“Don’t,” Heather interjected quickly. “He’s joking.”
I wiggled my eyebrows at Wren. “Am I?”
Wren’s eyes sparkled, and her grin widened. “Bring it if you dare.”
My father cleared his throat. “Ava, don’t let Uncle Mauricio get you in trouble. We’ve met our food-throwing quota for one evening. How about you and I go see what’s for dessert?”
“Yay,” Ava exclaimed.
I didn’t take my eyes from Wren’s. “If battle lines are being drawn, I should warn you I bought Ava a pony. I’m kind of her favorite.”
Wren ran a hand over my now-clean forehead. “Unless you tease Sebastian.”
I smiled back, loving the ease of the banter between us. “That goes without saying. One day I hope my children toss a meatball in my defense.”
She laughed. “Is that what life with you would be like?”
I laced my hand with hers and promised, “That and so much more.”
Her expression became serious as well. “This is all so fast. I haven’t figured out me yet.”
“I’m still a work in progress as well.” Bringing her home had been the right choice, though. Where there had been fear before, I saw hope in her eyes. “What if the answer is that we should figure it out together?”
I’d never forget the love I saw in her expression when she said, “I’d like that.”
A quick glance around the table confirmed what I’d sensed—my family had cleared their plates and retreated to the kitchen. We were alone. “I love you, Wren. This is the real deal for me. You tell me what you need, and I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure you have it.”
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, there was love, but also determination. “I’d love to say you’re all I need, but that’s not the truth. My father relies more on me now than ever before. My heart breaks seeing him teeter, because I don’t know if I have what it takes to be his Trev. I’m scared I might fail. He’ll love you because I love you, but I can’t build any life that doesn’t allow me to be his rock.”
“I’d never ask you to choose.” My heart did a funny little flip.
Her hand tightened on mine. “I know, I just had to be clear. I’m a package deal.”
I caressed her cheek gently. “I understand that. I am as well. Family obligations don’t scare me. I love that you are stepping up to help your father . . . especially when you’re trying to find your own way . . .” A thought hit me like a kick to the head. “Do you trust me?”
Her eyes widened slightly but she nodded.
“I don’t mean about something little. I mean about something big—something that if I made it happen might be the answer to what you’re looking for.”
“With my job?”
“With everything.”
“That’s a big something.”
“Yes, but the more I think about it, the more I know it’s what we both need.”
Her forehead furrowed. “Want to let me in on it?”
Looking down into her eyes, I said, “Let me get the groundwork done for it. I’m excited about this.” I gripped both of her hands in mine. “I want to do this for you, Wren—for us. Once I have the details sorted out, I’ll bring it to you, and the final decision will be yours. But let me do this for you. I found the cow.”
“The cow?”
I kissed her lightly. “I’ll explain it to you someday. Or have my father explain it. Either way, just say yes.”
She searched my face. “Without knowing what I’m saying yes to?”
“Everything worthwhile in life is a risk, Wren. I’m asking you to take a leap of faith. Let me do this. Let me bring you and your father a truly genius surprise.”
“Genius, huh?” She wrinkled her nose, then chuckled. “I do trust you, Mauricio. So yes—yes to whatever the hell you’re talking about.”
I kissed her then, the brief, respectful kind of kiss a man sneaks with the woman he loves at the home of his parents. Then I called out, “You can all come back in now.”
They came out of the kitchen, each holding something for the table as if they’d all left the room for that purpose.
Christof looked from me to Wren and back. “So are we celebrating anything?”
Smiling, Wren threw her hands up in the air. “Mauricio is getting me a cow.”
My father hugged my mother. “That’s my boy.”
“I don’t understand,” Christof said.
Gian shrugged. “I don’t either.”
Sebastian nodded. “Tell me if there is any way I can help, Mauricio.”
Wren turned to Heather. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
Heather shook her head but wrapped an arm around her husband. “No, but if these men are planning it, it’s going to be wonderful.”
Ava stepped forward. “I love cows. Uncle Mauricio, can you get me a cow too? My pony would love one.”
We all laughed, which confused her. She clarified, “I’m serious. Why are you all laughing?”
Which only made it funnier, but we all did our best to not offend her by laughing more.
Thankfully, we had an easily available distraction—homemade cookies.
I picked one up, offered it to Ava, and just like that she forgave us.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
WREN
A month later, in a small town in Iowa, Mauricio held open a door of a breakfast place. We’d flown out on his plane, driven straight there from the airport, and although he was grinning from ear to ear, he had yet to tell me why.
I didn’t push, because I would have followed him anywhere. If meeting his family hadn’t confirmed my feelings for him, when I’d seen him with mine I was all his. Mauricio claimed to be universally likable. I laughed whenever he said it, until I brought him over to eat with my family, and afterward he’d asked my father if he knew how to play canasta. “My only suggestion is that the men are on one team and the women on the other. I can get unruly if my canasta partner goes out while I’m still hoarding points in my hand.”
My father’s eyebrows had risen. “Canasta. Isn’t that a game for the old?”
“You’re no spring chicken, sir,” Mauricio had said with a straight face.
