snatched the phone and promised my hand in marriage. “Let me ask them.”
My mom might have been too tired before, but after seeing the limo and hearing about Javier’s bodyguard, curiosity got the best of her. We were soon on our way to Javier’s apartment for who-knows-what gourmet dessert he just happened to whip up while we were driving.
Instead of navigating the rickety fire escape, Diego was waiting for us out in front of the building, ready to escort us inside through a lobby filled with gold wallpaper, gleaming mirrors, and recessed lighting. I snuck at better look at Diego in one of the mirrors and was horrified to see a pink, puckered scar that ran from the front of his jaw to the back of his neck. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that the scar was from where a bullet entered in his face and went out the back of his head, grazing a permanent path along his skin.
Javier greeted us at the door, dismissing Diego in Spanish and closing the door before double locking it. He kissed me warmly, which was a little awkward in front of my parents, but they either didn’t see anything or they pretended not to. And as I predicted, there on the countertop was an elegant chocolate-and whipped-cream-covered dessert. Once again, too good to be true.
“I know Andie is thinking that this is not possible, and she is correct. I did not cook this one, Andie, I cheat. I have Diego stop at a bakery when you said you will come here.” He smiled as he explained the too-perfect dessert sitting on a glass cake plate on his countertop. He wasted no time serving it to us, even offering my parents coffee—decaf, of course, since they simply must be tired from their trip—and brewing up some coffee which he served in a French press on a platter.
“And now, at last, I will tell you why I call you here,” Javier began. Oh god, no. Please don’t let him start discussing the bride price in goats or camels or horses again. I stopped in mid-chew, only remembering to keep my mouth closed because my mother was sitting next to me and she was close enough to correct my manners with the jab of a pure silver dessert fork.
“I invite you here so you decide if you wish to stay here in my apartment until Andie is settled, or if you insist on a hotel. If you wish to stay here, there is room for all.”
Oh no , I thought to myself, panic-stricken, he’s going to tell my parents they can sleep on the couch while he and I take the bed . I began shaking my head so slightly but so fast that it must have looked like I was having a seizure. Javier conveniently forgot to look in my direction before continuing to talk.
“There is room for mother and father in the bedroom, and Andie in this room. I, of course, will sleep next door at Diego’s apartment. That way, you have a kitchen and beds, and plenty of room until you find a new home for Andie.”
My dad looked around the apartment and nodded to himself with a smile, probably calculating how much it would not cost him to stay here instead of a hotel. And truthfully, it was a super offer. They could end up staying several days while we apartment hunted, since the semester had already begun and most places around campus had filled up. My mother was eyeing the glass-front cabinets and neatly stacked dishes inside, probably appraising the apartment.
And for my part, I was freaking out.
Chapter Seventeen
“It certainly was nice of your young man to let us stay here,” my mother said, coming to sit on the sofa where I had made my bed. “What did you say his family does?”
“I didn’t say, Mom. They don’t do anything. His dad is deceased.” I wasn’t in the
My mom might have been too tired before, but after seeing the limo and hearing about Javier’s bodyguard, curiosity got the best of her. We were soon on our way to Javier’s apartment for who-knows-what gourmet dessert he just happened to whip up while we were driving.
Instead of navigating the rickety fire escape, Diego was waiting for us out in front of the building, ready to escort us inside through a lobby filled with gold wallpaper, gleaming mirrors, and recessed lighting. I snuck at better look at Diego in one of the mirrors and was horrified to see a pink, puckered scar that ran from the front of his jaw to the back of his neck. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that the scar was from where a bullet entered in his face and went out the back of his head, grazing a permanent path along his skin.
Javier greeted us at the door, dismissing Diego in Spanish and closing the door before double locking it. He kissed me warmly, which was a little awkward in front of my parents, but they either didn’t see anything or they pretended not to. And as I predicted, there on the countertop was an elegant chocolate-and whipped-cream-covered dessert. Once again, too good to be true.
“I know Andie is thinking that this is not possible, and she is correct. I did not cook this one, Andie, I cheat. I have Diego stop at a bakery when you said you will come here.” He smiled as he explained the too-perfect dessert sitting on a glass cake plate on his countertop. He wasted no time serving it to us, even offering my parents coffee—decaf, of course, since they simply must be tired from their trip—and brewing up some coffee which he served in a French press on a platter.
“And now, at last, I will tell you why I call you here,” Javier began. Oh god, no. Please don’t let him start discussing the bride price in goats or camels or horses again. I stopped in mid-chew, only remembering to keep my mouth closed because my mother was sitting next to me and she was close enough to correct my manners with the jab of a pure silver dessert fork.
“I invite you here so you decide if you wish to stay here in my apartment until Andie is settled, or if you insist on a hotel. If you wish to stay here, there is room for all.”
Oh no , I thought to myself, panic-stricken, he’s going to tell my parents they can sleep on the couch while he and I take the bed . I began shaking my head so slightly but so fast that it must have looked like I was having a seizure. Javier conveniently forgot to look in my direction before continuing to talk.
“There is room for mother and father in the bedroom, and Andie in this room. I, of course, will sleep next door at Diego’s apartment. That way, you have a kitchen and beds, and plenty of room until you find a new home for Andie.”
My dad looked around the apartment and nodded to himself with a smile, probably calculating how much it would not cost him to stay here instead of a hotel. And truthfully, it was a super offer. They could end up staying several days while we apartment hunted, since the semester had already begun and most places around campus had filled up. My mother was eyeing the glass-front cabinets and neatly stacked dishes inside, probably appraising the apartment.
And for my part, I was freaking out.
Chapter Seventeen
“It certainly was nice of your young man to let us stay here,” my mother said, coming to sit on the sofa where I had made my bed. “What did you say his family does?”
“I didn’t say, Mom. They don’t do anything. His dad is deceased.” I wasn’t in the
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