Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“Come now.” I’ve officially been summoned. I sulk toward my death, one that is going to be slow and torturous. Our mom should work for the FBI with the way she can question things to death that by the end of it, you’re so tired you’ll tell her anything in order to leave. Once I’m in reaching distance, she loops her arm through mine and guides me to the living room. Everyone has dispersed to the backyard. I am doomed. There’s no one here to save me from this conversation, and since Gabriella said the name that starts with the letter A, I know it’s going to be a long conversation.
“Mamá, can we get this over with? I don’t want to argue tonight. It’s Isa’s birthday, and I’m tired.” I untangle my arm from where she was holding me close, so close it was like she knew I’d run away.
“Alejandro’s home, for good. What? Don’t look at me like that.” I back away a few steps, crossing my arms over my chest. She acts astonished that I didn’t want to know the news. I could have gone my whole adult life without giving two single fucks about him. It’s not that I’m holding a grudge against what he did as a boy, it’s that I now understand what I do and don’t deserve. Learning your self-worth is a wonderful thing.
“No.” I shake my head while saying that, my hip cocked outward, my toe tapping. I’m ready to scream.
“He’s divorced now. His wife didn’t want children, and he did.” Mamá must think she’s adding valuable traits. She’s not. Yet she continues on her tirade, “You’re single, he’s single. He’ll be here next week for our Christmas party. We’ll make sure you two sit together.”
“Now that you have my life planned out, I’m leaving. Tell Papá I love him, and I love you, too, but you’ve gone too far.” I turn around, ready to take the advice my sister-in-law gave me. Hiring a date seems like a hell of a lot better plan than to sit next to an ex-boyfriend while your mother tries to matchmake.
Chapter 1
Noelle
“Hey, there, Kitty Kitty. Are you hungry?” I ask the semi-stray cat. She’s black with yellow eyes and somehow managed to sneak her way into being mine. As for the name, well, Isabella had a hand in it. You try telling a toddler they can’t name their aunt’s cat Kitty Kitty and see how far you’ll get. Antonio and Gabriella tried to tell Isa it wasn’t hers but mine to name. Needless to say, my niece will always get what she wants when Tía Noelle is involved. The only thing I can’t get Kitty Kitty to do is come inside. She will every now and then, mostly if I open a can of tuna. Only then will she wander in, have a snack, and then hightails it to the door, ready to go back outside for the night. The one thing I did do was get her fixed. I don’t mind one cat, but kittens? That would be a hard pass. I’m not old enough to become a full-blown cat lady.
“Alright, let me go inside.” Kitty Kitty weaves in and out between my legs, begging for me to continue petting her. I open the door. Maybe she’ll come inside since it’s so windy outside. “Are you coming or not?” I ask as if she’ll answer. Kitty Kitty only meows some more, and I have to shuffle my feet in order not to fall flat on my face. A lesson I’ve learned the first week I became a somewhat cat owner. Finally, I make it through the doorway. I’m tired, annoyed, and I know when Christmas rolls around in a couple of weeks, Mom will still be on her bullshit. The whole drive home, I had time to decompress and process the way I’m feeling, courtesy of my mother’s overactive imagination. She’s lucky I didn’t go to Papá like I wanted to. They always argue when Mamá inserts herself into my love life. Antonio is the lucky one. He’s also Mamá’s boy through and through. Papá was hard on him and, well, Mamá is hard on me.
“No, you’re not coming in. Okay. I’ll be right back,” I tell the black furball, who is the most indecisive being on this planet. The door closes, automatically locking when it does, unless I hit the button to stop it. Papá and Antonio were adamant for me to have good locking doors, windows, and a security system. They’re so overprotective, when I tried to fight them from setting everything up, it was impossible. I dealt with it while Mom and I unpacked all of the boxes. We both rolled our eyes at them. That was years ago, when I was much younger than I am now. Maybe she thinks Alejandro is my one true love because I’ve yet to bring anyone else around since him. He hurt me, don’t get me wrong, but he was also the young love that teaches you what heartache really is and what to stay away from. I’ve dated here and there, had a boyfriend a few times as well, and my family even met a couple for dinner. None of them stuck. One wasn’t willing to be a man and was still very much in his boy stage. There was one with whom I thought it could become something more, but his promotion at work made him move to another state, so he wasn’t right for me after all. He expected me to quit my job, follow him, and everything would be perfect. The kicker was, we’d only been together a few months. He was insane to think I’d move my life for a man I hadn’t even said I love you to.