Micaela Prologue-Two Months Earlier

Another day down. God, my whole body hurts as if someone had beaten me. This was the last time I booked that many sessions in one day. I'd barely had time to pee, let alone drink, and most definitely not eat. My growling stomach reminded me of this. Why did I keep doing this to myself? Oh yeah, right, so I'd be able to eat and have a roof over my head. Pursuing your dream required hard work and sacrifices.

My parents had always supported my dreams. However, they had gently reminded me when I went to college that my major wouldn't guarantee I'd be able to make a living in my chosen profession. It sure wouldn't make me rich. I told them I knew that, but it was the only thing I saw myself doing for the rest of my life. It had been my passion since I was barely a teenager. Hearing this, they'd given me their blessing. It was a struggle sometimes, but I still knew I made the right choice. Even when things were crazy or frustrating, I ultimately loved what I did.

As the baby in my family, most people would think I was spoiled rotten. In some ways, I was pampered, but I didn't get everything I wanted. In truth, my parents were stricter with me in many ways than with my four older brothers. When it came to wanting things, I learned to be careful not to mention them when my brothers were around. If I did, it was almost a certainty one of them would get it for me. I didn't always want to be a taker, so I learned to watch what I said as I got older. This meant even if I was having difficulties, I refused to tell my family, or they'd jump in.

A good example was when I was sixteen. Mamá and Papá hadn't been the ones to buy me a car. They said I had to pay for it myself. Instead, my brothers had gone out and got me one. When I went to prom my senior year, they insisted on buying the dress and renting the limo. The only thing they weren't supportive of and tried to talk me out of was going with a boy. My brothers were over-the-top protective when it came to boys and later men. They never liked a single guy I went out with, and they'd done their best to run them off. I hated to admit that had happened to a lot of them.

They tried to get Papá and Mamá to forbid me to date until I was twenty-one. I'd hotly argued that it wasn't fair. They'd all been allowed to date at sixteen. Why couldn't I? Their arguments were they knew what guys were after and no way was one of those little pricks having sex with their baby sister. I'd battled for months with them. Lucky for me, it was my parents' decision, and they stuck to sixteen, although I secretly think Papá had wanted to go with the boys' idea, and Mamá talked him out of it.

Their decision in no way stopped my lunatic brothers from frightening away any guy who looked at me. I lost count of the times I'd had a guy express interest, and then he'd disappear. At first, I was confused about why, but then I accidentally caught Marco threatening one. I'd lost it on them and complained to my parents, but they didn't stop. My only relief was that not all of them were around all the time. Rome, the oldest, had been off in the military, and then he joined an MC of all things after he got out and moved to Texas. I never saw that coming. He was known as Daredevil now. He always liked to take chances, so I could see why they gave him the name.

On the other hand, Diego, Renzo, and Marco had stayed local to Florida. They were constantly in my business and reporting back to Rome. The three of them worked for Papá in his construction company. I got emails and letters from my big brother interrogating me about this guy or that guy, so in actuality, I still had all four in my business. It was a wonder I had ever lost my virginity.

Thinking of Rome, I mean Daredevil, made me recall that in two months, I'd be seeing him for the first time in a year. I couldn't wait. My parents had been out to visit him and meet his soon-to-be wife, Shain, in person. I hated missing it, but there was no way I could take time away from my photography business and then do it again for their wedding. I was working like mad to take time then. Hence, today's insane day. I needed to save enough money to spend a whole month with them. They assured me they understood. Thank goodness for video chatting.

From what I'd seen and heard, I thought Shain was perfect for him. There was no doubt when you saw them together, they were head-over-heels in love with each other. It had been fast and intense, but without question they were ideal for each other and would go the distance. While I was happy for him, it made me sad. No matter what I did, I never seemed to find a guy who was the one. Sure, there'd been ones I thought had the potential, but they all fizzled out after a time. Either we found we didn't have enough in common, or they did something stupid like cheating, lying, or getting creepy.

I guess I was destined to be the old maid aunt, although the way it was going with my other brothers, I might only have Daredevil and Shain's kids to dote on. The other three weren't settled either, and there were no candidates in the pipeline. I told them to stop being manwhores, and they might find a good woman. They waved me off, saying they weren't settling down yet. I knew they wanted it even if they denied it.

Mamá and Papá were dying to be grandparents, and as soon as they found out about Shain, they'd started asking when they planned to have kids. Poor Shain, it would be my parents' fault if she ran. I teased her all the time when she, I, and Mamá would chat about the wedding, how I was so glad it was her and not me in their crosshairs about the grandbabies. She took it all in stride and assured us we'd hear about it when it happened.

Of course, I was told by my beloved, though loca , crazy, Mamá, I wasn't off the hook, and neither were my other brothers. Shain would laugh and tease me about when we'd start planning my wedding. I always waved her off and acted as if I wasn't worried or even desired to get married, but it was a lie. It was one of the things I wanted more than anything—to be loved the way she and my mamá were and to have children. Who wouldn't want to be the center of someone's world and to make someone the center of yours? It was all my parents' fault that I wanted it. They were so freaking in love. Even after all these years, it was kinda sickening and beyond sweet.

Sighing, I pressed down on the gas pedal. I needed to get home, shower, and grab a bite to eat before my call with the two of them. It was a wedding planning night. Thankfully, there was a lot of help from the wives of the other club members. They were pros at it, and since the wedding was taking place in Tenillo, they were our hands and feet on the ground there. My depressing love life, or lack thereof, could wait.