Page 26 of Fixed Up Ever After
Javi’s stomach dropped as he turned in the direction she was pointing out. He sent a silent prayer to God that Lola was mistaken and that his brother-in-law was not here on bingo night. But the moment he looked, there was no denying the familiar face of him and the woman sitting next to him.
“And—holy shit! Is that your sister?” Lola gasped. He remembered she had seen Ofelia once at the bakery.
Both Maverick and Ofelia turned toward him at the same time. His brother-in-law immediately noticed the woman next to him and smirked, but Ofelia’s eyes widened in shock. “Javi?”
He was truly and utterly fucked, not yet willing to answer the barrage of questions his sister would undoubtedly ask him about Lola. He wanted to turn around and take Lola to one of those fancy bars he was complaining about. Ofelia must have seen the startled look in her brother’s eyes because she moved from her perch at the table and hurried over to him, pulling him into a bear hug.
From over his sister’s head, he tried to convey how sorry he was to Lola and how he hadn’t planned this at all. But Lola was holding back her own laughs and shrugged as if to say,“Well, what are ya going to do?”He supposed this would be their first test in whether they could convince family members they were dating. Javi just wished it didn’t have to be right now.
CHAPTER17
Lola
It wasn’t every day you got to go on a fake date and meet a sexy as hell baseball player. She only knew Maverick played baseball because her father was a big sports fan and whenever they were together, he always had a game on or gushed about his favorite players.
Javi had been mortified that his sister and her husband happened to be at the same place, but Lola didn’t mind. It actually eased some of her anxiety. She didn’t feel like she had to be “on” the whole night and find ways to carry the conversation. Lola thrived in larger crowds because there were always enough people to take the attention off her.
Javi begrudgingly led them over to his sister’s table and she reassured him for the umpteenth time that she wasn’t upset. Unlike some of her other dates who attempted to hide her or pretend she did not exist. Javi didn’t do that. He let her keep hold of his arm as he introduced her to his sister, Ofelia, and her baseball player husband, Maverick.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going out tonight?” Ofelia said the moment they sat down. The table had long bench seats and as soon as Lola sat down, Javi squeezed in next to her. Two large half-drunken beers and untouched carnitas tacos sat in front of her, permeating the air with an oniony aroma.
“Or tell me you had a date with the woman who could hardly stand you at the bakery?” Ofelia continued, whispering the last part. Lola heard it as clearly as if she were sitting right next to her and felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. She might not have made the best first impression.
“I told you I was going out.” Javi shrugged, opening his phone to scan the QR code crudely taped to the table. It brought up a full drink and food menu. He passed his phone over to her with a smile. “Order whatever you like.”
“So chivalrous,” Lola teased, scrolling the extensive list of alcohol.
“You told me you were going out, but not on a date!” Ofelia chastised like only older sisters could do. At least that was what she thought anyway. She didn’t really have a bond with her sister, but she imagined this is what a healthy sibling relationship looked like.
“Baby girl, leave him alone. I’m sure he didn’t expect us to interrupt his date,” came Maverick’s deep tenor. How did Ofelia listen to that voice every day and not want to jump him? Not that Lola did, of course. She was more than happy to be fake dating Javi who made her heart skip a beat with a simple touch.
Ofelia grimaced. “Shit. We’re crashing your date. Do you want us to find a new table?”
Javi said, “Yes” just as Lola said, “No.” They stared at each other and shared a smirk before Lola continued, “No, please. Honestly, it’s fine. It’s refreshing to see siblings get along so well.”
“Are you not close with your own siblings?” Ofelia asked, cocking her head to the side as if not able to compute that type of relationship.
Lola smiled to ease the knot in her throat. “We’ve never seen eye to eye.” Lola settled on, not wanting to burden these strangers with her family woes. She felt Javi’s eyes on her, but she was too much of a coward to meet his gaze. He didn’t need to know how bad things were yet. In time he would be able to experience the drama of her family firsthand.
Maverick leaned close to his wife, placing his hand atop hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t grill the poor woman. We are trying to have fun tonight.”
Ofelia’s eyes widened. “Right. I’m so sorry. Sometimes I’m so nosey. I haven’t had many days away from our son in a long time. Mav’s mom is in town and offered to babysit so we jumped at the chance to get out of the house together. I need to remember how to socialize.”
“Socialize less, loca, and let us find something to eat,” Javi teased his sister with ease and then flashed his smile Lola’s way. Her stomach did a weird flip that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. One second she thought she was over his charm and the next she was putty in his hands. He was going to give her whiplash.
“Have you decided on what you want?” Javi asked. In truth, she hadn’t paid much attention to the menu. The sights, aromas, and chatting had distracted her, but her stomach growled reminding her how hungry she was.
“What do you suggest?” Despite Lola’s mixed heritage, her mother went to great lengths to whitewash her and Marisol. White was privileged and Luciana clung to that ideal like a too small dress. The white privilege never quite fit because their skin was a few shades too dark and their hair was too unruly to ever fit the mold, but that didn’t keep Luciana from trying. Lola often suspected that was the reason her mother was drawn to her father.
“You can’t go wrong with anything, but my favorite is the birria tacos. Super juicy, a little messy, but so damn good.”
Lola didn’t know what birria was but a quick Google search told her the tacos were typically made from goat meat or beef and she liked both of those things, so that seemed like an obvious winner. She placed the order on the app, as well as a white peach margarita, and handed Javi back his phone so he could place his own order.
Ofelia and Maverick set up their bingo cards. They both had three each and spread it out among their side to get a good look. Ofelia popped off the lid of one of the markers and placed a neon pink dot on all the free spaces.
Of course she understood bingo but she had never played like this before and was intimidated by the three cards she would have to monitor. At least she had a pretty pink dotting marker to draw with if things went horribly south.
“So, I know about Camilia, but are there any other family members I should know about?” she questioned, raising her brow. Maverick and Ofelia were consumed with each other and not paying them any mind, so she felt now was the proper time to ask Javi about his family. As his fake date, she needed to know these things.
