Chapter 1

Garrett

I hope New York is treating you well.

I stareat the screen and reread the text about ten times before chucking my phone on the bed. It’s not like I don’t want to respond, but it’s been years since I last saw him.

I vividly remember it. Graduation. He smiled from across the quad while he was hand in hand with his girlfriend. I didn’t care at all and smiled back.

But this text… It’s so out of the blue that it makes me curious about what might have happened with him.

There’s also another part of me, the new Rosa, that doesn’t give a shit about him. I ended things for a reason and have been thriving with my new life here.

A knock at the door surprises me, and I see Clementine peeking her head in my room. Her blonde hair is in a messy bun, and she has a food stain on her white shirt from Dahlia’s mid-afternoon snack.

“You okay? I heard a very loud grunt.” Her eyes fill with worry the moment she sees my phone on the bed and my clenched fists at my side. She steps into the bedroom and walks over to me, clutching my shoulders.

I sigh. “Garrett texted me, no te preocupes.”

“Was it that bad of a text? It’s been, what? Over two years since you’ve seen him?”

I nod.

“Yeah, nena. I didn’t respond, though. There’s no point.”

Clementine is quiet, but her eyes are full of questions that she’s keeping down for the sake of my own sanity. She knows I don’t like to revisit things if I don’t have to. As soon as I felt an inkling of change in feelings for Garrett, I knew it was a sign. I had to go–there was better for me, not just romantically, but in life.

I don’t like to stay in situations that won’t uplift me in better ways. And now that I’m twenty-four years old, I’m really thankful to past Rosa for leaving that behind. Him behind.

There’s a cute giggle in the living room, and my heart warms. I smile widely before grabbing Clementine’s hand and dragging her to the noise. Dahlia is on my dad’s lap while he’s bouncing her up and down. Her dark curls sway with every movement, and her smile matches her mother’s.

“Hi, Dally,” I coo, coming up to her. Dad watches me with bright eyes as I reach my hands out, and he lets me pick her up. Her hands are soft, reaching for my face and touching every surface.

“Estás bien, mija?” Dad asks as Clementine busies herself, looking through the baby bag and bringing out a rattle before handing it to me. I shake it in front of my baby sister, and she makes little grabby hands, attempting to reach for it.

“Sí, papá. Nothing to worry about. Did you enjoy your trip?”

He nods as he glances at my best friend, and I peer at her before her cheeks grow rosy. She’s been doing that a lot since she’s been here. I know how flustered she gets around my father. It’s evident in the way she has been looking at her engagement ring every second she gets.

He proposed to her the first night here, and I helped plan it alongside Frankie. It was nice to do something for the people we love, and Frankie even came to New York a little earlier than they did to help me with the proposal setup.

Clementine couldn’t stop crying once he popped down on one knee. Dally giggled in my arms, and Frankie stood right behind me with his hands on my shoulders. He even leaned down and whispered in my ear that this might be one of the best moments in his life.

“We should tell them,” Clementine breaks my thoughts, and I glance at the engaged pair, wondering what other surprises could be better than an engagement. I hear Frankie shuffling in my kitchen. Dally grabs a fist of my hair and pulls lightly, making me wince as I untangle her chubby fingers.

“Tell us what?” I ask as Dad still stays silent, but a growing smile fills his face as Clementine’s eyes go from me to Dally and then to the kitchen.

“Frankie! Clementine’s looking in your direction, so you need to get out here. Ahora!” I yell over my shoulder.

“Ya voy,” he shouts back before I whip my head in his direction to see his large figure entering the living room and crossing over to where we are. His brunette hair is a little longer, and the scruff he had a few days ago has grown into a mild beard. Heat flashes low in my belly with an unfamiliar urge to touch it.

I quickly dismiss it as he approaches me, looking down and smiling brightly before ruffling Dally’s hair. She squirms in my arms before squealing. There’s no verbal discussion from the one-year old required as I shift and move her to his arms, allowing me to cross mine over my chest and look back at my dad and best friend.

“So?” I ask.

Dad leans toward Clementine before grabbing her hand and pulling her into his lap. She laughs before settling on him, and that’s when it happens in slow motion. His hands go over her belly and rub it in slow, circular motions. I haven’t even registered the collage of pictures Clementine holds in her hands until now.

“En serio?” I blurt, my eyes scanning my dad’s hands before glancing up at them and then turning to look at Frankie, who looks just as shocked. “You didn’t know?”

He shakes his head. “No idea, but I’m not surprised. Ella no bebió nada de alcohol esta semana.”

He’s not wrong. Clementine kept drinking water while we went out to eat. Even when we got sushi, she had veggie rolls. The signs were right there, yet I didn’t see them.

