Yours, For Good (Cozy Latine Billionaires #4)

42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Nora

"We all know my husband can be exuberant," Eva said, "but I need your opinion on this one. I feel like I need to draw a line in the sand with his latest grand idea."

She, Lina, Violeta, and I sat outside, coffee in hand, living our best life. It was easy to talk to them and feel like I was part of their group; they treated me no differently than they treated each other. That plus the warm morning sun on my skin, the gentle, cool breeze playing with our hair, and some of the best coffee I'd ever had, well…

This seemed very much like my wildest friendship dreams.

"What did he come up with this time?" Vi asked.

"You know he bought us my favorite house in our small town. We renovated it and made it perfect—"

"You have to see it, Nora," Lina said. "It's gorgeous inside and out— classic Craftsman touches everywhere, but with a contemporary slant, and a view of the ocean and their town that's just— wow."

"Oh, yeah, please—" Eva made a reassuring type of gesture with her hand— "we'd love to have you there. We like having the lot of you over, which is precisely part of the issue."

The conversation continued, as if their casual invitation didn't involve further welcoming me into the group. As if it didn't imply I had the kind of future with Javier, where flying across the country and parachuting into a close friend's house was a given .

It's what I had always hoped for in my life, even if that hadn't included a partner of my own. It's what I was building with Sally, too; she had invited me to stay with her for a couple of weeks, and I was planning to go and visit with her and her family. But I wasn't at the casual level of closeness this group invited me into.

"Max— I love him to death," Eva continued, "but he's simply overdoing it. He wants to make an offer to our neighbors to buy their house. He envisions turning it into a guest house with a bridge connecting it to our house—"

We all laughed at her description.

She chuckled in a half-contained cackle of her own. "He's already talking about having babies and even though I unequivocally told him he'd have to wait longer for that, he says there's no harm in planning. That we'll need more room once our kids use the rooms we currently have for guests, and wouldn't it make it easier to host all of you at once— including your parents, Vi— and I just…"

She sighed, even as she smiled wide at her husband's shenanigans.

"Definitely draw a line in the sand," Vi said. "We make do with no issues with the space you already have."

Lina lifted her mug as if for a toast. "Let him keep an eye on the prize— house and kids-wise. He can tell his realtor to check often and if the house goes on sale, that's one thing. Otherwise, he can wait."

They turned to me as if to see if I would add my two cents, and an internal scream may have popped out of nowhere in my head at the pressure of saying the right thing, but I camouflaged it behind a smile.

Everyone was kind here and eager to get to know me. I had no doubts. So maybe if I was brave enough to take their offer of friendship…

I shrugged. "Let your neighbors live in their home until they're ready to move. Otherwise it's such a waste to have a house sitting empty most of the time."

"That's what I'm saying!" Eva exclaimed. "Still, you should come visit us, Nora. See everything with your own eyes. That is, if… well."

She frowned, and the smile she'd carried while talking about Max was replaced by a more distant look.

"That is… what?" I asked.

Eva hesitated, but Vi didn't seem to have the same scruples.

"Eva is more private than most of us, but I think I know what she's thinking. It's the same thing we're all thinking."

A warning light flashed in my mind, but I didn't have time to understand it.

Lina's mouth quirked on one side. "We're wondering if we're going to see you again."

That's what my unconscious had predicted would happen, and tried to prepare me for. Javier's found family was open, direct, and truly curious of one another. Even if someone was a temporary visitor, like I might yet be— or maybe not— likely not, but still could— they cared about those in their midst.

I cast my eyes to my coffee, a mild overwhelm twisting my guts at Lina's question.

"Maybe you will see me," I said. "But there's a chance you won't. I can't be the first partner you met who thought they might stick around, only to find they didn't. I'm sure some of the guys dated someone with whom it didn't work out."

"Every single one of them, yes." Vi laughed. "Having met Jake when I was six years old, I had to see him date other people. It sucked. Then again, he had to see me date other people, too."

Lina ran her fingers through her long hair. "Gabe was almost engaged once. If you ask his ex, anyway. And I've dated plenty myself."

