Going through the motions of disembarking the aircraft, getting through customs, and picking up our luggage felt a little bit like one of those strange dreams where everything around you felt fuzzy and unreal, but there was a part of you, deep down in your consciousness, that knew it wasn't real.Only this time, it was. And the loud thump, thump, thump in my ears was evidence of just how much.And yet, as much as that part of me kept repeating that I wouldwake up while my heart kept screaming that I already was and thatthis was really happening, the moment the Arrivals gate came into view, my whole body froze with realization.My suitcase wheels screeched against the floor as my two feetbecame rooted to the floor. Breath stuck in my throat, I watched thegates opening and closing, letting out whoever had been walkingahead of us.I glanced at Aaron, who had been walking beside me but wasnow a couple of steps ahead. My overpacked bag hung off hisshoulder again."Aaron," I croaked, that thump, thump, thump growing louder andlouder. "I can't do it."Feeling as if my lungs had been filled with cement, I brought a hand to my chest. "Ay Dios." I heaved. "Ay Dios mĂo."How had I let this get so far?What was I going to do if everything blew up in my face?What if I made it all worse?I was crazy. No, I was plain stupid. And I wanted to punch myselfin the face. Maybe that would snap me out of it.My gaze roamed around desperately, probably looking for an escape. A way to get out. But I couldn't see anything past thosegates that separated us from my parents and kept swallowingpassenger after passenger."No puedo hacerlo," I muttered, not recognizing my own voice. "Ican't do this. I just can't go out there and lie to my whole family. Ican't. It won't work out. They'll know. I'll make a fool of myself. Thefool that I am becauseâ"Aaron's fingers found my chin, tilting my face up to meet hisgaze. "Hey." The blue in his eyes shone under the fluorescent lightilluminating the terminal, snatching all my attention. "There you are."Not able to voice a single word more without completely losingmy shit, I shook my head lightly. His fingers remained where theywere."You are not a fool," he told me as he kept staring into my eyes.My lids fell closed for a moment, not wanting to see whatever hewas looking at me with on top of everything I was barely keeping at bay. "I can't do it," I whispered, opening my eyes and meeting hisgaze.His voice hardened. "Catalina, stop being ridiculous." Contrary tothe gentle grip of his fingers, his command was blunt. Unsensitive,considering he was talking to a woman on the verge of flipping out.But something in it forced meâenabled me, I realizedâto takethe first full breath in the last couple of minutes. So, I did exactly that.I breathed in, and then I breathed out. All the while, Aaron looked mestraight in the eye with something that should have made my anxietyshoot back to the roof but that instead brought me slowly back."We've got this," he said with confidence.We.That simple two-letter word somehow sounded a little louder thanthe rest.And then, as if he had been waiting for me to be ready to hear it,he went for the killing blow. "You are not on your own anymore. It'syou and me now. We are in this together, and we've got this."And somehow, for a reason I knew I would never be able toexplain, I believed him. I didn't question or fight him.Neither of us said anything else. My apprehensive brown eyes held his determined blue ones, and some kind of silentunderstanding passed between us.Us. Because we, Aaron and I, had just become an us.Aaron's fingers dropped from my chin and wrapped around thehand that hadn't been clutching my chest.He squeezed gently.Ready? he asked me without words.I took one last deep breath, and we headed for the doors thatopened to the Arrivals terminal of the small Spanish airport.To my parents.To this outrageously ludicrous farce we were about to embark on.To this ⊠what had I called it before? Oh yeah, to this wholeSpanish love deception we had planned.Because we, Aaron and I, got this.He had said so. And I believed him.I just hoped, for both our sakes, that he was right.
