I sighed. “Charo, you know it was for—”
“Competition, yes,” she finished for me. And I felt the pang of pain that accompanied the reminder. “Because it’s easier and more comfortable with the salt water and the sunlight and all that jazz. But now that you’re on vacation,” she added, and it was hard to keep my face neutral. Not to give her any indication that even if my stay in the US wasn’t permanent, my vacation was. “Now you proved them all wrong, didn’t you, ricitos de oro?”
I huffed.
Rosie asked, “Ricitos de oro?” And while her pronunciation was nowhere close to being right, it sounded so… sweet that the heaviness in my gut receded for a second there.
“Goldilocks,” I translated for her. She snorted and I nudged her softly with my shoulder. “I’m not even blond. And my hair is not that long or curly, either. So—”
“Whatever you say, ricitos,” Charo said before turning all her focus to my new and temporary roommate. “Anyway, Rosie. I haven’t heard about you since Lina’s wedding. How are you, cari?o?” She paused but before Rosie could even open her mouth, my sister was shooting more questions. “Is Lina around, by the way? Wasn’t she supposed to be leaving for her honeymoon? Did she introduce you guys before that?”
Unaffected by Charo’s antics after a life of dealing with them, I rolled my eyes. “What was it that you wanted?”
She ignored me, her eyes narrowing for only a moment. “I’m just saying because this is an odd time to be hanging out. Isn’t it, like, super early in New York now? What time is it there?”
Rosie seemed to be holding her breath for some reason.
And I was not about to entertain whatever my big sister thought she was doing. “Breakfast time. And you know how seriously I take the most important meal of the day. So if you don’t mind…”
Charo clapped her hand against her chest. “How fun! A breakfast party!”
Overlooking the irony lacing her words, I looked over at Rosie. “I was thinking French toast. What do you think, Rosie?”
Her head jerked in my direction, the tips of our noses almost banging together.
“Oh dammit,” she breathed. “Sorry.”
I held my ground, unbothered. “Why are you sorry?” I asked, getting a more intense whiff of… peaches now that I was so close. She smelled like peaches. “Unless you don’t like French toast. We could also make churros. I put a spin on the original recipe that will have you licking your fingers.”
Her green eyes twinkled with interest.
“Churros it is, then.” I winked.
Rosie mumbled something under her breath.
Something I could have heard if not for my sister’s squeal. “Ay! Ay, Lucas. ?Sabe Lina que estás—”
“Charo,” I interrupted her. There was no reason to bother Lina because there was nothing to tell Lina, regardless of what Charo was implying. This was just us, sharing her apartment for a few days. And us, having breakfast. “If there’s nothing else—”
She gasped theatrically. “Are you getting rid of me already? We’ve barely chatted!”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Speaking of chatting…” My sister shifted her attention to the woman beside me. “Rosie and I have a lot to catch up on, I’m sure. We haven’t talked since the wedding. And we had such a fun talk that day.” Rosie let out a strange sound that Charo decided to ignore. “Remember? About how surprised I was that you attended alone. And you told me that you had been single for a while and—”
“Oh my God, Lucas,” Rosie interrupted, putting a hand to her ear. “Did you hear that? I think it’s the fire alarm of the building.”
It took me a second to understand what she was doing.
I brought a hand to my ear, too. “Holy shit, I think Rosie’s right. Hold on.” I paused. “Is that a fire truck right outside?”
Charo’s eyes turned to thin slits, her gaze flashing with well-founded suspicion.
“I think you’re right, Lucas. That means we should really go,” Rosie added quickly. “One is never too fast to evacuate. Before the fire spreads.”
“Hold on,” Charo complained. “I can’t hear—”
“Sorry, Charo,” Rosie cut her off again. “We’ll catch up another day, maybe?”
“That is if we survive,” I added.
Rosie glanced at me. I dipped my head, holding her gaze, fully aware that the grin I had been fighting during our charade was now parting and bending my lips upward.