by Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Lucy Score, Marie Force, Tijan, Kennedy Ryan
“He knows I don’t.”
Nico puts his hands on his hips, frustration apparent in his pose and expression. “Does he?”
“If he doesn’t, that’s not my fault. What else can I do besides file for divorce?”
“I hate the idea of you guys not being safe,” he says, softly so as not to alarm Mateo.
“We’re safe,” I say, but the waver in my voice tells the true story. I never feel truly safe except for when I’m at work, surrounded by people like him who care about me. And Nico doesn’t even work at Giordino’s. He’s just there a lot, especially when I’m working.
“I wish…” He stops himself and shakes his head.
“What do you wish?”
“We should talk about that sometime when we’re not surrounded by people during a holiday.”
My heart is beating so fast I wonder if I’m going to pass out, or something equally embarrassing, in front of the man who has become a close friend over the last few months. What does he want to talk about?
“I’m going to contact a friend of mine who’s a cop and ask him to send cars by here later, just in case your ex decides to come back and start trouble.”
I swallow hard at the thought of my ex-husband causing trouble for the family that’s been so good to us. “You really think that’s necessary?”
“I do.”
“Maybe Mateo and I should just go. If we’re not here, then no one will bother your family.”
“You’re safer here than you’d be anywhere else. The people here would kill for you.”
“Would they?”
“They would.”
“All of them, or just you?”
“All of them, but especially me.”
“And why is that?”
“That’s the thing we should maybe talk about when my entire family isn’t about to arrive for Nochebuena.”
The look he gives me when he says those words steals the breath from my lungs. Nico Giordino is the sexiest man on the planet, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. Right in that moment, I don’t care that his own sisters and cousin think he’s toxic toward women.
I just want more of him and the way he makes me feel.
Maria
I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate if we don’t get to Abuela’s soon. The flight from LA that took us to the southernmost part of Texas to avoid the storms in the Plains, seemed endless, even if it was “only” six hours. I can’t wait to see Everly.
Austin and I bonded a year after I donated the bone marrow that saved Everly’s life. With her mother not in the picture, she’s now as much my daughter as she is his, and I’ve been counting down to my first Christmas with both of them.
We’ve finally landed in Miami and are trudging through the terminal with several of Austin’s teammates and their wives or girlfriends, all of whom are as eager to get home as I am. Some of them have kids and were afraid they were going to miss Christmas with them.
As they head to the parking garage where we left our cars, Austin stops me. “We’re going that way.” He points to the left of the garage.
“What do you mean? We parked over there.”
“Just come with me,” he says, taking my hand as we say goodbye to the others. One of them is having a New Year’s Eve party that we’re looking forward to. Austin has fit right in with his new Marlins teammates, and their significant others have been welcoming to me, as well.
Because I’d follow him anywhere, I let him lead me away from where we left his BMW SUV. I don’t get why he’d want to delay seeing Everly any longer than we already have. I’m about to ask that question when he stops next to a white Mercedes G-Class SUV parked at the curb. It has a gigantic red bow on top. A man I’ve never met is standing next to it. Austin greets him with a handshake.
“Thanks again for this,” Austin says to him.
“My pleasure.”
“Uh, what’s this?” I ask Austin in a low tone that can’t be overheard by the other man.
“It’s your new ride,” he says, grinning widely. “Merry Christmas.”
I stare at the gorgeous vehicle, recalling how I said the one his teammate had gotten for his wife was cool. But that didn’t mean I wanted one for myself.
“Say something,” he says, his smile fading.
“It’s really nice, Austin.” My stomach begins to ache. “Thank you.”
He tips his head to look at me more closely. “Why do you not seem happy?”
“I, uh… Tell me you didn’t get rid of the Honda.” I’ve had my silver Honda Civic for years, and I love that car.
“Not yet,” he says, seeming baffled. “But we won’t have any problem selling it.”
“I can’t sell that car.”
“What’s going on here, Maria?”
I eye the G-Wagon, which is what his teammate called theirs. “Could we maybe discuss this in private?” In addition to the man who apparently delivered the new vehicle, people are swirling all around us, hustling to get to where they’re going for the holidays. It’s only a matter of minutes before someone recognizes the Marlins’ famous new pitcher.
“Sure.” He gives the man a hundred-dollar bill he had ready for him. “Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you, and if I might add, I’m a huge fan. Go Marlins.”
“Thanks, man.” Austin accepts the bro-shake-back-slap guys do these days and then holds the passenger door for me.
The new-car smell is the first thing I notice.
Austin takes the bow off the top, stashes it in the back and gets into the driver’s side.
“What about the BMW?”
“We’ll get it tomorrow.” He looks over at me. “I should’ve asked if you wanted to drive.”
“No, you can. I’d be afraid to drive a car this expensive.”
“The car is yours, Maria. Of course you’re going to drive it. And why do you want to keep the Honda if you have this?”
“I can’t drive this to the clinic where I work with people who don’t have enough to eat, Austin.”
