“You’d didn’t visit when I was in the hospital,” Marco said. “Why didn’t you?”
“I can’t, I couldn’t.” Adeline’s words blended together. “If I saw you, I had to see your father and Abby, and everyone. They hurt me-”
“You cheated first,” Marco said. The room fell silent. “Deny it. You’re the one that didn’t love Dad. Or maybe you both stopped loving each other. But you left. You left me. What did I do?” His voice cracked.
Adeline looked on the verge of tears. Elena kept herself hidden behind Marco, still holding onto his hand.
“No,” she said. “I didn’t leave you. I left the life I had with a cold-hearted man.”
“I’m part of that life, Lucas is too. You left us because you wanted to. You could’ve divorced Dad and stayed around. You could’ve seen me. Why did you only contact Lucas?”
Adeline shook her head. “Because…” She swallowed. “He always loved me. You chose Abby, every time. Do you know you said her name first? Not Mom, but Abby? You didn’t miss me when I was gone on trips. I would always come back and you’d be with her. Lucas wasn’t like that. He loved me, he does still.”
Marco’s hand stopped shaking. “I was a kid. You were gone and she was there. You can’t force that sort of affection, Mom.” He paused. “Lucas wasn’t lying. She took the blame so I wouldn’t be mad at you. She and Dad didn’t cheat, did they? You did and then they got close.”
“Believe what you want, Marco.” Adeline’s face hardened. “You’re your father’s son, after all. I’ll always be the wicked mom who left.”
“You weren’t,” Marco said. “Not until right now. God, you’re not even sorry, are you?”
“I did what I had to do,” she said. “You’ll understand that one day.”
Marco’s hand loosened around Elena’s. “Merry Christmas.” He looked ready to laugh. “I’ve spent five years hating Abby, because of you. You’re right. I chose her, not because I didn’t love you, but because you never loved me. Did you?”
“I tried,” Adeline said. “It was always easier to love your brother. You reminded me too much of Felipe.” Then she turned to look straight at Elena. “He’ll break your heart, just like his father broke mine. Silva men don’t know how to love anything but money and the reputation of their company.”
Marco pulled on Elena’s hand. “Let’s go,” he said. “We should never have come here.”
Elena let go of his hand. She stepped forward.
“He won’t break my heart,” she said, “because he has the capacity to love more than you ever did. Mothers don’t demand love from their kids. It doesn’t work that way. You’re the one breaking his heart, you selfish human being. You have no idea who Marco is because you don’t care enough to try. And with what just you said, I’m guessing you’ll never find out. From where I stand, you’re the one that chose money over anything, over him. He was a kid. He still is. You’re the adult and yet you seem to think this is okay.” Elena swallowed. She wasn’t yelling, but she knew her tone echoed through the room. “The sad part is, he’ll probably keep loving you.” She shook her head. “I hope no one ever makes you feel like you just made your son feel.”
Then she turned, grabbed Marco’s hand, and led him out the door.
Elena didn’t stop walking until they were in the elevator. Marco didn’t say anything. He just kept a hand around hers and let her take him back to Will’s car.
“Is everything okay?” Will asked.
Elena nodded. “Please,” she said, “drive us back to the banquet hall.”
___________
Marco had known what he was going to face when he’d walked into his mom’s suite. At that point, he just knew. What he hadn’t expected was for Elena to say what she had, to defend him after what he’d said to her. She stood in front of him now, finally letting go of his hand as they stepped into the entrance of the banquet hall. It’d only been half an hour since they’d been gone, but to him, it felt like a year ago.
“I’m sorry for going off on your mom,” Elena said. “It wasn’t my place. And after tonight, I promise not to interfere in your life again.” She looked past him to the door. “I’m sure the article will die down. Anyone can fake a note screenshot. No one will hear a word from me, non-disclosure agreement or not.” Her words were rushed now. “I hope you know that you did nothing for your mom to treat you that way. Adults make their own choices. And, uh, I hope you have a less crappy rest of your Christmas Eve.”
Elena turned, and, without pause, Marco grabbed her hand. She turned back. Marco had her in a hug a second later. He pressed his arms around her, wanting to sink further and further into the embrace. She softened under his arms.
“Thank you,” he said.
“It was nothing. I just got mad.”
“Thank you for getting mad,” he said. Then he guided Elena out of the hug. He knew this wasn’t the end with his mom, with the feelings he had rising up in him, but he wasn’t going to think about that right now. “I’m sorry for saying we wouldn’t work.”
“We wouldn’t,” Elena said. “You weren’t wrong.”
“I was,” Marco said. “So, follow me, before I regret what I’m about to do.”
“Wait.” It was too late. Marco was walking back to the banquet room and Elena was trying to keep up. He’d let go of her hand, though, so she could turn away at any point. He really didn’t want her to, though.
