Page 21 of Fixed Up Ever After
She was caught off guard just as much as he was. God, she hoped he didn’t think she lured him here just to ask if he would be her date. She didn’t need him to think she was loca and for him to stay away from her. She needed him to take this job. Javi was her best bet to open her shop soon.
But maybe if he wanted to also be her date…
No. Nope. She shut down that way of thinking. Why was she even entertaining the idea? It was so unbelievable and unattainable, that she could not afford to put stock into the idea.
“Lo-Lo.” Mona’s calm voice wrapped around Lola like a soft embrace. She was shaking and hadn’t noticed until Mona placed her hands atop Lola’s shoulders. It helped center her and from slipping into more gray areas of uncertainty.
“First off, I need you to breathe,” she said in a soothing voice. Lola took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. “Good. Just like that. Now, I need you to look at me when I talk to you. Don’t interrupt, just listen. Okay?”
Lola’s brown eyes fluttered upward until she was staring into Mona’s dark orbs. “Okay,” she said softly, afraid of talking too loudly in case Javi was listening.
“I’m sorry I went for it without talking to you first. That was probably not the best way to ask him. But I’m not sorry for playing your wingwoman. This wedding is going to be hard for you and I think you deserve to have some arm candy like Javi. He would be a good buffer between you and your family. I want you to have one person on your side there. I know what a pain your family is and you deserve to have a good time at an otherwise shitty event.”
So much anxiety surrounded this wedding. Mona was right. She didn’t want to go alone. She didn’t even want to go at all, but she wanted to face her mother’s wrath even less. Perhaps that made her a coward. The only person she was marginally excited to see was her father. He had always loved her in his own way and his biggest fault was his complacency in their family dynamics. Besides that, he had always been good to her and provided her with money to chase her dreams of opening a bookshop, no questions asked.
A small part of her could picture Javi as her date to the wedding. The way he would look in a tux churned something low in her belly. To be able to spend a week with him all to herself made her squeeze her legs together in temptation. It surprised her how much she wanted that.
Lola let out a half sigh and half groan. “This is a wild idea. He’s not going to go with it.” If he was even still here. And did she even want to go along with Mona's ridiculous plan? There was no way this could end well.
“It’s a tad unusual.” Mona shrugged like she was commenting on shorts in the winter rather than a week-long wedding date with a guy she had a one-night stand with. “But I don’t think it’s such a far-fetched idea. Make it worth his while. Offer him extra money.”
“Now you want me to pay for the date? Like an escort service?” Lola asked incredulously.
“Think of it as more of a bonus. Plus, doesn’t he have a daughter? I’m sure he could use the extra money as a single dad. Kids are expensive. I’ve been trying to tell Mattea that forever, but she is insistent on having kids soon.”
“Yeah, you’d both make good mamas,” Lola said distractedly as she churned the idea around in her head. Of the wedding, not Mona being a mother.
She couldn’t believe she was actually considering it. There was no doubt in her mind that she would love to spend more time with Javi in any capacity, but something like this?
But also, what was holding her back? She was a proud, sexy, Mexican American woman who deserved a little fun. Fear had held her back long enough and she was tired of missing opportunities to appease people who didn’t give a damn about her in any way that mattered.
“Fuck. I think I’m going to do it,” she said at last.
Mona did a weird little excited dance before pulling Lola in for a smothering hug. “Fuck yeah, bitch! Go get him. I’m cheering you on from right here,” she said and gave Lola a push forward.
That small push was what she needed to get her feet moving. She needed to do this now while she still had some confidence within her. She prayed to God that Javi hadn’t run out, though she wouldn’t have blamed him if he did.
When she rounded the corner, escaping the labyrinth of books and scattered pages, Javi was right where they left him with his hands in his pockets. He was pacing quietly and hadn’t yet noticed her return.
“Javi?” Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears, but it had the desired effect. Javi stopped his pacing and looked at her. She felt naked under his scrutinizing gaze. The earlier bravado was fading and she didn’t want to lose her nerve. “I wanted to talk to you about the wedding—”
“I accept,” came his reply before she had the chance to finish. He didn’t even know what he was agreeing to and Lola swore she misheard him. But no, he soon repeated what he said, leaving her both stunned and another emotion she couldn’t quite place. “I’ll be your date, if you’ll have me.”
CHAPTER14
Javi
The smell of homemade tortillas permeated the air, which meant breakfast wasn’t far off. His mouth salivated at the thought of refried beans and fried papas tossed with scrambled eggs and sausage. Freshly made salsa would already be placed on the table, waiting to greet him as he walked into his sister’s kitchen.
Camilia’s tiny hand wiggled out of his and she made a break for it. “Tía Ofi!” she screamed, running into his sister’s large kitchen. Before Camilia could reach Ofelia, her husband, Maverick, swooped in and picked her up. Camilia giggled, thrashing around to try and escape the man’s grasp as he peppered her little cheeks with teasing kisses and tickled her sides.
“Good morning, my loves!” Ofelia dusted the flour from the tortillas off on her apron that once belonged to their mother. She moved to hug Javi and he—not for the first time—thought about how much he loved having his sister close by. Camilia was a great tía to his daughter and Maverick was proving to be a great tío and father. He was happy for the little family they created and even happier he could experience parenthood with his sister.
“Thank you again for watching, Camilia. I owe you.” He said once he released his sister from the hug. He looked down at his dark clothing to find some of the flour from Ofelia lingering on his clothes and absentmindedly wiped it off.
“Nonsense. I want all the time with my sweet Camilia. She’s growing too fast, you know.”
Oh, how he knew it. Just last week he was wrestling with a rambunctious toddler and now all of a sudden he had a kindergartner? He desperately wanted time to stand still, but he also loved watching his princesa grow up and look more like her mother every day. It was a beautiful reminder that Estella was still partly with him.
