“Vaguely.”
My sister frowns. “I’m insulted you didn’t come to me first.”
“We didn’t want anyone to know about our arrangement.”
“A little too late for that, so spill.”
“There isn’t much to share. We agreed to keep things casual.”
“Did that seem casual to you? Because it sure didn’t look like it to me.”
It sure didn’t feel like it either, but I can barely admit it to myself, let alone Lily.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “We were talking.”
“How long do you plan on lying to yourself? Days? Weeks? Months?”
“Lily.”
Her deep sigh produces a cloud of air. “I’m kidding. I worry about you.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t do casual.”
“No, but it’s not like I’ve had much of an opportunity to try.”
And see where that got you.
A strange look passes over her. “It’s not as fun and easygoing as it sounds. Take it from me.”
My stomach churns. “Is everything okay? With you, I mean?”
Lily recovers with a smile. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes. I’m more worried about you and whether you’ll end up with hurt feelings.”
I scoff hard enough to create a puff of air in front of me. “That won’t be an issue.”
Her eyes roll. “That’s what everyone says.”
“Yeah, well, this is different. Neither of us is interested in anything serious.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I wiggle my empty ring finger. “Positive.”
“Make sure to tell him that, then.”
My stomach drops. “What do you mean?”
“Julian doesn’t do casual relationships. Sure, he agrees to go on dates to appease his mother, but he’s not interested in something temporary. That much I know.”
My gaze drops. “We would never work long-term.”
“I’ve yet to hear why.”
“For starters, we both have businesses to run in separate states.” Designs by Dahlia is all I have left after losing my show and my relationship, and I’m not about to walk away from it because of a man.
She shakes her head. “Long distance is an obstacle to overcome, not a reason to stay apart.”
A condensation cloud forms around me as I let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t trust him not to hurt me again.”
“I think your biggest issue is that you don’t trust yourself.”
I let out a low whistle. “Damn.”
She locks elbows with me and steers us back toward the house. “You know I’m giving you a hard time because I care about you both and don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
I lean my head against her shoulder. “That’s why I love you.”
“Even if I steal your clothes?”
I check out the pastel jacket she stole from my closet. “Even then.”
“Or if I borrowed your expensive face cream this morning and accidentally dropped all of it?”
My body tenses. “Tell me you didn’t.”
She dashes away before I get a chance to wrap my hands around her throat.
“Lily!” I chase after her.
“I’m sorry!” She shouts before entering the house, leaving an incriminating trail of footprints in the shape of my red-bottom boots.
“Nico and I got the dishes.” Rafa stands while Nico groans.
“Don’t worry about it. I like doing them anyway.” Julian rises from his seat and begins collecting the dirty plates and utensils.
Lily kicks my chair leg hard enough to make it shake.
“I’ll help you.” My chair scrapes against the wood floor as I rise.
My mom has the most approving look on her face while Josefina winks at me. Rafa’s gaze swings between the two of us before landing on his cousin with a pinched expression.
Rather than feel embarrassed by everyone knowing about us, I’m nervous about what they think. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, least of all Josefina’s, whose evergreen smile only brightens whenever we lock eyes.
I ignore their gawking as I gather everyone’s glasses and follow Julian into the messy kitchen. Dishes on a normal day are tolerable, but post-holiday cleanup duty after cooking the whole meal?
I’d rather stab my eye out with my new acrylic nail set.
Julian places the dishes in the sink and turns on the tap before grabbing the dirty ones from my hands.
“Was there a reason you volunteered for this job?” I ask.
“I wanted some alone time with you before we got roped into a three-hour Pictionary game.” He grabs my hips and crushes me against his body.
“We already spent the whole afternoon together.”
He replies by pressing his mouth against mine. The kiss ends as quickly as it began, leaving me wanting more.
“You don’t have to help.” Julian places the dishes in the sink and turns on the tap.
“Perfect, because I’m only here to watch you work.” I snatch the pink gloves from the dish rack and drop them into his open hand.
He shakes his head with a smile.
“I’ll go grab the last few plates while you get started.”
“Thank you.” He reaches for the first wineglass and dumps it underneath the water.
I stack the last few dishes on top of one another while our families gather in the living room, setting up the easel and large pad of paper.
“You and Julian are going to be paired up together,” Lily says.
I frown. “Only because none of you want him on your team.”
Rafa shrugs. “He’s deadweight.”
“I heard that!” Julian shouts from the kitchen.
Josefina holds her hands up. “No way was I having him on my team after the last time.”
“Remember his version of a cat?” My mom laughs.
“Or when he tried to convince us that whatever he drew was a spaceship.”
“It truly was out of this world.” Lily’s brows waggle.
I laugh as I turn toward the hall, only to be stopped by Nico jumping in front of me.
Dishes rattle as I pull to a stop. “Hey.”
He rocks back on his sneakers, making the heels light up. “You don’t have to play with us if it makes you sad.”
“Why would…” Realization dawns on me, and my knees wobble. “Playing with you won’t make me sad.”
His brows rise behind his glasses. “It won’t?”
I kneel down so we can be at eye level. “No. Before, I was so sad that it made me feel sick, but now, I’m feeling much better.”
“Can you teach my dad how to feel better too?”
My stomach sinks.
The light in his eyes dies as I shake my head. “I wish I could, but I can’t help with that kind of sadness.”
He stares at his sneakers. “Oh, okay.”
I put the dishes down and pull him into a hug. “But he is going to get better all on his own because he’s one of the strongest people I know.”
“Like a superhero?”
“Even better. He’s a dad.”
Nico’s arms tighten around me before letting go.
I stand with shaky legs and fix his lopsided glasses. “I better get these dishes to your uncle.”
“Okay. Love you!” Nico takes off, running back to the living room.
I take a moment to center myself before heading to the kitchen with the remaining dishes.
“Shit.” Julian shakes his hand with a sneer.
“What happened?” I dump the plates on the counter and rush over to him.