He releases a deep sigh. “You said you liked the one Lolo got for Elle.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I expected you to get one for me.”
“I wanted to do something cool for you for Christmas. I thought you’d love it.”
“Anyone would love this car, Austin.”
“Anyone but my fiancée, you mean.”
My stomach aches in earnest now. “Please don’t be hurt. You’re so amazingly generous, and you know how much I appreciate that, but this car is not me.” And it sort of pains me that he didn’t already know that. How could he not know?
He surprises me when he pulls over just outside the airport and puts the SUV in Park before turning to me. “We give a ton of money to charity. I’ve fully funded the new clinic.”
“And I love you so much for that. You’ll never know what that means to me.”
“I do know what it means to you, because I know you. I know what matters to you. As long as we’re taking care of those less fortunate, aren’t we allowed to enjoy a few luxuries?”
“We live in the most beautiful home I’ve ever seen and just had ten magical days in Hawaii. Our life is one big luxury.”
“So, what’s one more?”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings. You obviously went to some trouble to arrange a nice surprise for me, and I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You’re not hurting my feelings. I just thought you’d need a bigger car for when we started adding to our family, and this thing is a beast. I want my family in something super safe, because the way people drive around here freaks me out. I pity the fool who hits you in this thing.”
“It does seem rather rugged.”
“It has amazing safety ratings.”
“I am a safety girl.”
“See? I knew that. Please don’t be thinking I don’t get you, because I do.”
I reach for his hand and curl mine around it. “It’s a really nice
surprise. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But I can keep the Honda for driving to work?”
He rolls his eyes. “If you must.”
“I must.”
Leaning across the center console, he says, “Kiss me.”
So I kiss him because there’s almost nothing else I’d rather do at any given moment.
“If you’re not happy, I’m not happy,” he says. “If you decide you don’t want to keep the G-Wagon, we won’t keep it. It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal that you want me to drive the safest car you could find.”
“Keeping you and Ev and any other kids we have safe is the only thing I care about.”
He’s still grappling with the trauma of seeing his beloved daughter through a near-fatal illness, and knowing that makes me understand one of the primary reasons he wants me to have this particular vehicle. “Then I’ll drive it with pleasure to everywhere but the clinic because it brings you peace of mind.”
“Thank you.”
“I love you.”
“I love you more,” he says as he pulls back into traffic and hits the gas to get us to Abuela’s.
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“I can’t wait to see Everly.”
“I know. This is the longest I’ve been away from her for anything other than work.”
We debated taking her with us to Hawaii, but after a rocky transition, she’s gotten into a good routine in Miami with a preschool she loves and new friends. She spends so much time with Austin’s parents, who live with us, that we decided it would be better for her to stay in her routine. Not to mention, it was the first time we’ve truly had to ourselves since we became a couple. Even though we FaceTimed with her every day, we still missed her like crazy.
I’m almost bouncing in my seat by the time we pull up to Abuela’s, which is mobbed with cars. We end up parking two blocks down the street and are walking to the house when we see Wyatt approaching from the other direction. I’ve been so caught up in getting home to Everly that I almost forgot about his big annual checkup today.
“How’d it go?” I ask him before we even say hello.
My sister is happier with him than she’s ever been in her life, and the thought of anything happening to him is simply unbearable—even if we all know he’s living on borrowed time.
He gives a thumbs-up. “All good. Got my inspection sticker renewed for another year.”
“Oh, thank God.” I hug him tightly. “Thank God.”
“Awww, you guys love me.”
“Yes, we do.”
Dee comes running out of the house, stopping short six feet from him. “You were supposed to text me!”
“I got done early so I came right here. All good under the hood, baby.”
She lets out a cry and runs for him.
He wraps his arms around her and lifts her off her feet.
“Put me down! Your heart!”
“Is in perfect shape, especially since it found you.”
He puts her down and kisses her as Austin gives my hand a tug toward the house. “Let’s give them a minute.”
“Thank God he’s okay.”
“You said it.”
“They’ve only been together a short time, and I already can’t imagine her without him.”
“Me either. They’re a great couple.”
We enter into chaos in Abuela’s kitchen. Every woman in my family, or so it seems, is overseeing some part of the feast, but the only “woman” I want to see is the little one who’s wrapped herself so deeply around my heart that it’s like she’s always been there.
“So glad you made it,” my mom, Elena, says when she hugs me and then Austin.
“Us, too,” I reply.
My mom is wearing a stylish wig after battling stage three breast cancer. She finishes treatment in January, and we’re all counting the days until that nightmare is behind us. That was another reason why I couldn’t bear to miss Christmas in Miami this year.
“Where’s our princess?” Austin asks.
“In the pool with your dad. She can’t wait to see you guys.”
I clap my hands with glee as I accept hugs from Abuela and Nona. “We can’t wait to see her.”
We greet a million other family members, or so it seems, on the way outside where the scent of roasting meat fills the air and makes my mouth water. I was too wound up to eat on the plane, and I’m starving.
