Chapter 30
THIRTY
you also found your pickle
Alice
I wake slowly, taking stock of the position I’m in to make sure it’s not going to cause my neck or shoulders any pain, but when I try to move, I can’t. I’m trapped under a very warm, very naked, and very cuddly Arthur.
“Too early, tesouro. Go back to sleep.” Geez, his morning voice might be my new favorite sound.
“That’s rich coming from the guy up at four in the morning nearly every day.” I snuggle into him, and he hums happily.
“It’s Sunday. I wanna stay in bed with my girl and snuggle.” My brain snags on those two words.
My girl.
But not for long, because Luther comes in, puts his front paws on the bed, and lays his head on Arthur’s pillow, panting into his face.
“Buddy, I love ya, but seriously?” Luther answers him with a lick to the face, and I laugh at these two silly boys who feel more like home than any place I’ve ever been.
“Ugh. Fine.” He kisses the top of my head and slides away from me.
“I’ll get up, too. I can let him out if you make the coffee?” Just when I think I’m about to avoid any awkward, potentially gross morning breath, he leans down and kisses me. And it’s not awkward or gross. It’s amazing, because it’s Arthur.
“Sounds like you know who makes a better cup of coffee in this house.” He kisses the tip of my nose and stands in all his naked glory.
After pulling on a pair of sweats, he takes a fresh shirt out of his closet and leaves it at the foot of the bed for me.
I have the insatiable urge to squeal and kick my legs,.
How is this my real life right now?
The morning was quiet, both of us feeling the pressure building as the minutes ticked by.
And now, as we pull into a long driveway, Arthur’s grip on the steering wheel tightens to the point that his knuckles turn white.
I place a hand on his thigh, and when he puts the truck in park, I unbuckle my seatbelt and slide closer to him.
“You can do this.” I kiss his cheek and he nods, swallowing hard.
He opens the driver’s door, slipping out and then reaching for me to help me out through the same side.
We grab Cece’s gifts out of the back seat and walk slowly to the front door, which is wide open.
As we step inside, there’s chatter coming from the back of the house, and as we take our shoes off, a gorgeous woman walks down the stairs.
When her eyes land on Arthur, she runs down the final few stairs, practically lunging at him.
“Mano,” she yelps. “You came!” She pries herself off him and jumps a few times. “This is the best day ever!” Facing me, she smiles brightly, the same dark eyes as Arthur’s shining back at me. “Hi, I’m Dani. Little sister,” she says, pointing to Arthur with her thumb.
“I’m Alice. It’s so nice to meet you, Dani.” I extend a hand, but she wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
“Thanks for coming with him,” she whispers so only I can hear. Oh boy, I think I like her already. “All right, come on! Cece’s been talking about you coming for days.” She takes my hand, pulling me into the house, and Arthur follows closely behind.
“Cece!” Dani calls out. “Ceciliaaaa,” she tries again. “Ana Cecilia Machado, get your butt in here!”
The birthday girl emerges from another room, a book in hand, looking like she’s about to give her aunt sass, until she sees me and Arthur.
“You’re here!” Cece rushes to us, hugging Arthur around the legs, then looking up at me. “Hi, Miss Alice. Thanks for coming to my party. Do you want to come see all the desserts Bisa and Vó made for today?”
“Hey, I helped, too,” Dani interjects, making me laugh.
“I’d love to, Cece.” I look back at Arthur, who nods, letting me know it’s okay to go as he stays back with Dani.
Cece gives me the rundown on the Brazilian goodies laid out on the dining room table that I absolutely cannot wait to try. As she finishes, I notice we have an audience. The couple, who could only be Arthur’s parents, smile at us from the doorway.
“Good work, Cecilia. Would you like to introduce us to your friend?” the man with a full head of salt-and-pepper hair asks.
“Vó, V?, this is Miss Alice, my teacher at the ranch. I’m gonna go get Pickle.” She walks out of the room, leaving me alone with her grandparents.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Machado. It’s great to meet you. I’m Alice Preece.” I extend a hand to Arthur’s mom first, and she takes it, wrapping both of her hands around mine.
“Alice. It’s so good to meet you. Gabriel and Cece have said wonderful things about you.” Her slight accent is endearing, and I love the way she says Gabriel. “And please, it’s Andrea.” She pats my hand before letting it go, and I reach for her husband, who gives me a hearty shake.
“Thanks for coming today, Alice. It means a lot to Cece. And please, call me Ivan.” His kind smile eases some of the concern I had about him not being open to Arthur coming today.
“Can we get you something to eat or drink?” He extends his hand toward the kitchen behind him and Andrea.
“Our sons are vultures, so you might as well get to the food before they obliterate it all.” He laughs, and the tenderness in his voice when he speaks about his children is apparent, but I wonder if he’s including Arthur in that statement.
In the kitchen, Arthur is at the table with his grandmother, laughing at something she said, but when he looks up and sees his parents, his joy immediately falls away.
