“Wow, kettle chips? You went all out for Kyle,” she remarked sarcastically.
“Not really, I was teaching Mikey here how to make them,” he said, indicating the kid who had given them to her with a tilt of his head. “So naturally, we were left with a whole bunch.”
“Job well done, Mikey,” she said, holding up a chip.
The young kid blushed slightly at the attention, quickly scampering away as soon as he had the chance. She snacked away at the chips, watching her uncle work his magic with the griddle.
“Uncle Miller, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, baby girl.”
“How did you know Aunt Marta was the one?”
Miller looked up from the griddle, sighing. “I’m gonna guess that ‘I just knew’ isn’t really going to be an acceptable answer, huh?”
“I mean, if that’s the answer,” she paused. “Do you remember the moment you just knew?”
“Now that,” he said, pointing the spatula he was using at her, “is a much easier answer.”
He flipped the sandwich a couple of times and grabbed a plate and slid the sandwich onto it. Bringing it over to the table, he set it before her. He grabbed the chair next to her and flipped it around, straddling the back.
“It was the day after we crashed that party where we met Marta and Sofia. We were in Old San Juan, and your dad and mom had run away to go spend time alone, which was more than okay by us. We walked down to the big gate and walked along the shore there. Marta found a coin on the ground, a penny or something, and she held it up, told me to kiss it and make a wish. I thought she was insane. I was not kissing money, which is dirty to begin with, much less money that had been on the ground and stepped on by God knows who. But she was the prettiest damn thing I had ever seen, and please remember I was twenty-one; I was not always the most gentlemanly, so I was thinking about getting laid. So I kissed the penny, made a wish, and she tossed it into the water.”
“What did you wish for?” Drea asked, taking a bite of her grilled cheese.
“That I would get in her pants.”
“Uncle Miller, you did not!”
“I did. I told you I was not the gentleman I am now,” he fessed up, holding his hands up in surrender.
“So, then what happened?”
“It was a magical moment, she said so herself, so I took it upon myself to up the magic and went in for a kiss. Except somehow I slipped on the rock I was standing on, and fell into the water,” he said, pausing for dramatic effect. Drea burst out laughing, and Miller just sho
ok his head. “That right there is pretty much the exact reaction Marta had. She pulled me out, and for some reason happened to have a pair of sweatpants in her backpack, so I swapped out my very wet shorts for those. After I changed, she looked at me and said, ‘You know, Miller, if you wanted into my pants so bad, you could have just asked.’”
Drea stopped midbite, not believing what she was hearing. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Your aunt had the most amazing sense of humor, kiddo. And that was it, that was when I knew.”
“Because she made a bad joke?”
“No one said love was always sparkles and glitter, baby girl. There are those moments—watching Marta walk down that aisle toward me was certainly one of them—but most of the time it’s bad jokes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and just being content in one another. And when you find the person you want to spend your life making bad jokes with, or whatever your thing is, it’s like life takes on a whole new meaning.”
Drea just nodded her response. She thought about the weekend she’d just had with Kyle, and how much she loved being out on the water with him. They’d always had the view of ‘life’s an adventure’ in common, whether it was the adventure of the open waters, trying a new food, or even just making it through a tour with a set of guests that were a little unruly. There was no one else she wanted to go through an adventure with other than him.
“What makes you ask, baby girl?” Miller inquired.
“I took Kyle to Iglesia San Francisco while we were in San Juan this weekend, and told him the story of the weddings. I knew Mom’s side of things from her journal, but started to wonder about yours.”
“Well, if Kyle doesn’t think we’re a family of nutters after all that, then he’s more of a keeper than I realized.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next two days went by without any major fanfare or incident. Monday morning met them the same way it always did, completely oblivious to the perfect little world they’d been in, and full of real-life responsibilities. The resort was sold out again this week, and there had been enough interest in sailing tours that they were scheduled for doubleheaders on both Monday and Tuesday, keeping everyone moving at light speed.
As much as Drea loved being busy, two tours a day meant that there was no breathing room, much less time to do anything more than steal a glance or two at Kyle as they moved around the boat helping guests. There were so many moments when Drea wanted to kiss him as they passed, or reach out and squeeze his hand, but she stopped herself, trying not to call attention to them.
