Chapter Sixteen #3
“Oh.” I pressed my lips together, overcome with surprise. “That means so much coming from you.”
And it did. Olivia was a highly sought-after pediatric gastroenterologist who specialized in treating autistic children.
Why she gave my brother the time of day when he offered to buy her a drink at an event hosted by the hospital they were both completing their residency at I’ll never know.
Olivia was way out of Javi’s league, and he knew it.
It was a good thing he was funny. Still, knowing Olivia thought the Matildas were something special made me feel weightless.
Thinking of my brother made me ask, “Does Javi know?”
“Do I know you have a secret identity educating the ignorant and willfully stupid masses about the amazing women who’ve helped make our world a better place?
” Javi playfully shoved me before he reeled me back into his side.
“Yeah, I know. I know everything.” Olivia and I both groaned in unison at his cocky tone.
“He only knows about the videos because he caught me watching one,” my sister-in-law explained.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Glancing at his wife, Javi shook his head. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us. And then I had to find out about your marketing job from Papí.”
I rounded on my father with a snarl. “You told them about Desert Media 360?”
Papí’s complexion turned florid. “I didn’t mean to. It just came out.”
“Sure it did.” I rolled my eyes. “No secret is safe in this family.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to tell Javi and Olivia about your series?” My mother’s stare turned gimlet. “Why are you so determined to keep it a secret?”
The back of my neck felt hot. “Just because I’m not cursed with this family’s incurable case of verbal diarrhea doesn’t mean I’m being secretive.”
Now it was the rest of the family’s turn to groan.
The evening unfurled in the comfortable and casual way that only family dinners can.
I told Javi what had happened with my marketing job and how my TikTok series was born, and he told me about a case he’d been working that he was thinking about writing a paper on.
In our natural order of things, we eventually turned our attention to Mamí, who endured our teasing with an exasperated but fond smile.
Olivia and Papí sat nearby, quietly discussing the clinical trials Olivia and her team were conducting on the ways in which imbalanced gut biome levels may affect maladaptive behaviors in autistic children.
We often joked that they were the two scientists of the family because they liked to chat about their research or the latest scientific paper they had read.
Propping my hip against the countertop, I surveyed the room while I drank a glass of water. All the people I loved most were in this room, and I realized I had smiled more in the last two hours than I had in weeks.
At least since I had encountered Alex and Camila on Camelback Mountain.
“So who’s this Alex guy who will be here tomorrow for Nochebuena?” Javi voiced suddenly, a margarita dangling from his fingers.
As if scripted, my mother and father both turned their gazes to me.
“Oh, um.” I took a sip of water to soothe my dry throat. “He’s a friend. He’s also dating Caitlin.”
Olivia’s brows dipped imperceptibly, but my brother frowned outright. “Is Caitlin going to be here?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
Javi’s frown deepened. “If she’s not here, why is he going to be? Why wouldn’t they spend Christmas together?”
A question I’d pondered many times.
I flourished a hand. “Like I said, Alex and I are friends. He doesn’t have any family here in Arizona, and you know Caitlin is always traveling for her job.”
“Do I know that?” Javi scoffed and glanced at Olivia. My sister-in-law arched a brow in response. “Whatever. I guess I just don’t get why he’d want to spend Christmas with his girlfriend’s best friend instead of his girlfriend.”
The weight of the room’s many gazes was suffocating, and I struggled to maintain my composure. Suddenly I wished I was drinking something—anything—stronger than water.
“He’s spending Nochebuena with us. There’s a difference.” Mamí emphasized this point by throwing her hands wide. “Alex is a nice young man who wants to connect with his Puerto Rican roots, and we can help him do that.”
“Plus, he works for the Phoenix Scorpions,” Papí said casually, taking a sip from his glass. “Maybe he can get you a ticket.”
“He does?” Javi and Olivia said in unison.
My father nodded, smug as a cat who got the cream.
“You can’t like Alex just because he works for a professional sports team,” I exclaimed, glowering.
Javi took an exaggerated sip from his margarita. “Sure I can. I’m the oldest and only son in a Latino family, and I’m a doctor. We both know that makes me a prince among men.”
“You’re also an ass,” Olivia remarked, staring at him over the top of her water glass.
“Yeah, he is,” I agreed.
My brother shrugged, a taunting smile on his lips. “And you both love me for it.”
I released a long, tortured sigh. I hated that he was right.