1Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1)(91)

“I’ll help you.” My chair scrapes against the wood floor as I rise.

My mom has the most approving look on her face while Josefina winks at me. Rafa’s gaze swings between the two of us before landing on his cousin with a pinched expression.

Rather than feel embarrassed by everyone knowing about us, I’m nervous about what they think. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, least of all Josefina’s, whose evergreen smile only brightens whenever we lock eyes.

I ignore their gawking as I gather everyone’s glasses and follow Julian into the messy kitchen. Dishes on a normal day are tolerable, but post-holiday cleanup duty after cooking the whole meal?

I’d rather stab my eye out with my new acrylic nail set.

Julian places the dishes in the sink and turns on the tap before grabbing the dirty ones from my hands.

“Was there a reason you volunteered for this job?” I ask.

“I wanted some alone time with you before we got roped into a three-hour Pictionary game.” He grabs my hips and crushes me against his body.

“We already spent the whole afternoon together.”

He replies by pressing his mouth against mine. The kiss ends as quickly as it began, leaving me wanting more.

“You don’t have to help.” Julian places the dishes in the sink and turns on the tap.

“Perfect, because I’m only here to watch you work.” I snatch the pink gloves from the dish rack and drop them into his open hand.

He shakes his head with a smile.

“I’ll go grab the last few plates while you get started.”

“Thank you.” He reaches for the first wineglass and dumps it underneath the water.

I stack the last few dishes on top of one another while our families gather in the living room, setting up the easel and large pad of paper.

“You and Julian are going to be paired up together,” Lily says.

I frown. “Only because none of you want him on your team.”

Rafa shrugs. “He’s deadweight.”

“I heard that!” Julian shouts from the kitchen.

Josefina holds her hands up. “No way was I having him on my team after the last time.”

“Remember his version of a cat?” My mom laughs.

“Or when he tried to convince us that whatever he drew was a spaceship.”

“It truly was out of this world.” Lily’s brows waggle.

I laugh as I turn toward the hall, only to be stopped by Nico jumping in front of me.

Dishes rattle as I pull to a stop. “Hey.”

He rocks back on his sneakers, making the heels light up. “You don’t have to play with us if it makes you sad.”

“Why would…” Realization dawns on me, and my knees wobble. “Playing with you won’t make me sad.”

His brows rise behind his glasses. “It won’t?”

I kneel down so we can be at eye level. “No. Before, I was so sad that it made me feel sick, but now, I’m feeling much better.”

“Can you teach my dad how to feel better too?”

My stomach sinks.

The light in his eyes dies as I shake my head. “I wish I could, but I can’t help with that kind of sadness.”

He stares at his sneakers. “Oh, okay.”

I put the dishes down and pull him into a hug. “But he is going to get better all on his own because he’s one of the strongest people I know.”

“Like a superhero?”

“Even better. He’s a dad.”

Nico’s arms tighten around me before letting go.

I stand with shaky legs and fix his lopsided glasses. “I better get these dishes to your uncle.”

“Okay. Love you!” Nico takes off, running back to the living room.

I take a moment to center myself before heading to the kitchen with the remaining dishes.

“Shit.” Julian shakes his hand with a sneer.

“What happened?” I dump the plates on the counter and rush over to him.

“Burned myself with the stove while grabbing a pot.”

“Sorry! I must have forgotten to turn it off.” I reach for the knob and turn it all the way to the left before grabbing his hand. “How bad is it?”

“It’s not a big deal.” He tries to tug his hand free.

I tighten my grip. “Stop moving.”

“I’m fine.”

Based on the way he hisses when I brush my hand over his palm, I would say the opposite. “We have some of that silver burn cream stuff after Lily had an incident with a curling iron.” I pull him toward the fridge.

“Completely unnecessary for a little mark.” He wiggles his fingers.

“Stop fussing and let me help you.”

His deep sigh of resignation shouldn’t be endearing, but Julian has a way of making the most mundane sounds interesting.

I find the cream and open the jar.

He reaches for it. “I got it.”

I pull away. “Seriously, what’s your problem? I’m trying to help you.”

“No need to burden yourself,” he whispers to himself.

I didn’t expect my comment to elicit that kind of response, which makes me momentarily feel bad. “It’s okay to ask for help. In fact, I encourage you to be the biggest burden since it does wonders for my ego.”