I LOOKED AT my reflection on the mirror and pressed my lips together. I didn’t look too bad. Black fitted tank top with my good bra and bootcut jeans that were faded just perfectly, I had paired it with black Chuck Taylors. My hair was blown out and straight, falling over my shoulders. I lifted and dropped my shoulders. It was as good as it was going to get, right? My eyes dropped to my mouth and wondered if I should do a red lip or keep it simple with clear gloss? Light makeup or something a little heavier?
I turned and picked up my cell phone. I knew who I could call and ask for advice. I had two possibilities. My sister or Rosalee. Rosalee, who was surprisingly cool with me seeing her brother. Thank God! I could call her and see if maybe her brother let her know where he was taking me on this surprise date after a week of being apart. Not that we hadn’t talked.
We had.
A lot.
We talked every night, ending our days together, his voice in my ear as we got to know one another. Work at his shop had been crazy busy, and the night he was available, I’d had to visit my parents. But that didn’t stop him from trying. He stopped at the coffee shop, and I stopped at his shop yesterday with lunch. He was amazing. Max had gone around introducing me to all his employees and then, before I left for my shift at Daily Grind, he’d told me to keep my day open because he had a surprise for me. A surprise date!
He was so much more than the hot guy with an incredible sex drive. He made me laugh and feel wanted. Cherished. Seen. I was falling for Max Riley. I was falling harder and faster than I even thought was possible.
Part of me had always thought my sister and Brandon were insane falling in love as quickly as they had. While the other part of me, the small girly side of me, thought it had been the most romantic thing I had ever witnessed. The only thing that had come close to it by that time in my life had been watching Beast give Belle his library on Beauty and the Beast.
I had never expected to be someone who fell even faster than my nutty sister, but there I was. Falling so quickly I didn’t know how I would land, but I wasn’t worried about it. I knew he’d catch me. He wouldn’t let me fall. My mind moved back to my sister and Brandon. The way life had brought them back together, and for a mili-second the thought of Max breaking my heart entered my mind.
But as quickly as it did, it died.
He wouldn’t. I didn’t know how I knew that to the center of my being, but I did. Just like I knew I wouldn’t hurt him. Sure, things could happen in the future, but it was crazy to have the confidence and trust I had in him as quickly as it was, though it didn’t make it any less real.
My phone rang and I smiled.
My sister had crazy weird timing.
“Hey, Nina—”
“Busy?” There was something about Nina’s tone that had the hairs on the back of my neck prickling up.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Well, we bumped into your friend Rosalee at the mall.”
“Okay…” I said slowly.
“She told us about her brother.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, Max is—”
“And grandma now wants to see you,” she interrupted and cut me off.
“Grandma?” my voice squeaked. “She’s in town?” I asked in a too loud whisper.
“Surprise! She came to visit.” I could hear a smile in her voice, and I closed my eyes. I loved my grandmother, but she was a super snoop. Like a spy but snoopier. “She wants you to tell her all about your Max.”
“My Max?” I repeated. What did Rosalee say to her? I loved Rosalee, but she had too big of a mouth.
“We are around the corner from your place,” she dropped a bomb, and I closed my eyes.
“You’re what!” I squeaked, jumping off my bed and rushing my booty to the living room. I had to make sure it wasn’t too messy for my grandmother, or else I would never hear the end of it. “Nina, we have a date. He’s taking me—”
“She has a date?” my grandmothers voice rang out, and I realized I was on speaker.
“Hi, Abuela,” I greeted weakly.
“Don’t ‘hi abuela’ me!” she complained, and I looked up at the ceiling, “You are keeping secrets!”
“It’s not a secret, Abuela.”
“Hmm,” she grunted. “We will see you in a minute,” she said before ending the call. Great.
“Knock, knock!” Nina said two minutes later at my door, and I rolled my eyes at her, not that it made her own smile fade away.
“Hey.”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were going on a date.”
