Chapter 32
“ I was thinking,” I say after swallowing my bite of toast.
“Mh-hm?”
“You’re probably not super excited about heading to Switzerland for Christmas to be with the extended Coleman clan.”
“I’ve decided not to go.”
“Oh? Really?”
“I was doing it for my sisters, but after last night… I can accept my parents not respecting me because I’m used to it. But I won’t tolerate them disrespecting the woman I love. So, I’ll make an excuse and not go.”
Jesus Christ, every time I think I couldn’t love him more…
“Maybe you could tell them you’re spending Christmas with my family?” I suggest. “Your sisters might actually be happy about that.”
He pauses, holding his cup of coffee midair. “That’s clever. I’ll tell them that if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, no problem.” I hesitate to formulate the rest of the unhinged idea that trotted in my head all morning. That’s why I sound off when I say, “And you know, to cover our tracks, you could actually spend Christmas with my family.”
This time, he puts his mug on the counter, surprised. “You mean that?”
“You’ll have to meet them eventually, right? And Christmas with the Walkers can get a little intense, but I promise I’ll protect you.”
His face is particularly hard to read, and I don’t know if it’s incredulity or the ghost of a smile making his lips twitch. “Do you think they’d mind? ”
“Hell no. My mom has been begging me to bring you home. And my dad wants to meet you. Oh, and my abuela doesn’t believe you’re real, so it would be a good way to prove her wrong.”
Again, he’s silent for a while. “I don’t want to force you, baby,” I say carefully. “But I don’t feel good about leaving you alone on Christmas, so if you’re okay with—”
“I need to buy them some gifts,” he interrupts me, suddenly excited. “I might run a few ideas by you.”
“Nothing too expensive,” I warn him. “They’ll feel awkward otherwise.”
“They don’t have to know the price. Is your abuela more into pearls or diamonds?”
“Baby, slow down,” I say with a laugh. “Maybe we should call first to let them know.”
“Right. Good idea.”
I pick up my phone from the counter, looking for my mom in the favorites. “Put her on speaker,” Lex suggests while it rings, so I comply and set the phone between us.
“?Hola mi bebé!” she shouts when she picks up.
“Hola, Mamá.”
“I was about to call you because your father wants to know if he can throw away that old elliptical trainer you begged us to get you in high school and only used twice.”
“I used it way more than that, and you’re on speaker, Mom.”
“Oh, is it Tamika?”
“Yeah, I put you on speaker with my deaf roommate,” I reply with irony.
“?Escuincla insolente, respeta a tu madre!”
“I will when you start making sense,” I retort.
Probably sensing things are about to take a long turn, Lex steps in and says, “Good morning, Mrs. Walker. It’s great to finally meet you—or whatever this is.”
“Is that Alexander?” she practically shrieks.
“Yes.”
It takes her less than a second to transform this into a video call, proving that when she’s motivated, she does understand how technology works. I grimace as I accept it, aware that we definitely look like we got out of bed ten minutes ago—which we did. At least we both have T-shirts on.
I align the camera with us so she can have us both on her screen. I see the mix of surprise and joy when she sees Lex. “Now I see why you never want to leave Seattle to visit us,” she says in Spanish so Lex won’t understand.
“?Mamá!”
“Ay, I’m kidding,” she continues in English. “He’s very handsome.”
“And he’s right here.”
“I see that. It’s good to finally meet you, Alexander. We heard so much about you.”
“Likewise, Mrs. Walker.”
“Please, call me Isabella.”
“Mom, we were calling because we have a question,” I say, ready to rip the band-aid off. “Would you mind if I came down with Lex for Christmas?”
“Isn’t he going to Europe?”
“Not anymore, no.”
“And you want to bring him here?”
“If that’s okay,” I say. Her elation seeps through the phone as she shouts the news to the whole house. “We’ll take that as a yes,” I tell Lex with a grin.
“When are you two coming? Still on the twenty-fourth?” Mom asks, returning her attention to us.
