Yours, For Good (Cozy Latine Billionaires #4)

41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Javier

Nora wasn't in the kitchen when I made it downstairs… but my friends were.

Jake, Gabe, and Max gathered around the kitchen island. They ate and drank coffee, chatting away the morning. Max wore slacks and a dress shirt as usual, while Gabe and Jake dressed more casually.

In my jeans, flip-flops, and button up, I halted at the sight of them. Even in my post-orgasm serenity, they looked suspicious. Especially when they all turned and gazed at me with focused precision.

I squinted.

"Good morning, Javi." Max's smile was devilish. "May I offer you some coffee?"

"Come sit here with us, Javi." Gabe pointed at an empty barstool between him and Jake.

I didn't approach the kitchen island, but Max didn't let it stop him. He ran an espresso for me and made it into a latte.

"I'm an expert at this now," he said, "which is to be expected, married to someone in the trade."

I snorted. "What are you all planning?"

"Nora is outside." Jake gave me a placid smile. "She's chatting with our better halves. We thought it was the ideal opportunity to… inquire how things are going."

I glanced through the large window, to find the four women we'd fallen in— we were with, all together with coffee mugs in their hands and smiles on their faces. Chatting a mile a minute, from what I could see.

"Things are alright." I took the mug Max offered. "Thank you. I'll just make myself a sandwich and go out and…"

"No, no need," Jake said. "I'll make you something. Come sit with us."

I resisted for a second longer, while I watched the ginger giant collect cheese, deli meat, and a fresh bun. Gabe took an avocado from a bowl, and started the process of cutting and removing the pit— experience taught me he would mash it up, add a bit of salt and lemon, and spread it on the bread.

The procedure would take a few minutes. I was trapped.

I sighed and, mug in hand, sat on the barstool designated for my ass. "I assume this is the interrogation you've been threatening me with."

"Not at all!" Max leaned on the kitchen island with a hand on the white stone, the angle of his body suggesting his legs were crossed at the ankles. He casually sipped from his coffee. "We are good friends who seek to support you in this difficult time."

"How are things going on with Nora?" Jake asked.

"Your texts have been… sparse, in this one regard." Gabe arched an eyebrow, challenging me to open up.

He scooped the green flesh out of its thick skin, and dropped both halves on the plate. Fork in hand, he proceeded to purée it. That's where my eyes latched on, as I shared more with my friends.

"Things are… ambiguous," I said. "Everything feels amazing, but the end is not certain."

"You shared that she is not convinced about going the distance." Gabe kept on mashing everything thoroughly. "Is that what you mean?"

I nodded. "She's scared of the unknowns. That something unpredictable will happen to break us up or… well."

I sipped from my coffee again. It wasn't my place to share about Nora's mom.

My friends' attention remained closely set on me, even as Gabe finally deemed the avocado puréed enough and sprinkled salt on it.

"Or that I could die early," I finally said, "because things like that happen. She's grieved hard before and, the closer we get, the worse that grief would be if it ends. It makes sense she doesn't want to go through it again, especially after what I did."

The frown on Max's brow looked slightly out of place, on his always-happy face. "Grief is inevitable, so shouldn't we make sure to love harder for it?"

I gazed down at the dark pool of my drink, and the distorted reflection of light on its surface. A familiar ache creeped into my heart— it was the yearning I felt for Nora, whenever I confronted the fact she may not choose me over her fear. It was a desperate cry, ready to beg her to reconsider.

"I can't make that choice for her," I admitted. "If she says no, I have to let her go. Especially after failing her. I don't think she's forgiven me yet."

My friends remained quiet for a few seconds. Even the way Gabe cut a lemon in half and squeezed juice on the avocado seemed thoughtful.

He mixed the avocado and lemon. "So basically, you're in a pseudo relationship— we've seen you together— and waiting to see if she'll make the jump."

"Waiting is what I can do— not pressure her," I said.