I jump in my place before running to Clementine and my dad, wrapping my arms around them in as big of a bear hug as my arms allow.

“Ah, mija,” Dad mumbles while Clementine whispers, “I hope you’re not mad.”

I lean back before looking at them both. “Mad? How could I be mad? Dahlia is the best thing that’s happened to me, and now I get to have two siblings? This is the best fucking day of my life!”

Frankie gets closer as I pull myself from them, and Clementine reaches out for Dahlia. Once she’s in my her arms, Frankie’s hand lays on my shoulder for a moment, and it feels like a sizzling hot iron making its mark. I don’t even think he realizes how much this one touch affects me.

I distract myself by grabbing the picture collage my dad picked from Clementine’s hands and studying the sonograms. The baby looks tucked up into Clementine’s womb, and my eyes get a little teary.

“Do you know what it’ll be yet?” I ask through a sniffle. Frankie’s hand rubs smooth motions over my skin, and it calms me in a way. I look back at him, but with the close proximity, I have to crane my neck a little.

His brown eyes are locked on mine before his lips curl into a small smile. I lift the collage up for him to see a little more, and he leans into it. His cologne wafts my way, and it makes my head a little dizzy.

“Not yet. We want this one to be a surprise,” Clementine starts. “I was thinking that the next time you come home, you can be the one to open the results, and then we can have a gender reveal party.”

I nod ferociously. “Of course, nena. I’d be honored.”

My eyes get teary again, and Frankie’s hand falls from my shoulders as I close the distance between Clementine and me, wrapping her in another hug with Dahlia in the middle.

“It’ll obviously be a while, but we wanted to let you both know before we went home,” my dad announces.

I smile, letting the tears fall. His eyes shine from the excitement of it all, and it feels like this moment trumps the damn engagement. I worked day and night planning it with my dad and Frankie for weeks, but I know this will take even more planning. I want Clementine to have the best gender reveal.

“Congrats, cabrón,” Frankie finally says, and my dad takes this moment to stand up to hug Frankie.

I give Dally a kiss on her head before kissing Clementine’s forehead. Her cheeks are still rosy, and this must be that pregnancy glow they always talk about. I didn’t see much of it when she was pregnant with Dahlia, but they only initially visited for a little while.

This time, I can evidently see the way her cheeks are redder, her skin is more dewy, and her figure is showing more. I guess I just preemptively thought it was because she was still occasionally breastfeeding. My knowledge with babies is low, but I’ve been trying to educate myself for Clementine.

I take Dahlia again from Clem before watching Frankie step back. He glances at me for a moment before giving me a small smile and heading back to the kitchen, but not before he throws a wave and another congrats.

I bounce Dahlia in my arms before looking at my dad and best friend. “You guys have to drive back soon, right?”

They both nod before Clementine goes to sit on his lap, and it’s the sweetest sight ever. Well, besides my baby sister.

“Yeah, Dally might like visiting you, but the road trip isn’t the best. She’s very fussy if you can believe it,” Clementine mentions.

They’re quiet for a moment as I nod. I’m going to miss them, but I’ll see them soon enough. There was a moment after visiting NYC for the first time when Clementine begged me to move back. It was during the hardest part of her pregnancy when she just really needed her soul sister, so I hopped on a plane and stayed for two weeks before going back home. I ended up having to come back to Sunny Cove a month later for her labor. That’s when Dad asked me the same question —if I could move back.

I knew they didn’t mean any harm by it, but I had to tell them that Sunny Cove wasn’t my home anymore. It was theirs, and that was okay. I love New York City, and I’ve grown so much in the past two years of living here. More than I ever could have if I stayed in that small town.

Clementine watches me for a moment before giving me a reassuring smile, and even Dahlia rests her fingers on my cheek as if they both can read my mind.

“You okay with Frankie hanging around here for a little?” Dad asks with a raised brow and humor in his voice. I look at him and roll my eyes.

That’s when I hear dishes clanging, and I know Frankie’s already making himself at home again. He’s been doing that anytime we come back to my apartment as a group. It brings me back to the other night before Clementine and Dad arrived. The moment I got the notification from my doorman that he was here in the lobby. I ran down (well, used the elevator), and he literally pulled me in for a hug, picked me up, and twirled me around until I was screaming.

It was different from the other times I saw him. There was something about this that made me keep overthinking things. But I’ve been dismissing every thought in hopes that he can’t read my mind.

He’s my Uncle Frankie!

Even though he’s not my dad’s brother by blood, I still see him that way. I have to, at least. He’s like family, even if lines have become blurry recently on my end. But I have to remind myself that his lines are very much opaque with a damn neon sign above saying “will never cross.”