"It's not the point, though, is it?" Eva said. "It's hard having to try over and over again and be disappointed each time… perhaps face heartbreak a few times… until one day, instead of disappointment, you find someone you can be with forever. It only has to work once."

I sipped from my coffee to buy myself some time. Their perspective made sense— in theory. Emotionally, it was a very, very expensive quest.

"You don't have to answer," Lina said. "But what's stopping you? You seem happy when you're together."

I cast my eyes her way, gauging if I should trust her— trust them— with it. Wanting to, but unsure.

In my defense, losing my mom and being so alone really screwed this one big thing for me.

Vi must have misunderstood my silence, because she added something out of the blue in a hard, conspiratorial whisper.

"I know he can be hard to read sometimes," Vi said, "but I swear— if Javier is secretly an asshole—"

I snorted, and the three of them laughed.

I dismissed the worry with a wave of my hand. "He's far from an asshole, even if—"

My voice dropped down a cliff until it was gone. I stopped myself right in time.

"Even if he royally screwed up?" Vi offered.

I released my surprise with a small chuckle. "I'm still shocked you know all about that."

"He came to us for advice." Eva arched an eyebrow. "All of us. He told us his version of the story and asked us for help."

"Did he tell you about my past?" I asked.

Maybe they understood that my life had taught me to keep my heart gated, and I had reasons to say no to romance. To be careful about the friendships I kept. Beyond the reasons I might present a judge in my defense, as to why I had to be careful with Javier in particular.

Eva shook her head. "He said you have reasons to hesitate."

They didn't ask for more, even if curiosity filled their bright brown eyes.

So much like my own.

I hadn't seen interest like that, coming from eyes that mirrored mine, since my mom.

Unexpected grief flooded my chest, a powerful tide that climbed up my throat. Levels rose until I couldn't fully hold it back, and tears welled up in my eyes. Even after almost eight years; even when I thought I'd cried myself out, missing my mom could still inundate me out of nowhere.

I wasn't fast enough to hide it.

Lina sat next to me on the sofa and put a hand on my back. "It's okay, take your time. We don't have to talk more about this if you don't want to. We'll give you space… or we'll just sit here and let you do what feels right."

"We're here if you want us," Vi said. "But we won't bring up the subject again if you don't want to talk about it."

A couple of tears spilled and they ran down my face; I dried them with quick fingers. The dam I kept tightly sealed had cracked and, if I wasn't careful, everything would come out all at once.

In a bit of a panic, I checked into the house through the windows. The guys huddled at the kitchen island, deep in conversation.

More tears fell, and I dried them as well.

"I'll bark and ask them to stay away if you like." Vi's voice was soft and full of understanding. "Or I'll go get Javier— just say the word."

"If you need to go for a walk…" Eva started.

All options at my disposal, and yet the same old dilemma. If there was a difference between friendship and romance, in this they were the same— they required risk and vulnerability to find closeness.

And, just like with Javier, getting closer to his friends, to the lovely people around me, could end in heartbreak, too. Friends like this was all I wanted, and all I thought I'd have. I knew I would get there with Sally, and maybe even Julia, irony of all ironies— not to say anything of all the people I had yet to meet. But even in only a day, I knew these people could meet my wildest dreams. They could be my found family, too.

What a promise, and what a risk.

A sob escaped my lips, and it turned into a strangled hiccup in my surprise. The sound was ridiculous, and a tiny spark of humor flickered inside at it.

"I'm sorry—" I managed.

More tears escaped when Lina's response was to rub my back. "No need to apologize for crying—"

I shook my head. "No, no. I'm apologizing for sounding like a choking pelican—"

"You sound however you like, honey," Lina said.

Before I knew it, tears fell down my face— and I laughed. The three of them eventually joined me until my heart was light again. It lifted me up, and reminded me of my old friend hope. Its reassurance stitched pieces of me back together.

So I told them. I opened up and trusted them with a simple version of my history. For once, I didn't wait, and didn't hesitate.

They didn't give me advice, but they listened, and said they understood. They proved that, at least on this one thing, taking risks was worth it.

And this was what Javier understood as family; this kind of support was his reality. In a strange way, it convinced me that the Javier I'd known had been real.

In between my tears, the willingness to forgive him moved up several notches all at once.