Page 118 of Along Came Amor
“No kink-shaming, ¿verdad?” Dulce smiled as she returned to the stove. “Besides, I don’t know what you do on that phone of yours all day.”
“Yes, you do,” Mikayla grumbled. “You like and comment onallof my posts.”
“I’m being supportive.” Dulce sent Ava a wink.
Ava couldn’t help it. She loved them already.
As they cooked, Ava chatted with Mikayla about books andBroadway musicals. Mikayla, consulting a list on her phone, asked Ava approximately a million questions about herself, because, as she put it, “Ro’s never brought a woman home before, and I can tell he really likes you.”
“Iloveher,” Roman said easily from where he whisked salad dressing.
Ava felt her face heat and she braced herself for his family’s reaction to his declaration, but nobody acted like he’d said anything strange. Nobody laughed or teased them or made inappropriate jokes.
Eventually... Ava relaxed.
Roman listened, for the most part, interjecting comments here and there, enduring light teasing from his sister, and helping his mother when she asked him.
It was... normal, Ava thought. Just like her family. If anything, Ava felt more comfortable here because there wasn’t years’ worth of emotional baggage to trip over. She’d thought his family might be haughty, based on the luxury in which they lived. But they were warm and welcoming.
When Roman and Mikayla stepped away to set the dining table, Dulce sidled up next to Ava.
“¿Y tu familia?” she asked. She pursed her lips and jerked her chin to gesture toward Roman. “They’ve met him?”
Ava’s hands stilled on the tomato she was chopping for the salad. “Ah... well, he knows Ashton and Jasmine, of course. And everyone else saw him at the engagement party.”
Dulce’s gaze turned shrewd. “They don’t know you two are... dating?”
Dating.Werethey dating? Shit, what else was this, if not dating?
Ava’s back hunched. “Um... no.”
“I see.”
Dulce’s knowing nod made Ava feel the need to explain herself. “They’ll make it a big deal. That’s just what they do. And I don’t want... I’m not ashamed of him. He’s amazing. You know that. But my family...”
She trailed off, not knowing how to describe them without sounding like she was complaining. But Dulce nodded like she understood.
“Yo entiendo. Family pressure can be hard on a new relationship.”
Ava’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Yes. Exactly.”
“You’ll know when you’re ready. And don’t let that one”—she gestured at Roman with the wooden spoon—“rush you. He jumps into things. It’s worked very well for him in business, because he’s always a million miles ahead of everyone else. But you? This is new for him.”
Ava swallowed hard. “Okay.”
But inside, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready. As easy as it felt being with Roman’s mother and sister, when she tried to imagine bringing him to dinner at her father’s house, or worse, to a giant family gathering, just the thought made her feel sick.
When the food was done, they carried everything to the dining table. In addition to the tostones, there was juicy roast chicken, rosemary garlic potatoes, and ratatouille con chorizo. Roman sat across from Ava, and Mikayla sat next to her. Dulce took the seat across from her daughter.
“We don’t usually eat here,” Mikayla explained. “But tonight’s special, since you’re here.”
“Now who has no chill?” Roman said mildly, raising his eyebrows at his sister.
Mikayla shrugged. “Seemed like you needed a wingwoman.”
Roman met Ava’s eyes and his held a spark of humor. “For the record, I did not ask her to do this.”
Ava smiled down at her plate and had the sudden urge to introduce Roman to Willow. Would he get along with Willow as easily as Mikayla seemed to be getting on with her? Was there a universe where Mikayla and Willow could meet without involving anyone else? Willow could keep a secret better than most of the Rodriguezes, but it was unethical for Ava to ask her teenage sister to do that.
