Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
He turned his head toward me and kissed me on the forehead. “I love you, tesoro.” He turned forward again and pulled his hand away.
I rested my head on his shoulder. “I love you too.”
“Your mother is the first woman I’ve ever loved. She’s the love of my life, everything to me. I’ve always been a man who needs the sky, the soil, and the sun to be happy, maybe a glass of scotch here and there. But your mother became all of that…she became everything that makes me happy. I didn’t think my heart could grow anymore, that I was capable of loving anything besides her. It took so long just for me to find her. But then you came along…and I loved you instantly. You became the sky, the soil, and the sun. You became my everything.” He lifted both of his hands and cupped his fingers. “From the second I held you…I knew there was another woman I loved more than your mother.”
My eyes started to water, but for a different reason.
“I want you to be with a man who loves you more than I do. And you’ll find him, tesoro.”
Six
Conway
It was a beautiful spring day. The roses in the garden were bright and lively, and the olive trees were in full bloom. The grass had been neatly trimmed the day before, and the shady spot beneath the oak trees was the perfect place to marry my muse.
It was just me standing in front of the gazebo, in a black suit with a matching tie. Mama pinned a flower to my jacket, a soft pink that complemented the beautiful day. Muse was so pregnant that she couldn’t wear heels anymore, so Lars hemmed her dress a little shorter so she could walk barefoot across the grass covered in pink rose petals. She’d wanted to get married sooner, before her stomach became too big, but I thought the timing worked out perfectly.
She’d never looked as beautiful as she did now.
There wasn’t even a slight hint of a breeze, and the world was completely quiet. It was one of the things I loved about growing up in this house. It was away from the city and the road, so all you could hear was nature and the sounds of the grape leaves shifting in the wind.
There was nowhere else I’d rather get married.
Mama was dressed in a blue dress with the same flower pinned to the front. She walked up to me, her eyes wet like they were earlier that day. She’d never been an emotional person, hardly ever shedding a tear as the years passed. Strong like my father, she chose to be fearless. But today, those rules didn’t seem to apply.
She stopped in front of me and gripped my biceps, her chin tilted up as she looked at me. I was over a foot taller than her, twice her size, and she seemed so small in comparison. “My son…” She moved into me and rested her face against my chest. “So happy for you…”
I wrapped my arms around my mom and held her.
Uncle Cane and Aunt Adelina sat in the row of chairs with Lars and Carter and Carmen. We had a small family, but it was nice having it just be us. My father stood on the other side of me, watching us together.
“I know, Mama.” I rubbed her back. “Thanks for raising me to be a man.”
She chuckled slightly and swiped a finger under her eye. “A good man.” She took a deep breath to steady her tears. “And a man I love so much.”
“I love you too.”
She pulled away and composed herself as much as possible. “It feels like it was just yesterday when your father and I got married in this very spot. And it seems like yesterday when I sat on the porch and told him I was pregnant with you. Now here you are…starting your own family. I feel very…lucky.” She rose on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek before she sat down with Vanessa.
Father turned to me next. He rested his hand on my back, a smile in his eyes. “I don’t think there’s any advice I have left to give you.”
“I don’t know about that. I’m not a father yet… I’m sure I’ll need some help.”
“You never needed my help becoming the successful man you are now. I’m sure you’ll be fine. But I’m here if you ever need anything.” He patted my back before he pulled away. “I never had anyone to ask for advice when I had you. I had to figure it out on my own.”
“I think you did okay.”
He chuckled. “I did more than okay. I have two perfect children. I wouldn’t change anything about either one of you.”
“Not even Vanessa’s brattiness?”
He laughed, knowing I was joking. “Not even that.”