Chapter 26
26
As Sofi just stood there staring at him, Leo’s stomach dropped. Fuck. He’d embarrassed Sofi in front of everyone. She definitely wouldn’t forgive him. Stupid, Leo. Stupid. Idiotic. Asinine. He berated himself as he tried to quell the rising panic in his chest. He shut his eyes and shook his head wondering how he’d managed to mess up already.
A hand tapped him on the knee and his eyes flew open. A soft, brown hand covered in gold jewelry and tipped with long pointy nails decorated with gold flecks and rhinestones made a give me motion at him.
Sofi.
“Give me the mic and help me up,” she told him.
He did exactly as she asked, ignoring his discomfort. Then she was standing next to him. They were practically the same height thanks to the tall heels he’d been checking out at random intervals all night when he salivated over her exposed leg. She looked absolutely stunning. She’d been the only one of the bridal party in a rich pink dress instead of gold. The color was magic and brought out the warm undertone of her brown skin while also shimmering in all the different kinds of light. It had no sleeves so her collarbone and chest were on display and that fucking thigh-high slit was killing him. He’d envisioned sliding his hand in it way too many times for a man surrounded by his family and close friends. Everything about her from her head to her toes was flawless. She was just perfect. She made his heart beat erratically every time.
When she lifted the mic to her lips, he barely paid attention because he was so focused on her mouth. He loved that sassy, pouty mouth of hers. “I have something to say,” she began, but then she kind of froze.
Leo finally noticed the way the mic shook in her hand and the sweat beading along her hairline. He remembered her confession about fearing public speaking. “You don’t have to do this, bombón. Not here or like this.”
At the sound of his voice she appeared to come to. She blinked and looked at him. “Yes, I do. I need to face my fears instead of hiding from them.” She turned and faced the crowd in the tent. “I thought I was going to get through this without having to talk in public, but it appears that life had other plans.” There were some chuckles in the audience. “The truth is that I hate speaking in public. It’s why I quit competing in pageants and why I have to prepare weeks in advance before a presentation. Of course, I didn’t prepare tonight, but I guess that’s okay. I mean it’s not okay. My knees are quaking like I’m a baby giraffe and I’m probably going to sweat out this silk press.” She paused briefly. “I guess that’s more information that y’all didn’t need.” She looked at Leo. “What was I talking about?”
“Your fears.”
She nodded. “Right. My fears.” She turned back to the crowd. “Most of you have known me for a long time. Even so, I know a lot of you will be surprised to know that public speaking is not the only thing I’m scared of. There are tons, but I got really good at hiding them all. I never wanted anyone to see me as weak or foolish, but I guess I already ruined that tonight. And oh shit is that, Chord Bailón?”
She looked at him for confirmation.
Leo nodded. “He came with Eva.”
“I’m making an ass of myself in front of Chord Bailón. Cool, cool, cool.” She would’ve been whispering that to herself if it weren’t for the mic. She paused again. Her brow furrowed. “I think, I should be more upset about that, but I’m not. It’s kind of a relief.” She shook her head. “No, it is a relief.” She took a breath. “I’m Sofia Santana and I’m a coward who hides from the things that scare me instead of facing them.” She turned to him. “And you, Leo, are the scariest thing I’ve ever faced.”
Leo watched her throat bob as she swallowed thickly.
“From the moment we met, you’ve seen me. The real me. Not the facade that I show the rest of the world. You poke and prod and push and piss me off like no other.” She clenched her jaw like just thinking about it made her mad. Then she blew out a breath. “That’s because you dare me to be my true self and that’s terrifying to me. I don’t know how you do it all the time. But you’ve always been braver than I am. You are ready to face anything and to go all in while I want to hide like a turtle in my shell, but I can’t continue to hide. It’s not fair to you. So here’s my truth.” She licked her lips. “I love you, Leo Vega. I’ve loved you since the night you knocked on my window, took me to The Bean, and forced me to feel my emotions, because you knew that’s what I needed.” Her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. “Probably before then actually, but that was the night I knew for sure. Anyway, you’ve always done that for me, given me what I didn’t know I needed. In return, I haven’t done the same for you. I’ve pushed you away and made you seem unimportant and I’m so sorry for that.” Her voice cracked and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Leo couldn’t take it anymore. He reached for her right as she opened her mouth again.
“I—”
His lips crashed into hers. He kissed her like he’d never kissed her before and she returned it with just as much zeal. Distantly, he heard the cheers of their loved ones and the awful screech the mic made when it fell and rolled too close to the amp. But his attention was solely on Sofi and the kiss that was threatening to burn down the tent around them. They kissed how he’d once caught his parents kissing in the pantry of the kitchen, or frequently witnessed between Liam and Kamilah since they had no shame, or how Lola was prone to kissing Saint whenever she thought they were alone. They kissed with the entirety of their beings.
She pulled away first. “You didn’t let me finish saying what I wanted to say and now I don’t remember what it was.”
Leo smirked. “It doesn’t matter, because you had me at ‘quaking baby giraffe knees.’”
Sofi let out a laugh and smacked him on the arm. “You are so damn cheesy,” she said before pulling him in for another quick kiss. She pulled away and held up a finger. “But don’t think for one second that we aren’t going to have words about you calling me out in front of everyone—”
Leo cut her off with another kiss. This time he pulled her close and then dipped her back into the kind of kiss that never failed to turn her brain to putty. He knew he’d succeeded when he lifted her up to release her, only to have her body collapse against his like her legs wouldn’t work right. All while staring at him like he hung the stars in the sky. “We’ll have plenty of words, but the only ones I want to hear or say right now are these... I love you. Te amo. And that’s all the ways I know right now, but you better believe that I’ll learn more from every country we visit.”
