LOGINAiden appeared on the bottom step with both hands raised. “I’m done with my bath!”Darren turned around like an awards-show host. “And the award for best-smelling child in the motorsport category goes to…”“Me!” Aiden took off running, remembered my face, and immediately slowed into a deeply suffering power walk. “I’m walking, Mami.”“Wonderful. Civilization.”Kehlani dried her hands. “You smell good.”“I don’t smell like playground anymore?”“A little.”Aiden sighed. “Playground is strong.”“Yes, cariño. Playground has emotional staying power.”He came all the way down, then looked at Darren and Kehlani with bright eyes. “Now cars.”“We’re ready,” Darren said. “I’ve prepared my soul.”“Tía Teeth too?”Kehlani nodded. “I’m ready to see the legendary vehicles.”Aiden spun toward the living room, darted forward two steps, then stopped.On the large sofa by the windows, Elma was already half-reclined, her head resting against a pillow, one hand still holding a dish towel she had probably
Lunch continued in a state that could still legally be classified as eating, although most of it consisted of Aiden negotiating with his chicken, Darren trying to rename every item of food, Kehlani stealing potatoes from the pollo guisado while pretending to medically assess their texture, and Elma eating with the speed of a woman who knew that if she slowed down even slightly, the chubby little boy beside her would ask for help opening his car garage.I finally cut into the lemon cake once it had cooled enough, because I was weak and because Aiden had been staring at the cooling rack like he was waiting on a pastry custody ruling.“Small slice,” I said.Aiden nodded quickly. “Small.”“Human small, not de Cruz small.”He looked at Darren, seeking legal interpretation.Darren lifted one shoulder. “I’m not arguing with the judge while the judge is holding a cake knife.”“Smart,” Kehlani said.I cut four thin slices. Aiden got the smallest piece and immediately looked like a tiny aristoc
“I heard you.”“That was intentional.”Kehlani laughed as she washed her hands at the kitchen sink. “I missed this house.”“This house?” I grabbed a small towel. “The place where my son renames drivers, Darren insults planters, and you perform illegal dental exams in the foyer?”“Yes.” Kehlani smiled, softer this time. “This house.”I pretended to be very busy drying Aiden’s hands.It was easier than letting my face do something annoying, like soften.Darren was already sitting at the island, positioned like a talk show guest waiting for his interview to begin. The second Aiden finished washing his hands, Darren pulled him onto his lap. Aiden settled there like it was his personal throne, little legs dangling, his black bangs drying into a mess across his forehead, his face deeply satisfied now that he had a full audience.“Mami said we have to eat first,” Aiden reminded Darren, whose hand was already drifting toward a croqueta.Kehlani pointed at Aiden. “Look at that. Moral authority
Darren took the lunch bag from Elma’s hand and kissed both her cheeks before she had a chance to escape.“Elmo.”Elma closed her eyes. “Don’t you start too.”“Darling, I respect your stage name.”“It’s workplace trauma.”From Kehlani’s arms, Aiden pointed at Elma. “Elmo complained the whole car ride.”“Because you tried to explain to Hans that the carpool line needed a pit stop,” Elma said, pulling Aiden’s little jacket out of the backpack.“Hans agreed.”“Hans did not agree. Hans said, ‘Okay, buddy,’ because he’s afraid of you.”I turned. “Who’s Hans?”“The substitute carpool driver,” Elma said. “His name is Kenneth.”I went quiet.Darren looked at Aiden with a level of pride that was genuinely disgusting. “You gave the man a new name?”Aiden nodded. “He looks like Hans.”“Based on what?”“His face.”Kehlani closed her eyes. “I can’t laugh. I’m an adult.”“You can,” Darren said. “I’ve already laughed internally hard enough to generate an invoice.”I walked over to Aiden and wiped a l
His cheeks were flushed from excitement. His eyes were blue, bright, offensively beautiful, and his face, God help me, his face was a miniature replica of one particular Bernadi man, only chubbier, stickier, and significantly more likely to be carrying rocks in his pockets.Elma stood behind him carrying Aiden’s backpack, lunch bag, water bottle, and one piece of school artwork that appeared to have been created with paint, glitter, and a personal vendetta against clean surfaces. Her hair was slightly mussed around her face.She looked at me. “He saw Darren’s car.”Aiden proceeded to do something that was clearly not a ninja salute, not a driver salute, and not anything ever recognized by any legitimate martial art. One little hand crossed over his chest, two fingers came up in a peace sign, his knees bent, and then he made a quiet engine noise.“Vrrm-ya.”Darren covered his mouth with one hand. “Perfect.”Elma looked up at the ceiling. “He practiced that in the carpool line.”I close
“Darren, I’m holding something sharp and my emotional vitamins are running low,” I hissed.“That threat lost its impact after the thirteenth time you said it before brunch over the course of our friendship.” Darren had already opened one of the paper bags on the island, pulling out food containers like he was performing an organ transplant. “Oh, this is still hot. Kehlani, look. The empanadas survived Maya’s psycho planter.”“My planter is not psycho,” I said, reaching for the cutting board.“It tried to break a hot man’s ankle.”“If that planter has taste, I’m letting it live.”Kehlani passed behind me with a pastry box in her hands, then stopped near the oven. She tilted her head and sniffed the air like a dentist who could smell a cavity from a spiritual distance. “Cake’s almost done?”“Fifteen more minutes.”“It smells incredible.”“Thank you. It’s the only thing in this house that doesn’t have an opinion.”“I have an opinion about that,” Darren called out.“You always have an opi
Morning arrived far too politely for something that should have come in carrying a fire extinguisher.I woke before the sun was fully up, with pale light slipping through the gap in Rhysand’s suite curtains and falling over my skin like an accusation.For a few seconds, I didn’t move.There were ge
He picked up his whiskey and took a small sip. It’s too easy. Too controlled. I wanted to disturb him. I wanted to make him lose his flat fucking face. I wanted something tonight to be messy, unmanaged, not wrapped in family and money and shame.“I’m not a good man, Maya,” he said quietly.“I know.
Ricky took my hand and led me through the crowd. A few guests turned to look. Someone called my name. My aunt from Cartagena waved far too enthusiastically.I ignored her.Then I saw Rhysand Bernadi.And the most annoying thing was that Ricky had not been exaggerating.The man stood at the edge of
HawaiiI knew something was going to go wrong the moment Mama started crying when she saw me coming down the stairs.Mama cried like she had just watched her baby being delivered to a royal sacrificial altar, when in reality her baby was wearing a white silk dress with a low-cut back, my great-gran







