Page 33 of Not For Keeps
Anna nudges me. “So…where is he?”
I blink. “Who?”
She gives me a look. “Your man, girl. Your tall, broody, makes all the ladies wanna drop their panties fireman.”
“Drop their panties.” I snort. “I don’t know. I texted him where we’d be, and said he can come if he’d like.”
“Not you trying to play it cool,” Anna says. “He’s already yours”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah…for now.”
Anna’s face softens. “Lyse. I know I said things when I found out you two were together—probably too much. But I think Mateo is making me eat my words.” She nudges me lightly. “He shows up for you. Consistently. That’s not nothing.”
I don’t say anything, so she keeps going.
“I think he loves you. And if this hesitation is about Nico…I get it. He’s a monumental jerk. What he did to you was unforgivable. He left. And he let you carry everything alone. But I hope you won’t let what he broke stop you from accepting something that’s good. Something that’s real.
“He’s crazy about you,” she adds. “Anyone with eyes can see that. Don’t talk yourself out of something that feels right just because it’s unfamiliar.”
“Love,” I scoff. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re having fun.”
“Where’s my best girl?” A voice cuts in behind us.
His voice. I turn. Seb’s leading the way, grinning and cracking a total dad joke. “What do you get when you drop a pumpkin? Squash.”
Anna groans immediately. “Absolutely not.”
“Yes,” Seb says proudly. “I’ve been saving that one.”
Behind him, Andres sips from a cider, unfazed. “He told it in the car. Didn’t land there either.”
And then I see him. Mateo. Trailing behind them, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, curls slightly mussed from the wind. His eyes find mine like they always seem to do.
My heart quickens, my stomach flips. Nope. Shut that down, Lyse.
Maya yells, “Mateoooooo!” and takes off running through the pumpkins toward him.
He crouches just in time to catch her, lifting her up effortlessly with a soft laugh that does things to my chest I’m not ready to think about.
“You came!” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck,
“Of course, I came,” he says. “There’s not a chance I’d miss pumpkin picking with my favorite girl.”
Anna leans closer to me, smug as hell, and whispers, “I told you so.”
Maya wastes no time. She tugs Mateo and says, “We’re finding the biggest, most prettiest one. And maybe a white one, too.”
She’s a girl on a mission.
Mateo follows easily, letting her chatter fill the space. He glances back once, catching my eye, and I see a smirk that makes my stomach twist.
Mariana falls in step beside me, arms crossed over her chest. “Our girl’s got taste.”
“She also thinks a good pumpkin is defined by the vibes.”
Seb veers into a row and immediately picks up the first pumpkin he sees. “This one. No notes.”
“It’s shaped like a deflated basketball,” Anna says, wrinkling her nose.