“Here’s a freebie. Je t’aime,” she purred in that sexy French she now spoke. He really had no idea if she was fluent, but he didn’t care. They both knew the most important words and that was all that mattered.
“Je t’aime,” he told her back before they kissed until they got kicked off the stage.
Hours later, drinks had been consumed, high heels had been left abandoned under tables, ties were off, and suit jackets were missing. The children were gone, but the party was still in full swing and if there was one thing his family knew how to do, it was party. Gio was hitting the ’90s hip-hop and R&B really hard at the moment and everyone was showing off their old-school dance moves. Leo smiled as he watched Kamilah holding the full fluffy skirt of her second dress out of the way so she could do the Kid ’n Play with Lucy as they danced and sang to “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe in the middle of a circle. Everyone around them was yelling and cheering them on as they danced along.
Gio did some DJ magic and all of a sudden “Poison” was now “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee . Unsurprisingly, a bunch of the women screamed and joined Kamilah in the middle of the circle. It appeared that ’90s time was over and it was now time for perreo. Leo would join them in a minute. He needed to hydrate after his epic dance-off with Ricky and a bunch of their other cousins. That Chicago footwork was getting hard. He was getting old. All that mattered was that he won though. At least, he’d proclaimed himself the winner.
“I hope you got me some water too,” Sofi said from behind him.
“Of course.” He handed her a bottle. “How was Tostón?”
“Happily passed out in Kamilah and Liam’s bed with all your nieces and nephews, including Omar.” She opened the bottle and took a long drink.
“They all fit?” Leo asked.
She swallowed. “Barely,” Sofi said with a smile. “They were either piled on top of each other or hanging off the sides. I took, like, twenty pictures.”
Leo wrapped his arms around her waist. “Aww. You’re already a proud tití.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve been around since they were all born. Of course, I’m their tía. Even if we weren’t together.”
“But we are together,” Leo said. “And we will be for the rest of our lives.”
“Yes.”
Suddenly they heard shouting coming from the dance floor. They turned in unison.
Abuelo Papo was in the middle of the circle with Do?a Fina and they were dancing to “Dile” by Don Omar.
“Oh hell, no!” Leo exclaimed in glee. He grabbed Sofi’s hand and dragged her out onto the dance floor where everyone was surrounding the couple and cheering or catcalling.
“Ohh!!!”
“Go! Go! Go!”
Suddenly Do?a Fina dropped it like it was hot and everyone lost their minds.
“Oh shit! Your grandma got them Megan knees,” Leo shouted to Sofi.
Sofi was too busy laughing and shaking her head in disbelief to respond to him.
“Hey! Hey! Hey!” everyone started cheering.
Of course, that only pumped up the two attention whores on the floor.
“Oh my God,” Kamilah said from next to him. “And I thought you and Sofi were going to be the most extra couple!”
“We are,” Leo said. He looked at Sofi, who nodded.
“Just wait until they play the next bachata,” she told Kamilah. “Y’all are going to get sick of us.”
“Exactly,” Leo agreed. “If we aren’t actively making you all regret us getting together, then we aren’t doing enough.”
“Oh God,” Kamilah said. “I already regret it.”
“Too late,” Sofi said. “You should’ve thought about that before you encouraged his shenanigans.”
“I did no such thing,” Kamilah said.
“She actually threatened me if I hijacked her wedding,” Leo told Sofi.
Sofi shook her head at him. “And of course that only made you more determined to do it.”
“Well, duh. I mean, she was obviously trying to tell me to do it in a way that couldn’t get her in trouble if you hated it.”
Sofi looked at Kamilah, who suddenly turned to dance with their cousins.
“Ugh. Your sister is a pain in my ass,” Sofi grumbled.
“Tell me about it,” Leo said. “But she’s also your biggest fan.”
Sofi smiled. “And she’s my first official client, even though I did this all pro bono.”
“What do you mean ‘official client’?”
“I’m opening my own event planning company. You are looking at the founder and CEO of Sofia Maria Events . ”
“Wepa!” Leo cheered. He pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you! That’s amazing.”
She beamed at him. “What about you? What did you decide about the CFD?”
“I’m done with that. I don’t have to put my body through hell just to prove I can be successful. My new goal is to be the best manager Kane Distillery Tasting Room has ever seen, even if I’ll be the only one.”
“Look at us,” Sofi exclaimed. “We’ve only been a couple for a few hours and we’re already killing it like Jay-Z and Beyoncé.”
“Of course we are,” Leo said. He’d known they were meant to be from the moment he’d found out that Sofi’s birthday was the day after his. His new goal was to prove it every year for the rest of their lives. “Wait until they see what I have planned for our birthdays next week...sky writing may be involved.”
Sofi winced, but the twinkle in her eyes told him how she truly felt. “Oh God, I just realized that we’re two dramatic ass Leos in a relationship together. We’re going to piss everyone off.”
Leo shrugged. “Haters gonna hate.”
Sofi laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “So, about those travel books and brochures. Did you actually read them or was that all a setup for me to see when I helped Kamilah change? Because, I mean, we both know that you don’t study or make lists.”
Her smart-ass smirk made his heart race. God, he loved this woman. She’d never make anything easy for him, but that was exactly the way he wanted it. If it wasn’t a challenge then it wasn’t worth it. “I do for you, bombón,” he told her. “I do it all for you and only you.”
“Cheesy,” she accused again, but then she leaned in and kissed him until he was the one suffering from quaking baby giraffe knees.