I’m working a late shift tonight and just wanted to get my clothes ready until I saw that text from Garrett. My head snaps to the kitchen, where Frankie is on his phone. His legs are spread out comfortably on the chair. He’s got his brows scrunched, and his lower lip tugs between his teeth.

I nod at Dad. “I think I’ll be okay. He promised me dinner tonight before I head into work, so I can’t say no to that.”

“Your roommate isn’t coming home soon?” Clementine asks, and I shake my head. Luisa’s working a double at the same club I work at, so she’s been gone since one this afternoon.

“Nope, we’ve got the place to ourselves. I hope you guys enjoyed it better than the last apartment.”

“I like this one way better, mija,” Dad answers. My last apartment was a nightmare where the maintenance was shitty, the landlord didn’t care about safety, and my roommate was a slob.

I’m just grateful I found better this year to continue living in New York. The moment my coworker, Luisa, told me she was looking for a roommate, I immediately jumped at the offer.

“I want to visit again, maybe alone?” Clementine speaks up. She looks at Dad, who smiles brightly. “You’d enjoy a whole week alone with Dahlia, wouldn’t you?”

He nods. “A whole week conmi flor? Por supuesto. In fact, we should start planning that so I can get all her favorite foods.”

“Like what?” I ask with a laugh as Dahlia touches my face again, and I pat her bottom before shifting my feet and bouncing her slowly.

“Those damn puffs! He gets her all the flavors, and I have to remind him that those are snacks, not full meals.” Clementine huffs.

“She’s like her mother,” Dad argues with a laugh. “I can’t say no to her. Especially with those pretty eyes and chubby cheeks.”

I look at Dahlia, whose eyes match her mother’s. She looks up at me in wonder, and my heart melts. “If she asked me to steal the Declaration of Independence, I would right this second,” I agree.

Dad and Clementine laugh as we hear a faint grunt from Frankie in the kitchen. I take that as my cue to see if he’s okay and lean down to give Dahlia back to her parents. Once I’m nearing the kitchen, Frankie looks up from his phone and shifts a little in his seat to straighten his posture.

“Everything okay?”

He nods and runs a hand over his growing beard. His brown eyes glance at me briefly before moving to the kitchen table. “Yeah, just can’t seem to find a place for dinner. Lo siento, Rosita. Most of them have reservations that are completely booked.”

I give him a smile before closing the distance and giving him a side hug to the best of my ability while he’s sitting down. I squeeze his shoulder. “It’s okay. I think I know a place that might let us steal a table.”

Frankie huffs and his whole body moves underneath me. His broad shoulders are strong, and I stand back up, keeping one hand on him. He turns to look at me for a moment, but he’s still got that grumpy face on.

“What?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

He shakes his head. “Nada. You just look a lot like your dad right now.”

I give my best fake gag and even gesture, pointing my finger down my throat. “Ugh, don’t bring up my dad.”

“What, why?” He halfheartedly laughs, but it echoes in this small kitchen and seems to even vibrate inside my body with how close I am.

“Nothing,” I start, but Frankie leans in a little closer as if he wants in on the secret. I sigh and continue. “He’s just been asking a lot about my job, and it’s a bar job. Not really something a father wants to know details about…”

“Slinging cocktails and letting older men hit on you?” He winks, and I playfully slap his shoulder.

“No! Well, you know…” I pause, and he smiles brazenly. I roll my eyes. “How else will I get paid the way I do to afford this apartment? But don’t you dare tell him that.”

His smile fades for a moment as he’s deep in thought. “Just let me know if any of those old fuckers get too close. I’ll be in New York for a little. I might not be your father, but I’ll protect what’s–”

I smirk. “What’s yours?” He’s silent for a moment before I add, “That’s such a dad line. Yuck.”

Don’t cross a line. Don’t cross the very blurry line, Rosalía…

He scoffs and smiles again. “Rosita, don’t make me feel old like those creeps at your so-called job.” He pauses. “But, yes. If that’s what it’ll take to get them to back off. Then, you’re damn right about that. I’ll protect what’s mine.”

His words ping-pong inside my head, echoing loudly. It feels like there’s a sudden shift in the air. I can’t tell if it’s just me with this unfamiliar feeling. An electric current flows through us where my hand is still placed on his shoulder. I want to move it, but I don’t. It feels harder to breathe, and we just keep staring at each other for the next few seconds before we hear Dahlia giggle in the other room.

I jump and remove my hand from his shoulder. He clears his throat before scraping his chair back and standing up. He’s inches taller than me, similar in height to my six-foot-four father. I crane my neck just a tad to look at him before he walks past me. But I catch the way he glides his hand over the top of my back and squeezes my shoulder. My whole body seems to shudder at the contact.

Huh.