Everly sees us coming and lets out a blood-curdling shriek that startles her poor grandfather. Austin’s dad recovers quickly, lifting her out of the pool so she can run to us, soaking wet. But ask us if we care as we engage in a tight group hug.
“Rie! Swim!”
I’m laughing through tears as I breathe in the sweet scent of her blonde hair, which is plastered to her head. She has cute little earplugs, since she contracted an ear infection from too much swimming.
“Daddy’s here, too,” Austin says as he kisses her whole face.
“Daddy! Swim! Now!”
“Give us one minute to catch our breath and get changed, and then we’ll swim,” Austin tells her.
She’s already squirming to get loose so she can return to her favorite thing.
Austin puts her down, and she rushes to her grandfather, who holds out his arms to catch her when she jumps fearlessly into the pool.
“Business as usual around here,” I tell him.
“Did she grow like six inches while we were gone, or does it just seem like that to me?”
“Not quite six inches, but she does seem taller.”
We accept hugs from the entire family. I’m thrilled to see my cousin Domenic and other cousins and friends who’ve gathered for our favorite night of the year. Abuela has gone all out as usual, and the musical group that comes every year is already playing all our favorite Cuban songs. My cousin Carmen looks a little odd, which immediately has me wondering what’s up with her.
“Nothing,” she says when I ask her that. “I’m just feeling a little off.”
I gasp. “Are you preggo?”
“No, no, nothing like that.”
“You’re a terrible liar. You always have been.”
“Don’t say anything, please?” she asks, her eyes filling. “I’m not ready.”
I hug her as tightly as I have in ages, so happy for her, even if she looks like she’s about to puke. “My lips are sealed.”
I’m so relieved to be here, among my people with the new people I fell in love with this year, ready to celebrate and enjoy this sacred night of family and gratitude. We eat like the good Cubans we all are on this special occasion, devouring the ton of food Abuela and the others made—but leaving more than enough for the lazy day of leftovers we’ll enjoy tomorrow.
For hours, we dance, sing and laugh with cousins and friends. We drink beer from the keg and gorge on desserts, such as arroz con leche, flan, buñuelos, natilla (a custard dessert) and turon (a semisweet and nutty delicacy). If you asked me to pick my favorite, I wouldn’t be able to, so I have a taste of everything. At eleven fifteen, we walk the short distance to Midnight Mass at the parish Abuela has belonged to since the sixties.
Austin’s parents took Everly home to bed, and we promised to tuck her in again when we get home after Mass.
I love the music most of all—“O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Silent Night,” “The First Noel,” “Joy to the World,” “O Holy Night” and “Ave Maria.” Tears fill my eyes as my heart overflows with joy and gratitude.
A year ago on Nochebuena, I couldn’t have imagined how my life was about to change or that a year later, I’d be engaged to the most wonderful man and preparing to adopt his beautiful daughter. Everly and I will always share a special bond, one that is literally bone-deep.
I give thanks to God for bringing them and Austin’s family into my life and pray that we have many happy years together. I pray for Wyatt’s continued good health, for my mother’s recovery, for Carm
en and Jason and the baby they’re expecting, for Carmen’s late husband, Tony, and his family, for my dad, brothers, sister, grandmothers, aunts, uncles and precious cousins. I’m blessed beyond measure, and I know it.
“Are you okay?” Austin whispers.
“I’m so happy. So, so happy, to be here with you and my entire family and to get to go home to Everly. Everything is perfect.”
Smiling, he says, “Feliz Navidad, mi amor.”
“Feliz Navidad.”
Nochebuena is a short story in my Miami Nights Series!
Read Jason and Carmen’s story in How Much I Feel, currently FREE in ebook format: marieforce.com/howmuchifeel
Read Maria and Austin’s story in How Much I Care: marieforce.com/howmuchicare
Read Wyatt and Dee’s story in How Much I Love: marieforce.com/howmuchilove
And preorder Nico and Sofia’s story, How Much I Want, coming in 2022: marieforce.com/howmuchilove
I write contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance and two historical romances. Find out more about my ninety romance novels at marieforce.com/books. The first books in SIX of my series are FREE in ebook format for a few more days, so grab them while they’re on sale to start these reader-favorite series:
Maid for Love, Gansett Island Series, marieforce.com/maidforlove
Fatal Affair, Fatal Series, marieforce.com/fatalaffair
Treading Water, Treading Water Series, marieforce.com/treadingwater
Every Little Thing, Butler, VT Series, marieforce.com/everylittlething
How Much I Feel, Miami Nights Series, marieforce.com/howmuchifeel
Virtuous, Quantum Series, marieforce.com/virtuous
Follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/marieforceauthor, on Instagram and TikTok @marieforceauthor, and at Verve Romance @marieforce.
A huge thank you to my reader friend Dinorah Shoben for giving me the idea to write about Nochebuena and for coaching me through the traditions involved. To my beta readers, Anne Woodall and Tracey Suppo, and editor Joyce Lamb, thank you for your help in getting this story ready for readers on short notice.
Thank you for reading my story. Happy holidays to you and your family!