“We have the Christmas office party tomorrow evening, so—”
“We can be there for dinner,” Lex says instead.
“Dinner today?” she asks.
“If you’ll have us, yes.”
My jaw drops at his answer while she goes off to yell the news to my dad and abuela, even more excited than before. “What are you doing?!” I whisper to Lex, putting my hand over my phone.
“The Kelex Christmas party isn’t that great.”
“But this is very sudden.”
“Meeting my family was sudden for you, too.”
“And look where that got us…” I stoically remind him.
“True. But I’ll have a clear advantage because I’ll have underwear on,” he jokes with a charming grin.
“Maybe I’ll shove a plug in your ass to even things a little.”
“What was that?” my mom asks from the phone.
“Nothing!” I quickly reply, feeling my face warm up. “I’m telling Lex tonight won’t cut it.”
“Oh, please come tonight. I’ll invite Rafa for dinner. And Kate! That way, they can both meet Alexander.”
“Kate already met him.”
“Ah, right. I’m sure she won’t mind meeting him again. So, we say tonight?”
“Mamá,” I mumble, unsure how I got myself into this.
“For the record, I’m very willing to come tonight,” Lex explains. “Your daughter is the one who doesn’t want to—Oof!” My elbow shoved in his side effectively stops him.
“Andrea Grace Walker,” my mom sighs. “What have I done to be punished with a daughter like you…”
“Okay, for tonight,” I give in, rolling my eyes. “But it won’t be early.”
“No problem! We’ll go buy some groceries so Mamá can start cooking.”
“Nothing too spicy,” I instruct.
“Ah…” My mom doesn’t even try to hide her disappointment, and I give Lex an I-told-you-so look. “I’ll tell her, but you know how she gets.”
We briefly discuss the logistics with her, and then I hang up. “There’s a chance you’ll end up eating plain rice tonight,” I warn Lex. “But that’s on you.”
“I love plain rice,” he shrugs.
I shake my head with a giggle, and Lex moves closer, pressing his front to my back as he wraps an arm around me. “We’re really doing this. You’re meeting my family.”
“And I can’t wait. I’ll finally see where you come from, my perfect dork.”
“Well, Christmas has got to be the worst season for that. My mom turns into a controlling maniac, and my dad’s bad humor peaks. Only my abuela doesn’t change because she’s fantastic like that.”
“After a lifetime with my family, I’m sure I can handle yours.”
I nod, resting my hands on his muscular forearm. It’ll be okay, yes. My family is amazing, Lex is amazing… It’s just a bunch of amazing people meeting up. Nothing can go wrong.
When he starts dropping small and amorous kisses on my neck and shoulders, I feel compelled to tell him, “You realize this means we’re not having sex for five days, right?”
“What? Why?”
“Because we’re leaving today, and my parents are throwing a party for their thirtieth anniversary on the twenty-sixth, which you can skip if you want, but I’ll have to stay, so that’s five whole days without sex.”
“Are we sleeping in the living room or something?”
“No, of course not. But I’m not having sex in my parents’ house.”
He huffs behind me. “Why?”
“It’s weird. My abuela’s room is just next to mine. And it feels disrespectful to get railed under the roof they raised me in. ”
“I’m confident the roof couldn’t give two shits about your sex life, Andrea Grace Walker.”
“You didn’t miss that, eh?”
“I miss nothing.”
“You’ll miss sex for five days. And you can blame your blue balls on yourself.”
“Andrea, you literally sucked my cock in the limousine on our way back yesterday, but this is where you draw the line?”
Something flutters in my stomach at the reminder. I did owe him a free blow job, and when would I ever get to do that in a limo again? “We finally found one of my boundaries,” I joke.
I’m about to free myself from his hold when he pulls my T-shirt up. When he reaches to lower my underwear, I ask, “What are you doing?”
“If I can’t fuck you for the next five days, I’m having you as much as I can right now.”