“We would know if you… I don’t know, called and talked to us.” My grandmother walked in, and I went right to her and hugged her. As annoyed as I knew she was, I knew she was happy to see me.
“Hi, Abuelita.”
“Hola Chicita.” She hugged me tightly, and just like that, all the nerves about my surprise date dissolved.
“Hey, Leti!” Macie called as she walked in last and closed my front door.
“Hey, Mace! You guys thirsty or—”
“They can get us drinks. You, my beautiful girl, are going to sit and tell me all about this Max.”
“Abuela.”
“No Abuela. Talk,” she said, and I sighed. I looked at her wrinkled but still beautiful face and wise eyes and knew there was no holding back.
We were close. We had always been close. Both my parents had worked full time jobs and my grams had been the one who had always been around. Nina might have been my first best friend, but my abuela had been a close second.
So, I found myself tucking in close to her, and she held my hand as I talked. I told her about him. About how we met in Vegas and my first impression of him. How every minute that ticked away afterward, he seemed to get better and better. All while ignoring my sister and Macie as they sat down on the couches and listened in like it was the most amazing story.
“Your car broke down! And you didn’t call? I live, like, ten minutes away!” Nina cried, and I rolled my eyes.
“He fixed it the next day. He picked me up, took me to his place and… well, he asked me to be his girlfriend.” He’d done a hell of a lot more than that, but there were boundaries. Though, by how hot my face felt, I was almost positive they knew a lot more than that had happened.
“Novio!” my grandma said, butting her hands over her chest, her eyes teary and glittering with overwhelming joy. “Mi chicita has a novio!” The excitement she had about her youngest granddaughter having a possible boyfriend sent women’s lib back a couple of years.
“Abuela,” I groaned. “It’s not like he’s the first.”
“No mami, I know he isn’t. But… aye mija, you don’t see what I see.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I think she’s right,” Macie said, moving to the edge of the couch, observing me.
“What?” I sat up straighter.
“Oh my God, you’re right,” Nina said, tilting her face slightly.
“You guys are funny.”
“No, I’m serious,” my sister confirmed. I opened my mouth to ask what it was they saw, but my grandma beat me to it.
“She’s in love!” my grandma announced, and the heat on my face dropped along with my stomach to the floor.
“It’s a little too soon for that, Abuela.”
“Mami.” She shook her head, her hand cupping my face. “Enjoy the journey,” she said, leaving me confused. But before I could talk some sense into any of them, a loud roar sounded out from the street and I didn’t have to look to know it was him.
The low sexy rumble of a motorcycle.
We were going for a motorcycle ride!
“Aye Dios mio, what is that?”
“The better question is who is that?” Nina asked, and just as I was about to close my eyes shut, I saw my grandma move.
My eighty-six-year-old grandma got up and moved to the window quicker than I had ever saw her move in my entire life on this Earth.
“Aye dios mio, Leti,” she whispered, and then, I swear to Buddha, crossed herself.
“Abuela,” I groaned.
“You’ve been keeping big secrets!” she said, glancing in my direction for a second and moving her head back to the sight of Max walking up to the house. So fast I was shocked she didn’t get whiplash.
“He’s cute,” my sister added.
“That man is more than cute!” Macie said, and I rolled my eyes. “That’s a double slice of beefcake with a heavy dollop of whipped cream.”
“That’s one hundred percent fino, mija!” my grandma said, and I couldn’t stop myself. I laughed.
“You’re all ridiculous. You act like you’ve never seen a guy before.”
“We’ve seen guys,” Macie said. “She’s engaged to a Marine.”
“We’ve seen the guys you bring home too, eh Leti,” my grandma added. “That’s not a guy or niño, chula. That is all man.”
“A man’s man,” Nina added.
“An older man!” Macie chimed in.
“You guys!” I huffed and stood when the doorbell rang. “Please, will you just be… normal.”
“No promises,” Macie teased, or I hoped she was teasing, at least.