"That's not enough of a grand gesture." Jake frowned, took the avocado from Gabe, and spread it on bread. "You're groveling! You have to do something that's a clear indication that you listen, that you care, that you're prioritizing her ."

The three of us stared at him for three confused seconds.

Jake caught us watching him, and snorted. "Didn't I tell you? I read romance books now. Mostly with my ears. Vi hooked me and taught me all the lingo. When the hero fucks up, groveling is how he gets the heroine back. It should be more active than waiting ."

"I've tried a few things…" my voice was slightly defensive, and I cleared my throat. "I gave her my journals to read. Sent her emails… I let her in, shared every raw fiber in my heart…"

I rubbed my forehead, words dying on my tongue. Listed like that, it didn't seem like I had done much.

Jake finished making my sandwich. He slid the plate in front of me, but I didn't have it in me to eat at the moment.

"Hey." Max drew my attention with the assertive sound. "These are big things for you. Your journals, reaching out, opening up— these don't come naturally to you. Doing it was the act of love we're talking about. We just need to get creative with how to drive the point forward…"

"Waiting is also doing something," Gabe added. "It's still a verb. But maybe you need something a bit more active, too."

Jake nodded. "She needs to know with no shadow of a doubt that you love her. Have you told her? You also have to show her."

I shook my head. "Told her? That I love her? I'm probably closer than I think to love-love, but—"

This time, all three of my friends shifted their stunned gazes at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm not one to tell people how they feel," Max said, "but I'm pretty sure you love her."

My head snapped back.

Jake landed a large, heavy hand on my shoulder. "You know how you all spent ten business days teasing me via text, after the anniversary party? You said it was clear as day that Vi and I had feelings for each other, and had been counting down the days until we got together. Looking at you and Nora, I finally understand what you mean by it being obvious."

I blinked in slow motion. For years I had wondered what it felt like to be in love. I had questioned my grandmother. Inspected myself and found my heart lacking. But now I knew I could feel intensely, and that my emotions for Nora ran deep, and that if I never saw her again my heart would break…

When big revelations hit me like this, people told me I paled. It may not have been physically possible, but I felt my blood leave my body and cascade out of me.

"Excuse you," Max complained to Jake. "I would like to have it noted that my love for my wife is just as obvious."

"It is." Jake rolled his eyes. "And same with Gabe. But you two are officially together and deeply in love with Eva and Lina— respectively. I'm just pointing out that Javi and Nora are not together-together. We're currently watching them be in love without officially being a couple."

"Holy shit," I whispered.

Tremors ran deep under my skin. My grandmother said I'd know I loved someone when it pushed me out of my comfort zone and I gladly stretched myself beyond my reach. That when heartbreak wasn't enough to change my feelings, that person had landed there to stay.

I had been looking for those signs so narrowly, I had missed what I already knew. That what I felt for Nora was love like I never understood it. Not until she came into my life.

My heart swelled, beating erratically for a few moments. My friends' attention snapped to me once more. Smiles took over their faces at varying speeds, until the three of them gazed at me with knowing eyes and brilliant grins.

"He got it." Max's voice was full of excitement. "I might cry. It finally happened, and I was here to witness it."

"It's not that my grandmother was wrong," I argued nonsensically. It didn't matter. The words spilled out of me. "I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone— happily. And Nora has my heart in her hands and could break it to pieces, and it wouldn't change how I feel."

"Those things confirm what you already felt, even if you didn't realize it." Gabe's smile only grew, even as his voice remained his usual calm, warm tone. "But those are not love itself. Love is this thing glowing in your chest that says, your happiness is my happiness . That's love."

"But I care about your guys' happiness too," I argued. "And I love you. But this feeling—" I waved my hand over my chest, very much like I did at the anniversary party— "it feels different. I just can't explain how. For a while, I let that confuse me but— I love her."

"And that's why artists will always have a target market." Max sipped from his coffee again. "But now that we've established you love her, should we figure out how you're going to show her?"