It was the first time I’d seen my father laugh at anything a date of mine had said. They’d tossed little barbs back and forth for the next hour or so while my mom and I kicked their butts at cards. By the end, I could tell my father approved of Mauricio.
My mother was equally sold on him when he cleared the table even after she told him he didn’t need to. I warned her not to be fooled by his good behavior and ratted him out for taunting his family until they tossed food at him.
Both of my parents loved the scene I’d painted—and suddenly everything I’d worried about didn’t matter as much. I was a little confused a couple of weeks later, when I told Mauricio I had gotten an interview with a local electric company, and he asked me not to take the position. He asked for a little more time to work the kinks out of his project.
It was indeed a leap of faith, but I waited. I lived off my savings and trusted he wouldn’t ask me to if he didn’t have a good reason. Waiting required more trust than I had for other people, but this was Mauricio.
And, yes, a steady supply of great sex was giving me a Zen-like view of the world. It would all turn out the way it was meant to.
Eight, by the way. I’d learned I could orgasm eight times in one day before my brain turned to mush. The morning after our first night I’d stayed at his place in the US, he’d woken me with a gift. In true Mauricio fashion, he’d gone down on one knee, held the box out, and said, “Cinderella, I believe you left this at the ball. Do you mind if I see if it fits?”
I’d guessed at the contents even before I’d opened the box. “What they say is true—we’ll always have Paris.” My vibrator, that is. The name fit it perfectly.
So yes, my limit was eight, but we had so much fun testing that number. Again and again. Mauricio was a little comp
etitive, even when it was against his own record.
I didn’t mind that.
I’m the same way. After a little side reading, I’d brought a few tricks of my own to our lovemaking. I don’t want to brag, but thanks to me, he has also exceeded his personal record. Sadly, that was only four. Still working on it.
Now, in Iowa, we followed a young woman across the restaurant, and I took a moment to study the photos on the wall. “The king of Vandorra comes here? How cool is that?”
Mauricio winked at me. “You wouldn’t think this town would have enough to lure royalty, would you? Never judge a book by its cover. Take me, for example. I bet when you met me, you thought I was just a good-looking man with perfectly sculpted abs.”
It was a joke that revealed the many layers of the man I loved. On one hand, some people saw him only in terms of the superficial, and it bothered him. On the other hand, all that attention had given him an ego robust enough that thankfully he could also poke fun at himself. I loved all his layers, even the ones that sometimes required a trim, so I hip checked him and gave his hard-as-rock stomach a pat. “Careful. They say love puts pounds on a person.”
He looked down at me in dismay, then smiled. “Well, we’ll have to keep thinking of new exercises, won’t we?”
That was another layer I loved—he was so open with how he felt about me. No games. No pressure to be anyone but myself with him. I went on my tiptoes and suggested something for the plane ride home. His cheeks flushed, and his eyes lit with desire. Love with Mauricio was easy.
We sat down at a booth. An older woman came over, introduced herself as Lily, and placed a cup of coffee in front of each of us. “Good to see you again, Mauricio. Bryant and Nicolette will be here in a few. Don’t let all the waitstaff make you lazy. You want more coffee? The pot is right over there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mauricio said with a smile.
Lily looked me over. I held out my hand to her. “Wren Heath.”
She shook my hand, then nodded toward Mauricio. “It’ll take a strong woman to keep a man like that in line.”
I cracked my knuckles and shot Mauricio a look. “I believe I have what it takes.”
He winked at Lily. “I fear her wrath.”
Lily laughed. “You picked a good one, Mauricio.” She turned at the sound of the door opening. “Here’s Bryant and Nicolette now.” She wandered off to meet them.
I leaned toward Mauricio and in a low voice asked, “Bryant?”
In an equally discreet tone, Mauricio answered, “Bryant Taunton. He’s the industry leader in robotics integration into the health field. I wanted you two to meet before I tossed him my proposal.”
My heart was doing a crazy beat in my chest. This was his surprise? He was getting me a job in Iowa? No. No. No. He knows I can’t leave my family. I met Mauricio’s gaze and my doubt fell away. Wait. He knows all that. This has to be about something else. He asked me to trust him, and I do. “So meeting him is your surprise?”
“Part of it.”
We stood to greet Bryant and his wife. Hugs all around. They were about our age, and the friendship between Mauricio and Bryant seemed to be a comfortable one.
Introductions over, we all sat in the booth. This time, Mauricio took the spot beside me. He gave my leg a pat beneath the table. “Bryant, this isn’t just a social visit. I’d like you to meet an engineer who is about to change the world of prosthetics.”
“You are?” Bryant asked with real interest.
I swallowed hard. This was the first I’d heard of it, but it was a dream I had to hear only once to realize how well it fit. “My father refuses to wear the ones the VA provides for him. There are more advanced models out there, but they aren’t affordable, not the ones that could do what he’d need them to do, anyway.” As I spoke, my confidence soared. “I could change that.”