He stands, clearing his throat. “M?e. Pai.” He nods to his parents, and Ivan blows out a heavy breath while Andrea walks across the room to embrace her son.
Every person in here is acutely aware of the weight of the tension around us.
Another man with a boyish face claps his hands. “Bro! I’m so fucking happy you’re here.” He slaps Arthur’s back as he hugs him.
“That’s five bucks, Tio Gustavo!” Cece pipes up from her spot at the table.
“Ce, I bought you a really nice present. Can’t I skip paying into the swear fund for one day?” Gustavo pleads with his niece.
“Nope,” she answers, popping the ‘‘p’ and not taking her eyes off her plate of cheese and crackers.
He groans, patting his back pockets. “Put it on my tab, kid.” Turning to me, the dangerously adorable smile is back on his face.
“You’ve gotta be Alice. I’m Gustavo, the best-looking Machado brother.
” He winks at me, and Arthur clears his throat next to him, though it sounds more like a growl.
“Oh, my bad, Art.” They exchange a look, then Arthur takes a plate and begins quietly putting some food on it.
Grapes, cheese, meat, fresh bread, and some little round things I don’t recognize, but look delicious.
He walks to me and hands me the plate. “I suggest you grab anything else you might want before the vultures attack. I know Marcelo is around here somewhere waiting to pounce.”
“What did I tell you, Alice? Vultures.” Ivan chuckles, but the sound dies when his eyes meet Arthur’s, realizing they’ve both said the same thing.
“Do you want anything to drink? I’m gonna get some water,” Arthur whispers to me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The motion seems to soothe him as much as it does me.
“Water is great. Thank you.” I lean into his touch, making sure to lock eyes with him for a moment. When we do, his face softens, his lopsided smile making an appearance before he steps away to get our drinks.
“It’s really wonderful to see Arthur looking so settled.
So happy,” Andrea says from behind me. I turn to look at her as she watches her eldest son with watery eyes.
“He deserves so much happiness, after everything he’s gone through.
And I can tell he’s very happy being near you.
” She reaches out to squeeze my elbow. “I know we’ve only just met, and I’m sure you probably have an idea about the difficult relationship Arthur has with his father right now, but as his mother, I can see he’s different.
And before I miss the chance to say it, I want to do it now.
Thank you.” She pulls me into a hug then.
It’s quick, but tight, complete with a little extra squeeze at the end.
Just like her mother’s. I focus on keeping my plate upright rather than the chaos of emotions warring inside my head.
I expected this to be awkward, hard, uncomfortable, not quite so natural, easy, and comforting.
As we sit around the chairs outside, there is no shortage of embarrassing stories being shared between siblings. Charlie fills me in on a few family details as they all talk over each other, and she eventually asks me if I want to take a break from the chaos. It’s an easy yes.
We walk to a nearby pond in silence, and when we reach a bench, she sits first, leaving more than enough room for me to join her.
“They are the best people, and I love them all dearly, but they are so bloody loud.” Charlie looks out at the water as she speaks. “I hope you know you’ve been welcomed into the fold, Alice. Dani won’t shut up about you, and the boys think you’re pretty damn cool.”
“Oh.” It’s the only response I can come up with.
“I know. It’s a lot. They love hard and fast, those Machados.” There’s a wistful smile on her face as she’s undoubtedly talking about Rafael, too.
There’s some rustling behind us, and Cece approaches with her stuffed pickle. “Hi. Miss Alice, do you like our quiet spot?”
“It’s gorgeous, Cece.”
“You can come here anytime you need some quiet, too.” She fiddles with the stuffy, keeping her eyes low.
“Thank you. And so you know, you don’t have to call me Miss. It can just be Alice.”
“Okay,” she says as a tiny smile pulls at the corners of her lips.
“And one day I’ll get to call you Tia, too, since you also found your pickle.
” I don’t understand what she means, but Charlie seems to, as she clears her throat next to me.
Cece’s brows furrow as she continues, “I’m not sure if Tio Arthur knows he’s your pickle yet.
He seems sad today He’s talking to V? in the living room now, and they both sounded not happy.
That’s why I came here.” Her words have me instantly pushing to my feet, and I look at Charlie.
I need to move quickly, but I hate to leave Cece like this.
“Go. I’ve got this.” Charlie sends me off with a nod, and I take off running toward the house. When I reach the kitchen, everyone is there, quietly setting the table or preparing something, while elevated voices come from the next room. I can’t make out the words, but the tone isn’t friendly.
“You shouldn’t be here, Arthur.” This time, Ivan’s voice is crystal clear, even through the wall.
I look around, wondering if anyone is going to do something, and when they don’t, I don’t ask for permission. I leave the kitchen and walk into the living room.
I hardly recognize the man I’ve come to know so intimately. He’s practically curling in on himself, making himself smaller and smaller with every word his father says.
I can’t stand here and do nothing.
I promised to support him, so that’s exactly what I’m about to do.