Marco saw Lucas giving him a strange look. Vovô was up on stage, giving his Christmas speech. He looked at Marco, with a confused smile.
“Vovô,” Marco said, as he approached his grandfather. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to clear something up.”
Marco gathered his courage. He turned to find Elena standing near the back of the room, arms crossed, eyes wide.
Vovô handed him the microphone. “Would you like to say something about the article?”
“You saw that?”
Vovô winked. “I see a lot.” He looked at Elena. “Pick your words carefully, remember they affect her too.”
Marco nodded. He knew the truth couldn’t come out. It didn’t mean he had to lie either, not entirely. Everyone in the room looked at him. Marco swallowed again. His throat felt dry.
He brought the microphone close. “To anyone who doubts my feelings for Elena Castro, I hope what I’m about to say clears it up.” He breathed in, and looked right at Elena. “I’ve never liked a girl as much as I like you. I know I’m not the easiest person to like back, but I want you to know that. And I hope you never doubt how I feel about you. I can’t promise it’ll be easy, but I can promise I’ll try to make you happy.” His heart pounded as Elena smiled. “I like you more than anyone, Elena.” He gave the microphone back to Vovô.
His grandfather smiled and pointed to Elena. “Well, that went better than expected. Now go. Before she runs off.”
Marco smiled and walked up to Elena. He reached for her hand and they walked out of the hall.
“That was embarrassing,” she said.
“If you don’t like me anymore,” Marco began, “it’s okay. I’ll like you one-sidedly until I know you’ve found some guy who deserves you. Even if that’s Will-”
Elena kissed him, once, then twice, and then a third time. She stepped back. “I like you, only you. How many times will I have to tell you that?”
Marco smiled as he kissed her back. He pressed his hands to her cheeks and then took a moment to breathe. “If every time is like this, than you’ll have to do it a thousand more times.”
Elena laughed.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
Marco hugged her again, tired from the kisses, from the whole night.
“Merry Christmas, Elena.”
He looked up to find they were standing right under some mistletoe.
Marco wasn’t sure of anything right now, not of his dad, or his mom, or Abby. He only knew he liked Elena Castro, and that one day soon, he’d love her more than he’d love anyone.
/>
Chapter 32
Elena handed the box to her dad.
“Is this the last one?” he asked.
She nodded. “Last bit of Bee’s left.”
Andres shook his head. “I didn’t tell you, but I want to open Bee’s again, later, when we can.”
She stepped away from the counter. “Really? I thought you’d given up on Bee’s completely.”
“I did,” he said. “For a while. But, it wouldn’t be fair to you. Your mom always wanted you to run this place. And if that’s what you want to do, when the time comes, I’ll help you open this place up again.”
He took the box. “Thank you, Dad,” she said. She hadn’t realized she wanted that option, that they had it until now. “We’ll reopen in time.”
The jingle bells rang. Elena hadn’t taken them down yet. Will popped in. “We just moved the last of the furniture out. I’m heading out with the moving guy to the apartment. Do you need me to load anything from here?”
Andres nodded. He handed Will the box. “This. If we open Bee’s again, this will be our starting inventory.”
Will nodded. He looked at Elena for an answer. I’ll explain later, she mouthed. He smiled, knowing they had all of their movie night for her to tell him.
“Okay,” he said. He took the box. “I’ll see you back at the apartment.”
Elena smiled. “Go with him, Dad. I think he might be too nice to the movers. What if they break your desk?”
Andres was out the door after Will. Elena stood behind the counter, breathing in the last of her childhood, of her mom’s store.
She sighed. “I’ll reopen it,” she whispered to the air. “I promise.”
The jingle bells rang. “Did you forget something?” she asked.
It was Marco. He stepped inside with an empty box. “Sorry I’m late. I had to work a shift at Melo’s and then I met my dad at the hospital.” He’d started working at the coffee shop again after his stunt at the Christmas dinner. It wasn’t a punishment, and Marco didn’t complain.
“We finished moving everything out,” Elena said. She leaned over the counter to kiss him hello. He smelled like coffee. His lips tasted like caramel.
“Sorry,” he said again. “I’m not used to driving myself around. Parking sucks.”
“It’s fine,” Elena said. “We should go.”
“You’re okay?” he asked. “Leaving like this?”
Elena nodded. She’d taken pictures of every corner of Bee’s with her dad. “I am. This isn’t the end of Bee’s.” Marco wrapped an arm around her. She leaned into his touch, familiar, yet new. It was strange, thinking of him as her boyfriend. He’d told her right after his whole declaration at the banquet, once they’d both settled into the idea of dating, that he wanted to her to be his girlfriend, he didn’t want to test things out.
Elena had agreed, but still it was new. Their first month of dating, fake or not, public opinion hadn’t reached a general consensus, had been their trial version of dating. This was real.
“Well, I’ll buy your whole collection of history books on Glensford for Vovô. Anyways, you ready for that driving lesson?” Marco asked.