“I can’t control what she does.” I pointed to my way-too-spirited Abuelita. “But you two, if you guys aren’t not weird, I’m so telling Brandon and Sam,” I threatened. I was pretty sure Brandon wouldn’t care. Nina was wearing his ring and everything, and I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with Sam and Macie. They had been pretty close in Vegas, but now they seemed to always be together but not together together. But I didn’t care. It was the only card I had on them not humiliating me in front of Max, and I was going to play it. “Porta te bien.” I pointed at my grandma.
“Be good? Pshh… my daddy died a long time ago, thank you very much. Okay, Leti!” The door sounded again, and I sighed. “Leti, answer the door!” she bombarded, excitement radiating off her.
“Abuela—”
“¡Apurate niña! Hurry up!” she cut me off. “This is what is wrong with girls your age! You have a man out there who looks like he could be on a telenovela, and you’re just taking your fancy time. He might leave, and then what are you going to do!” she said, and I looked up at the ceiling in a silent prayer to whatever God was up there to help me out.
“Nina, do you think maybe he’s lost and has the wrong place? I bet she doesn’t even know him.” she added under her breath just as I opened the front door.
“Fuck, I missed you, Spark Plug,” he rasped.
I opened my mouth, ready to let him know I had company, but I didn’t have the chance.
Not one chance.
Not when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. Not just a soft, sweet hello kind of kiss either. This was one full of passion and need. So much my toes curled in my shoes and everything started to fade away as heat and desire swept over me. There was something about Max and what he could do with his mouth that drove me absolutely crazy.
“Oh, I think he knows her really well,” I faintly heard Macie say, but I was too caught up in the feel and hurricane that was Max for me to care.
“Aye dios mio.” My grandma’s prayer snapped me out of the heated frenzy, and I pushed him away slightly, though my eyes were still closed shut.
“Sorry, Spark Plug, I lost my head,” he breathed, resting his forehead against mine.
“Hi.” I smiled, opening my eyes and melting into his stare. With a deep breath, I pulled away from him and pointed behind me.
“Max, I’d like you to meet my sister, her friend, and my grandmother.” His eyes moved over my shoulder, and he smiled warmly. I wasn’t sure how he was able to do things without letting things fluster him, but he did.
Whereas I would have been blushing furiously and stuttering if I had been in his shoes, he walked into my place with all the confidence in the world. His feet taking him boldly and bravely right to my grandmother, whose eyes had grown wide and then serious. He leaned in low and close to accommodate her short stature and whispered something in her ear while holding her hand, and I held my breath. I didn’t know what he was saying, not a clue, but I knew my abuela. Nothing took her by surprise.
The surprise on her face faded and dissolved into something soft and warm.
I’d seen a lot of expressions on my abuela’s face throughout my life, but nothing like the one she was wearing by the time he pulled away and met her gaze head on. I was expecting her to say something, probably something inappropriate, but she didn’t say a word.
Not one peep.
She simply hugged him.
Hugged him!
When she pulled away, she patted his cheek and winked.
“You are a charmer!” His deep laughter filled my place, and I looked over at my sister, who just shrugged back at me with misty eyes. “I like you for her! I knew Diosito had made someone like you for her. I’m just glad you found her before I died.” I fought from rolling my eyes. My grandmother had been saying her death was close since I’d turned eight.
“Abuela,” Nina scolded softly, and now Grams was the one who rolled her eyes.
“What?” She rested a hand at her cocked hip. “At my age, a small fall over a sidewalk could kill me,” she said with attitude, and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing. Not at her or her talking about death, but about the whole situation.
My grandma was an amazing woman, one of the best ever made, but she was a tough cookie. Especially when it came to the guys we brought home.
Yet she was basically giving her blessing to Max, a man she had literally just met seconds ago.
Max stepped away and shook Macie and Nina’s hands, introducing himself as Max, Leti’s man.
Leti’s man.
Holy crap! Hearing that pasted a smile on my face so big it hurt. Leti’s man. That was pretty serious, if I said so myself.
