Page 88 of Resilient Love

SATURDAY, JUNE 7

“How much longer?”I whine.

“I’m never taking you anywhere again,” he says, chuckling. “You always do this.”

“Invent a teleportation device, and maybe I won’t have to keep asking.”

“For you, I’d try, but unfortunately, I’m not sure I have the background for that sort of thing.” Rafael’s lips curve into a lopsided smirk that makes my cheeks heat.

“Well, you should really get on it because we’ve spent the entire day flying, and I’m over it,” I complain again for good measure.

Rafael pats his thigh. “Come here, baby.”

I crawl over the centre separating our seats in first class and settle onto his thick thighs, resting my chin on his shoulder.

The plane is comfortable with wide seats, flight attendants frequently checking if we need anything, TV screens attached to the back of the seat in front of us with a seemingly endless number of movies, and the air conditioning isn’t too cold or too warm and stuffy. But we’re still in a tin can soaring through clouds, and in my opinion, if you don’t have wings, you’re just tempting fate by flying.

“Have I told you how excited I am for you to meet my family?” he asks in a whisper, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

“Only every hour since I agreed to come.” My heart fills with a sticky warmth I only ever feel with him.

“Good, because I am.”

“I’m excited too,” I assure him. I’m also terrified, but I keep that part to myself. I’ve spent the last few weeks refreshing the Spanish I’ve learned from Letty, preparing for this day. I know his parents speak English, but he says it’s a lot easier for them to communicate in Spanish, and I’m coming to their home, so I want to learn their language.

A few hours pass, with several more complaints from me that Rafael kisses away, deciding that’s the easiest way to shut me up,and he’s right.

The time passes slowly thanks to nerves rolling through me, and by the time we make it to his parents’ home, my hands are sweating as we get out of the rental car parked at the end of the driveway. It’s not his parents waiting at the doorstep though, it’s Carlos. Thank god for that. Meeting Carlos first feels like a warmup to the main event because I’ve spoken to him over the phone countless times now, so it feels like I know him. His parents are a different story, despite both Carlos and Rafael working to convince me they’ll love me.

“Carlitooo,” Rafael sings as we make our way up the gravel walkway with his arm wrapped around my waist.

“My favourite little brother and his gorgeous girlfriend are home at last!” he says, his brown eyes shining with a glint as he greets me with a broad smile. He wheels himself closer to the edge of the ramp on the porch, but we get to him before he can start making his way to us first.

“Hola, Carlos. Es un placer conocerte finalmente,” I say with potentially the most butchered Spanish accent he’s likely to have ever heard.

His lips pinch together, and his brows climb as he appraises me with an impressed expression. At least, Ihopehe’s impressed.

“And it’s nice to finally meetyou, Elise. Though I now see why my brother wanted to hide you away for himself. He probably figured it was best not to let the more handsome brother try to win your heart until you were fully invested in him,” he says, shooting me an exaggerated wink over Rafael’s shoulder as he drags his brother to him for a crushing hug.

My sister used to give me the same type of hugs, and a twinge of sadness pinches my soul at the thought.

“Very funny,” Rafael says, rolling his eyes playfully. “Let’s go see Mamí before she finds us out here and drags us inside.”

We follow behind Carlos as he leads us into the one-storey home with picture frames littering the walls telling of a happy childhood and beautiful memories. My lips twitch as we pass a photo of Carlos with Rafael in a headlock, big goofy grins on both of their faces. Rafael looked so carefree and full of life in that photo—none of his grumpy attitude to be seen. Not that I’ve seen much of that lately either.

“Are they here?” I hear a feminine voice ask from the kitchen. Nerves ricochet through me. We’re really here. I’mreallyabout to meet his parents! I’ve never dated anyone, let alone been ina relationship to know what meeting the parents is like, so I’m praying I don’t disappoint them.

“Si,Mamí,we’re here,” Rafael says loud enough for her to hear him. There’s shuffling in the kitchen, and then an older couple with dark hair, warm brown eyes, and tan skin greets us with wide smiles.

Rafael’s mum, Catalina, wraps her arms tightly around Rafael, pressing a kiss to both his cheeks before pulling away to greet me. “And you must be Elise,” she says, smiling warmly at me, dragging me in for a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you. We’ve heard so much about you.” A sob threatens to choke me. It’s a reaction I could’ve never expected, but Catalina’s hug makes me miss mymamanwith every ounce of my soul.

“Sí,Carlos talks our ears off about you after his nightly calls with Rafa. He’s such achismoso,” he says, waggling his brows.

Butterflies take flight in my stomach, replacing the sadness, and my shoulders lower from their place beside my ears, my earlier nerves fizzling out. “Oh, really?” I ask, my eyes swinging to Rafael. “I didn’t know you talked about me so much.”

“You’re the most important thing in my life, Elise. You’reallI talk about,” he informs me, and I swear, the whole room swoons, his father included.

“Awww,” his parents and Carlos say in unison, and Catalina fans her face, preventing the tears welling in her glassy eyes from falling.

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