I twist my way out of his embrace. “Nuh-uh. I have a million things to do today because we have to be there tonight, and none of them include sex with you.” His muddled face is somehow endearing. He’s good at getting whatever he wants, but not this time. “Anyway, don’t you have gifts to buy, Alexander whatever Coleman?”
“Julius Louis.”
“What?”
“Alexander Julius Louis Coleman.”
I stare at him with a suspicious frown. “Are you serious?”
“Alexander is for the Macedonian conqueror, Julius is for the Roman emperors, and Louis is for the French kings—even though it’s all pronounced the American way.”
“Holy crap, your parents really knew what they were doing when they named you. It sounds so hot.”
“I think they expected me to be more successful than attractive, but… thank you?”
“You’re widely successful, baby. Fuck whatever they think.”
When he tries to turn my encouraging kiss into something more, I writhe away from him with a laugh. “Not today, Satan,” I let out as I walk back to his bedroom.
I really have too much to do for his shenanigans. And even though I fought it a little, I’m really impatient for my parents to meet him tonight.
They’ll adore him, I’m sure of it.
T he drive to Portland is smooth, and the lack of holiday traffic was another good reason for us to head down this early. Kevin wasn’t delighted about me skipping the Kelex Christmas party, but when I told him it was to meet Andrea’s family, all his protests died at once.
Andrea is still slightly annoyed at me, though, disliking how much she had to rush to prepare everything in time. Thankfully, she’d already handled everyone’s gifts, so contrary to me, that was one less thing she had to take care of. She spent the three-hour drive telling me about her folks and what to expect, recounting tales of her childhood.
We couldn’t have had a more different upbringing, and by the time we arrive, I’m a little worried the loving and protective Walkers won’t think I’m a good match for their incredible daughter. We need at least one of our families to accept us, or it’ll complicate the rest of our lives.
“Okay, the trip was a lot more comfortable in your car than mine,” she says as I park in her parents’ driveway.
My lips twitch with a smile. “Anything’s more comfortable than your rusty sarcophagus, Andrea.”
“Don’t diss the Ford. It’s been a valiant companion for ten years.”
“More like fifty.”
She’s still laughing as she gets out of the car. Fuck, I should have gone out and opened the door for her in case her parents are spying from a window. I rush out to open the trunk before she can, pick up her bag and mine with one hand, and the large shopping bag full of gifts. She only has a small one to carry, which I think will compensate for not opening her door.
“I still maintain you didn’t have to shave,” she says with a pout once the trunk is closed. “I miss your stubble.”
“I wanted to look younger.”
“They know you just turned thirty-five, and they don’t care, baby.”
As we walk up the illuminated paved way toward the overly decorated house, I can’t help but say, “Your parents are really into Christmas.”
“Warned you.”
We reach the door and take a moment to gather our courage. “Are you ready?” I ask.
She nods, and I’m about to push the doorbell when she stops me. “Wait, before we go in, I have something I need to confess.”
Now?! Seconds before seeing her parents? “What? ”
“The bag of potato chips didn’t disappear from your cupboard. I ate it and then got rid of the evidence.”
I laugh in disbelief. “You cunning little raccoon… I thought I was going cra—”
The door opens wide, and behind it, Andrea’s mom is eagerly smiling at us, wearing a Mrs. Claus apron. “Will you two stay out here the whole night?!” she excitedly asks.
Shit, I don’t think I’m ready for this. Not according to the ball of stress sitting in my guts.
“Hi, Mom,” Andrea answers with a grin.
“Hi, pollito! Come in! Come in!”
Moving to the side, she lets us in and hugs Andrea tightly. I’ve just put the bags down when she moves on to me, giving me a similarly intense embrace. Andrea warned me that her mom could be handsy like this, but I think I now understand why touch is such an important love language for her. Unused to such displays of affection, especially from a perfect stranger, I hesitate on what to do and decide to wrap an arm around her and pat her back. She smells like gingerbread, which is oddly comforting.
“I’m so happy you guys could make it,” she says, still holding me tightly. “Welcome, Alexander.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Walker. We’re happy to be here, too.”
