Page 52 of Back to You
He winked. “Not a chance.”
Meanwhile, Maya had already moved on, twirling around the fire pit, still giddy with excitement. Analyse shook her head, laughing. “Alright, alright, you two, enough corrupting my daughter.”
She faces Maya, so much love in her eyes, “Mamita, we have to get going, okay? It is wayyy past your bedtime.”
Maya groans. “Ahh mami, but I’m not even tired!” Stifling a yawn.
Analyse laughs, “Sure you’re not, mi amorcito. Come on, let’s get going.” She lifts Maya into her arms, waves goodbye to everyone, and begins to walk toward her car.
Sebastian pulls me in closer as the fire crackles between us, warm and cozy, but it was his touch that I felt the most. I let out a slow breath, sinking into him, into this. For once, I’m not bracing for the other shoe to drop.
CHAPTER 20
Mariana
The fluorescent lights hummed softly above us, the steady beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor filling the quiet room. The hospital smelled like illness and stale coffee, the scent clinging to my clothes, making my stomach turn.
But none of that matters, not when mami lay still in the hospital bed, her frame small and frail against the crisp white sheets.
Sebastian’s fingers tighten around mine, grounding me as I hesitated just inside the doorway. “You okay?” he murmured, voice low.
I swallowed hard. Was I okay? No. Not really. But I nodded anyway.
Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of our voices, tired but still sharp with recognition. For a second, I could almost believe she wasn’t sick, that she wasn’t slipping further away from me every day.
Her lips curved into a weak smile when she saw me, but when her gaze drifted to Sebastian standing beside me, her smile faltered, then widened. “Mija…” Her voice was thin but warm. “You came with Sebastian?”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Si, mami. He came here with me.”
Sebastian stepped forward, his usual confidence tempered with quiet respect. “Hi, Señora Vargas,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
Mami scoffed, shifting slightly against the pillows. “Señora Vargas? Ay, Sebastian, after all these years, you’re still calling me that? Dios mio, I changed your diapers, muchacho. You’re like a son to me.”
A small, surprised laugh left me, and even Sebastian cracked a grin.
“Fair point,” he admitted. “Bendicion, mami.”
Her gaze flickers between the two of us, something thoughtful settling in her expression. “So, out with it, since you both are here, does that mean you’re together?
I hesitated, but Sebastian didn’t even bat an eye. He turned his head, catching my gaze, and then looked back at her. “Yeah. We are.”
Mami exhaled slowly, her eyes softening. “Bueno.”
Just that, not I told you so, not it took you long enough—Just bueno, typical mami. It felt like everything was settling into place exactly as it was meant to.
Tears burned the back of my throat, but I forced myself to blink them away as I reached for her hand, careful with how delicate her skin had become. Reality setting in on how little time we have left together leaves me mourning all of the time I let pass us by.
“We never should have let so much time pass,” I whispered.
She squeezed my fingers weakly. “Sometimes, mi amor, love is just waiting for us to be ready.”
I bit my lip, glancing at Sebastian, whose expression was unreadable, his hand still wrapped around mine, and I knew thathe was thinking the same thing I was. We had lost so much time, spent years apart, living separate lives.
But now? I knew one thing for certain. I never wanted to live apart from him again. A comfortable silence settled between us, the warmth of Sebastian’s palm against mine.
Then, Sebastian shifted beside me and cleared his throat. “Mariana,” he murmured, squeezing my hand before letting go. “Would you mind grabbing us some coffee?”
I blinked, tilting my head, “You drink hospital coffee now?”