Elena nodded. She didn’t plan on getting a car yet, or driving by herself, but she thought it was better to start preparing now, before she walked in and failed a driving test. She wanted to get comfortable behind the wheel.
“By the way, did Lucas come by earlier?” Marco asked.
“Yeah, he took some boxes over to the college. Why?”
“It’s strange that you and my brother talk without me there.”
Elena shrugged. “He’s kind of friends with Will. So, I just go along with it.”
Marco made a gesture at the mention of Will. Elena nudged him.
“I know,” Marco said. “You guys are friends. Give me some time to get used to it.”
“You had dinner with Cecilia last week,” Elena said. “I’m fine with that.”
“We aren’t as close as you and Will. Besides, she’s leaving to go visit her friend in Europe. It was a goodbye dinner.”
Elena turned her head, feigning jealousy. “Whatever.” Marco kissed her again, and then kissed her neck, making her give in and laugh. “Fine. Driving lesson. By the way, how does Greg feel now that he’s out of a job?”
“He got hired by a new family. So he’s good with it. He hugged me before he left and asked me to be nice to the car. It was weird.”
Elena shrugged. She reached for the jingle bells on the doorknob and pulled them off, right as someone tried to open the door. Marco stepped back with her.
Mia opened the door, her hair looking windswept.
Elena turned to Marco. “Can you wait for me outside?” she said. Mia stepped inside.
Marco nodded and gave her one more kiss. “I’ll get the car started.” He gave Mia a nod hello, then let the door close behind him.
Elena watched Mia, waiting.
Mia had a piece of paper in her hand. She looked at Elena. “I got a full ride to Glensford College,” she said. “I printed out the email and ran over here, after calling my mom. You were the first person I thought about telling.”
“Oh,” Elena said. “Congratulations.” She hadn’t spoken to Mia since Christmas. “That’s great. You deserve it.”
Mia sighed. “I know this is too little too late, but I miss you too.”
Elena smiled. “Want to try a book night on Friday? We can celebrate your acceptance.” She knew it wouldn’t be that easy, getting Mia back into her life.
“Okay,” Mia said, surprising Elena. “I have to study beforehand, but a book night sounds good.” She looked around. “It won’t be the same without Bee’s, though.”
Before she could respond, someone tried to open the door.
“We’re closed,” Elena said.
“It’s Lucas.” She opened the door and he stepped in, his head grazing the door frame. Mia stepped back, too far for it to seem natural.
“Hey,” Elena said. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”
“I left my key to get into office on campus.” He paused. “It’s for the student magazine office. I’m helping with that this semester. Have you seen it?”
Elena looked around, and saw it on the counter. She reached over for it. “There you go.”
He was looking at Mia, though, who looked like she wanted to make an escape.
“You go to San Mateo Prep, right?”
Mia nodded. “Yes.”
Elena leaned her head toward Mia. “She just got into Glensford College, full ride.”
Lucas smiled his disarming smile. “No way. That’s great. You’ll love the campus.” He looked at Mia, with an eager glance. “I can show you around, if you want. I’m headed there now. It could be like a mini campus tour, with no students on campus yet.”
Mia shook her head. “Sorry, I have to study.” Her words were too quick. She looked at Elena. “See you at book night.” Then she looked back at Lucas. “Thank you for the offer.” Then she was out of the shop.
“Did I say something wrong?” Lucas asked, obviously not used to being rejected when he brought out his smile.
Elena shook her head. “Mia’s like that. You didn’t do anything.” She turned to the door. “I should lock up. Thank you for the help earlier.”
Lucas stepped out with her. “Yeah. No problem. I don’t mind helping my brother’s girlfriend. We’re almost family.”
“You’re funny,” Elena said as she locked up Bee’s for the last time. The idea settled on her. It wouldn’t be the last time, just for this building. She’d get a better, bigger Bee’s up and running. “Thanks again.”
Lucas nodded. He looked at his watch. “I should go. See you at New Years. Good luck with that driving lesson.”
Then he was off. Elena walked to Marco’s car, and got into the driver’s seat. Her hand trembled as she closed the door.
Marco reached for it from the passenger side.
“You ready?” he asked.
&n
bsp; Elena nodded. “No, but if I don’t start now, I never will be.”
Acknowledgments
A book is never a solitary effort. Thank you to my mom and sister for always encouraging me to keep writing and for reminding me that no dream is impossible. A big thank you to my editor Alison Williams, for helping me polish up this book and making me a better writer along the way. You’re the dream editor. I owe a thank you to the wonderful illustrators at Good Studio for bringing Elena and Marco to life on the cover. I still gush about it.
And thank you dear reader for taking the time out of your busy day to dive into Elena and Marco’s story. If you’d like to keep up with my releases please check out my newsletter at danielareyesbooks.com.
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