“I’m Isabella to you, mijo .”
“Alright, you can release him now,” Andrea intervenes.
Her mom complies and closes the door before helping us remove our scarves and coats.
“I hope the drive was fine,” she says.
“Yeah, all good. Lex’s car is super nice.”
“Any car is nicer than yours, Deedee. When are you getting a new one?”
This is definitely a sentiment I share, so I say, “I’ve been telling her she needs to get rid of that rolling coffin.”
“Rolling coffin sounds about right. Listen to him, puerquita .”
“Okay, we’re so not doing that,” Andrea protests. “You made me,” she tells her mom before turning to me, “and you love me, so you two have no business ganging up on me like that. Especially not on Christmas .”
Her mom rolls her eyes, something I often see with Andrea. “Come on, everyone is having a drink in the living room.”
We leave our things in the entryway and follow her. My hand finds Andrea’s, and I entwine our fingers together, needing some of her unwavering strength .
“Here they are!” Isabella announces. Of the four people there, I only recognize Andrea’s friend, Katherine Knox—whom I met while acquiring her app. But I easily identify Andrea’s brother next to her, as well as her father and abuela.
“Hi, everyone!” she greets them. “This is Alexander. Lex, this is Michael, my dad. Maria Carmen, my abuela. You’ve already met Kate. And that’s Rafael, my brother. Oh, and my mom, Isabella, who didn’t let me do this before jumping you.”
“It’s a pleasure meeting all of you,” I say, signing the words for Rafael. “Thank you for having me on such short notice.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s our pleasure,” Isabella insists.
Everyone stands to welcome us, and Andrea gets hugs while I get friendly handshakes. Even though I’m taller and broader than her father, it isn’t lost on me that he tries to assert some authority as he salutes me. I also notice the looks her abuela gives her, finally getting the confirmation that I am, in fact, real.
When we all sit, I find myself away from Andrea, on the small couch with her father while she’s on the big one with Katherine and her mom. Fuck .
“So, Alexander, I’m told you’re a brilliant programmer,” her father says, more inquisitive than assertive.
“I’m almost as good as your daughter.”
“She told me you were far better than her.”
I shake my head, glimpsing at my woman and her big, vibrant smile as she talks to her best friend. “Andrea is better than me on every level, sir, and I want you to know I’m aware of that.”
“She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
“She’s sensational.”
“I agree. Which is why I’m wondering why any man would break her heart like you did.”
Shit, he doesn’t hold back, does he? But I did break his precious daughter’s heart once, and while she’s forgiven me for it, I suppose it’s only fair her family does, too.
“For reasons of my own, I didn’t feel deserving of her,” I candidly explain. “I thought I was sparing her by ending things, allowing her to find someone better than me, someone who could be as incredible as she is. And for reasons of her own, she thinks I am, so she came back and fought for me, for us.”
“She’s a stubborn one, isn’t she?”
I nod, looking at Andrea again and how utterly happy she seems. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t regret what I did, Mr. Walker. And there will not be another day where I don’t atone for it. And you know your daughter; she’s strong and independent. She wouldn’t stay with me if she had any doubt about that.”
“That’s the Ibanez women’s trademark,” he says with a nod. “Their love has to be earned, but once it’s given, it’s absolute.”
“What was it like, marrying one?”
“It wasn’t roses and rainbows every day, but we’re celebrating thirty years in a few days, and… there isn’t a single day I’d want to erase,” he explains, looking at his wife. “But maybe you’ll find out one day,” he adds.
“I hope to.”
I feel his eyes on me as I keep mine on Andrea. We know this is real, and we both hope it’ll last forever, but the idea of marrying her one day feels less and less like a distant, unattainable dream. I will marry this woman, and the man next to me will walk her down the aisle.
