Page 119 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
Quietly, I walk up to them with Lily in my arms.
When his aunt sees me, she does a double-take. Her wide smile falls away and is replaced by a pinched look, like she just sucked on a lemon.
“Benjamín, you didn’t say you were bringing anyone with you. We thought it would just be you and Liliana.”
He puts his arm around my shoulders. “Tío Julio, Tía Teresa, this is Sienna, my girlfriend.”
Oh, shit. Until this moment, I hadn’t really grasped what this meant. That I would be meeting his parents, essentially. ’Cause that’s what’s happening here, right?
Cal hid me away like his dirty secret, and here’s Ben, introducing me to his family.
The fact that he wanted to bring me to something so monumental gives me hope that maybe he and I can work through this rough patch.
As I stand on the porch, nestled against Ben, I realize that despite my reservations about our relationship, if something happened to him when he skydived, I’d be devastated. If I lost him like that, I’d be the one in pieces. Because I love him. Warts and all. Not that he has many, not really. But now that we’re both so stressed, our worst sides are being amplified.
I just have to be patient. We can get through this.
Encouraged, I put everything I can into my smile. “It’s great to meet you. I’ve heard so many great things about you both.”
“Really?” Ben’s aunt says slowly as she eyeballs my outfit. And now I regret having changed into jeans and a t-shirt because Lily got puke on my sundress. “Because we haven’t heard a thing about you.”
Um.
Okay.
I glance at Ben, and the fierce scowl on his face makes me cringe. “Tía, that’s not nice. I’ve spoken to Tío about Sienna.” He kisses my temple and places his hand on my back.
She ignores his statement and reaches for Lily. “Is this my grandbaby? Ven pa ca, precíosa.”
Teresa lifts her into the air, and I put my hand on her arm to stop her. “She just got sick in the car. You’d better not—”
Too late.
I squeeze my eyes shut, horrified, when Ben’s aunt gets covered in puke.