“Okay, pues, Nina, I need you and Macie to take me home,” my abuelita announced, and now I was the one who was left surprised.
“Home?” I asked. I would have bet serious money she would have stayed until Max left in an attempt to chaperone me and make sure my virtue wasn’t compromised.
“Yes. Max, take care of my niña, okay?”
“With my life.”
“Asi me gusta.” That’s what I like to hear, she beamed, excitement bouncing off her as she turned to look at Macie, Nina, and me. “Come on, pues, shake off the lead! We have a lot to do.” She waved, and Macie and Nina looked at each other completely confused.
“I guess we are leaving. Nice to meet you, Max,” Macie said politely, taking my grandma’s hand.
“We should have you two over for dinner soon,” Nina added.
“That sounds great.” He nodded.
“Okay, enough talking, muchachas! We gotta go. Young love waits for no one. Have fun on your date, chula!” She hugged me before waving and making her way to the front door.
The three of them all but poofed into thin air, the door closing behind them, and I looked at him.
“What?” he asked, a gorgeous smile as he looked at me.
“How did you do that?” The wonder was crystal clear in my voice.
“Do what?” he chuckled, but I just stared at him.
“You’re like magic, you know that?”
“That’s where we will agree to disagree, baby.” He pulled me in close, his face dropping so his lips hovered right over mine. “If one of the two of us was magic, it’d be all you, Spark Plug.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I didn’t. I moved up on the tips of my toes and kissed him.
Max
It took all my will and good intentions to pull away from the sweet kiss my girl had initiated, but I had plans for us tonight.
Big plans.
The week had been crazy. A busy start to the relationship we were kicking off, and I knew it was only going to get busier when school started for Leti, but I we could make it work. We would. There was no other option in my mind.
“You ready?” I asked huskily, cupping her face and stealing one more tender kiss.
“Are we taking your bike?”
“You ever been on one?”
“Never.” She shook her head, her eyes glittering with glee.
“You saying I’ll be your first and only?”
“First for sure. Only? Time will tell,” she teased. The little minx. I reached down and squeezed her pretty ass.
“That so?” I growled and pulled her in. She gasped the moment she felt exactly how much she fucking affected me.
“Already?” Her eyes twinkled.
“When it comes to you, I think all you gotta do is breathe and I’m in a state.”
“Such a dirty man.”
“You like it,” I mumbled against her mouth and saw something in her eyes before it dissolved. “You ready?”
“For a ride on your bike? Yes!” She laughed. She grabbed her denim jacket from her couch, and we walked out.
She held on close as I took us on a ride. I loved the way her excitement radiated off her, teaching me something new about Leti Montenegro. She was fearless when it came to experiencing something new. Her joy was contagious. I could see a lifetime of adventures laid out ahead of us. Each one beautiful and great. And I couldn’t flipping wait. My bike vibrated and roared beneath us as I carefully took every curve as I drove us up to Lake Arrowhead. I slowed as I reached the small-town center and pulled into a parking spot in Lake Arrowhead Village.
“That was amazing, Max!” she beamed, shaking her hair out of the helmet covering her head. I turned to look at her and thought she was freaking gorgeous. The prettiest thing I had ever seen, and she was mine.
My girl. My spark plug. My everything.
“You liked that?” I asked, laughing, taking my own helmet off.
“Yes! It’s… that was… Thank you.” She kissed me, and I laughed, my hand on her shoulder making sure she wouldn’t fall off.
“Come on, our adventure is just starting,” I said. We got off my bike, and I grabbed her hand.
“I’ve never been here.”
“It’s a cute spot. Nice ride back home, and the weather is still good for us to be outside.”
“Do you think it snows here, like, around Christmas?”
“I don’t know. Probably. How about we come back around then to see?” Her eyes sparkled, and I knew she got what I was saying. We would be together in a couple of months.
“I would like that,” she whispered, leaning her head against my shoulder as we walked.