“I grew up in North Idaho,” her father begins out of the blue, “and the views there are… not good. I was the only one in my family who moved away for university here in Portland, and it changed my entire perception of things. The racist and bigoted mindset I grew up with became abhorrent to me, especially when I fell in love with Isa. My family disapproved of her, but I thought I could change their mind over time, just like mine had. It wasn’t easy on her,” he recalls, his voice tightening with guilt. “And looking back on it, I’m so sorry for what I made her endure. Then we had Rafa, and I hoped that meeting their grandson would finally change their perception of things, you know? But they blamed the fact that he was deaf on the ‘inferiority of his blood.’”
Mr. Walker gets emotional, looking at his son with something that resembles an apology. Rafael is talking with his mother in what must be Mexican Sign Language since I don’t recognize the signs. “They held my perfect baby boy, and that was all they could see. That’s when I knew they’d never change, so I took my son, my wife, and walked away forever. I cut them off completely and focused on my actual family instead.”
He looks at me with intensity to ask, “So, allow me to ask you, Alexander… What are you willing to sacrifice for my daughter?”
The contrast between him and my father is so striking that I don’t answer immediately. While mine tried to chase Andrea away for his selfish interests, hers only wants to ensure I’m worthy and won’t hurt her again.
“Everything,” I eventually answer. “There isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t give up for her. And she knows it.”
He studies me momentarily, as if assessing how much I mean it. A slight grin tugs at the corners of his mouth as he nods. “I like you, Alexander,” he says, patting my knee. “My peanut chose well. ”
When I look at her again, the peanut in question has her eyes on me. Discreetly, she signs, “Do you want me to come save you?” I shake my head, touched by her offer.
Oblivious to our exchange, her father then says, “So, tell me about how you started Kelex. We’re big fans of your apps in this household.”
I comply and explain the genesis of the company we built with Kev, glad that the ice was broken in less than ten minutes. It’s rare for me.
Maybe, just maybe, Andrea’s family will accept me as much as she has. And if it happens, then I’ll have found it. My safe haven.
I ’m not sure what Lex is talking about with my dad, but it looks like things are going well, so I try not to worry about it. When Mom leaves to check on MC in the kitchen, I turn to Kate and ask, “So, any news on that guy you’re dating? Is it still going well?”
“Very much so, yes.”
“When will you stop hiding him and introduce us,” I press.
She shifts on the couch, visibly uneasy. “Not quite yet, Dee.”
“Are you dating a celebrity or something?”
She giggles at the idea. “God, no.”
“Then what’s up with the secrecy?”
“It’s … complicated.”
“You’re being weird, you know that, right?”
“Yes, sorry. It’s very different from the other guys I’ve dated. I’m just trying to do things the right way.”
“You do you, babe. But I really want to meet him.”
“Soon, I promise.”
I have in mind to harass her a little when Mom returns to the room to announce we’re eating. We all move into action, knowing how my abuela gets when we don’t respect the meal she spent all day preparing.
As we walk to the dining room, I discreetly ask my mom, “So, what do you think of Lex?”
“My grandchildren will be beautiful.”
“ ?Por dios, Mamá! It’s an obsession!” I scold, seeing her cheeky smile too late.
“I’m teasing you, pollito . He seems like a very interesting man.”
“He really is.”
MC is setting down a beautifully glazed lamb leg in the middle of the table when we arrive. “Alexander, mijo , you’re here,” my mom instructs. “ Andrea, you’re next to him. Mi amor, you go here with me. Mamá, you’re there. Where are Rafa and Kate?”
“They’re right behind us,” my dad says.
“I’ll get them,” I offer.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be here any minute.”
“It’s okay, I forgot my phone, anyway.”
As I approach the living room, I hear Kate giggle. When I pass the door frame, my jaw drops. Kate and Rafa are hugging tightly, his hand resting on her jean-clad ass, her arms thrown around his neck. It takes Rafael bending to kiss her for my brain to finally understand what’s happening.
This is why Kate won’t tell me about her mystery guy. She’s dating my brother .
I can’t hold back the mix of rage and disgust that takes over me as I utter, “What the fuck?!”