lips. He nuzzles against my neck,nipping at the skin, and blows a cool breath over my ear that causes goosebumps to erupt. “Sharing is caring,sunshine.Now get some sleep, and I’ll show you just how much I care about you in the morning,” he whispers, settling against me.

My thighs clench, but Mrs. Purrito distracts me from my trance. She stands to shift her ass right in my face, circling the pillow and plopping down, resuming her loud engine-like purrs.

As strange as sharing six inches of a king-sized bed with a man the size of a tank and a cat who won’t shut up and is constantly trying to smother me with her arse fur might seem, I can’t help but sigh into my new reality, drifting to sleep knowingI’ve got everything I want, right here.

The end.

EPILOGUE PART ONE

“You know,the little bromance the two of you have going on just doesn’t sit right with me anymore. It was cute in the beginning, but it’s starting to freak me out, and I especially don’t appreciate being ganged up on,” I say with a pout, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Don’t be such a baby, Elise,” my dad says, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, get your big girl knickers on and stop whining,” Rafael says, nudging my shoulder.

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