Mauricio took out his phone and went into his mail. “I’ve spent the last month looking into what it would take to make that happen. We’re based on the East Coast. I have investors ready and a satellite site out there. We have a dialogue with the biomedical department at Johns Hopkins regarding collaboration. What I’d like from you is confirmation that if we come up with a viable prototype, you’d be open to at least consider mass manufacturing it.”
My gaze flew to meet Mauricio’s. “You have investors? Already? I don’t even have a design.”
He took my hand in his. “You believed in me. I have faith in you, Wren. Besides, Felix owed me a favor, and his father is actually impressed with his initiative to invest more into US businesses.”
“Felix is on board?” Bryant asked. “Then you know I’m in. Bring me something good, though. You know me. It has to be high quality, patient based, and AI integrable. Impress me and we’ll talk contracts. How much time are you looking at from design to prototype?”
They all turned to me. There was a time when that kind of pressure would have stolen my ability to breathe, but not with Mauricio at my side. Together I knew we could do this. “Six months to a year. I won’t bring you anything before we’ve field-tested it.”
We. I was still getting used to thinking like that.
Even as I was reeling from the unexpectedness of Mauricio’s surprise, I trusted it would work out, because this was what Mauricio did—he saw what people needed and he stepped in to help them reach their dreams. People relied on him because they knew he not only had a good head for business but also wanted the best for those around him.
Sebastian had shared with me how much of a role Mauricio had played in the success of their family business. Since Paris, Felix had reached out and thanked Mauricio for always cheering him on. Helping me move forward with a dream I’d lost faith in, one that allowed me to help my father while creating something that would make a positive impact in the world . . . I shouldn’t have been surprised by the move at all. Luckily I had the rest of my life to find ways to make him as happy as he’d made me.
Bryant nodded. “I like her.”
Nicolette hugged Bryant’s arm. “It’s nice to see you with someone, Mauricio.”
Mauricio tucked me to his side. “I couldn’t let Bryant be the only happy one in our crew.”
After that, business was put aside, and the two men entertained Nicolette and me with stories of when they were younger and wilder. They playfully tried to one-up each other until we were all laughing and calling bullshit.
We toured Bryant’s factory, where I was delighted to meet Jordan Cohen, a man who had become a household name for his work in VR but had partnered with Bryant on medical applications of his programs. “I’m a huge fan,” I said while vigorously shaking his hand. “I have your photo app on my phone.”
His wife, Paisley, laughed. “Which one? Tell me it’s not the bikini one.”
“No. I’m addicted to the one that automatically catalogs photos from various digital sources, then makes them voice searchable. It’s freaky to watch it in action, but pure genius.”
Jordan smiled down at his wife. “You hear that? Genius.”
She chuckled. “He loves that word. You’ve made his day.”
They were so comfortable to talk to, I said, “I hope I’m able to bring something equally amazing to the table.”
“You will.” He hugged his wife closer. “Just make sure you surround yourself with people who believe in you, and anything is possible.”
I leaned into Mauricio’s embrace. “I’ve got that part covered.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
MAURICIO
Early the next afternoon, Wren and I went to see her parents. With the sun out and a cool breeze blowing, we gathered on their front porch.
“How was Iowa?” her mother asked as soon as we all settled onto the wicker furniture.
I looked to Wren to answer. To me, it had gone even better than expected. We’d spent the day with my friends, stayed overnight at Bryant and Nicolette’s home, and come home with smiles on our faces that morning. Still, I wanted to hear how Wren describ
ed it.
“It was amazing. I’ll tell you all about it, but first I have a question for Dad.” Wren folded and unfolded her hands. I laid my hand over them in support. She shot me a grateful smile.
“What do you want to know, baby?” her father asked.
She took a breath as if gathering her courage. “Why don’t you wear a prosthetic arm?”
Her father shrugged. “We’ve talked about this. You know none of the ones at the VA do what I’d want them to do.”
Wren persisted. “What would you want one to do? Specifically? If you could have any kind of arm, how would you imagine it?”
Her father looked at me, his expression closing as he did. “I appreciate the thought, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting something like that from anyone—not even you. I do just fine like I am.”
Once again, I deferred to Wren. I knew it was important for her to make this connection with her father.
“Mauricio isn’t offering to buy you one, Dad. He and I are going to design one. So I need to know what would be most useful to you.”
My mother exclaimed, “I love the idea of the two of you working on a project together.”
“Mauricio found investors, and we’ve connected with Johns Hopkins for crowdsourcing ideas. We have leads as far as production. What we need to do now is to narrow down what to focus on. There are already a lot of prosthetic options out there. I don’t want to re-create what they’re doing. My goal is to have something that is affordable, high tech, useful, and upgradable. If you could have whatever you wanted, Dad, what would you want?”
There was such hope in Wren’s eyes. I wished her father had immediately loved the idea. He was silent, his expression indiscernible. “Nothing will ever be as good as what I lost,” he said.
And my heart sank a little.
Wren stood and walked over to where her father was sitting. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head, and I’d never wanted anyone to succeed as much as I wanted her to reach her father right then. “I’m doing this, Dad. With or without you. I’m going to create something that will help injured soldiers get their lives back. You can help me or you can sit there feeling sorry for yourself and watch me do it on my own.”
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