"Papa, for the last time, we are more than okay here." My eyes searched the small room for my fake boyfriend, looking for backup.The corner of his lips tipped up."Maybe if we move Abuela to your sister's place," PapĂĄcontinued, "you two could take the big guest room in the house.Although I am not really sure if TĂo JosĂ© and TĂa Inma will besleeping there. Wait, let me callâ""PapĂĄ," I cut him off, reaching out to pat his arm. "It's okay. Thisapartment is more than okay. You don't need to move us to thehouse. Leave Abuela alone."A wave of nostalgia and familiarity hit me right in the gut. It hadbeen so long since I had come home; all of it felt as familiar asbreathing, and at the same time, it was like a memory I had notrevisited in a long time. My dad and his good heart, always soaccommodating. Caring too much. Trying to make everybody feel athome even if it meant going through the bedroom Hunger Games. Ihad been so preoccupied with dreading the moment that I hadforgotten they were my family. My home. And, God, despiteeverything, I had missed them with all my heart.My mom shifted from the entrance of the cramped bedroom,assessing the situation. "Ay, cariño, your father is right. No sĂ© âŠ"She hesitated, looking for the words. "Este hombre es tan alto y âŠgrande." Her gaze landed on Aaron, traveling from his head to hisfeet and back up again, while she shook her head with a mix of aweand skepticism.I thought I had seen that start of a smirk on Aaron's lips inchinghigher, which earned him a questioning look from me."I know what grande means." That little bend of his lips was thereuntil he turned to my mother, squaring his expression. "I appreciateyour concern, Cristina. But we will be perfectly fine, sleeping here.Muchas gracias por todo de nuevo."Together with my mother's, my jaw almost dropped to the floor forthe second time today. The first time had been earlier in the airport,where I had first learned that Aaron did speak enough Spanish tointroduce himself to my parents in my mother tongue. With barely anaccent.Quickly after, and while my jaw stayed right where it was, the grinthat was reserved for a very limited number of people came alive inMamĂĄ's face.Then, I watched her release a breath, half-wonder and halfresignation. As if she was fine to accept Aaron's statement withoutputting up any kind of fight as long as he kept talking in Spanish.Which was something she reserved for very few too.My very lucky and very much fake boyfriend gifted her with apolite smile."Catalina doesn't take that much space anyway," Aaron suddenlysaid. "We will find a way to snuggle in. Right, bollito?"My head swirled in his direction. "Yes," I gritted out. "We willsnuggle right in."Promising myself he'd pay for that later, I looked at my dad inhorror. Much to my dismay, I found him grinning. My mom, on theother hand, just nodded, her eyes bouncing from Aaron to me,assessing our difference in size and height.Which, thankfully, wouldn't be a problem. The convenientapartment that my parents rented during the high season tovacationers had two bedrooms. Just like everything about the flat,the rooms were small and functional with only what was strictlynecessary. But that meant that we, Aaron and I, wouldn't be doingany snuggling. We were not even going to be sharing a room.Thank the heavens.Which reminded me, it was time for my parents to leave."Okay, you two. Thank you, but this is enough of a welcome," Isaid, walking up to them and pushing them lightly toward the door."We have suitcases to unpack and a bachelor-slash-bacheloretteparty to get ready for.""Vale, vale," my mom said as she grabbed my dad's arm. "Yousee, Javier? They want to be alone." Her eyebrows did a little wiggle."Ya sabes."My dad muttered something unintelligible, showing that he hadno interest in finding out why.So, I ignored my mother's innuendo, and after wrapping myparents in a big hug, I shooed them out the door. In the meantime,Aaron politely thanked them againâin Spanish, for my mom'sbenefitâand remained in the corner, where he had been standing.With my parents finally gone, I turned to Aaron and found himplacing both of our suitcases on the bed. He unzipped his andstarted extracting pieces of clothing and toiletries."Actually, you don't need to do that," I told him, not bothering toopen my bags.Aaron cocked an eyebrow."We will sleep in separate rooms," I explained."Oh?" That was the only thing that came from him.Ignoring that puzzled look he had just shot me, I made my way tothe hallway to lead him to what would be his room.With his very own bed.Right behind me, Aaron stepped in the space only a few secondsafter."Ta-da!" I gestured with my arms. "Here's your room. Yourdresser. Your bathroom is out in the hall though. And, yeah, that willbe your bed."I pointed at the twin bed as I took in its ridiculous dimensions.The room was much smaller than I remembered.Glancing at Aaron, who was right by my side, I found himinspecting the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. Just howmy mother had done a few minutes ago, I eyed him up and down.Yeah. That was not going to work."All right," I said, accepting he would never, ever fit there. "I'llchange rooms with you. Take the other one; it's bigger. I'll take thetwin.""It's okay, Catalina. I'll sleep here.""No, you won't. You won't fit in that tiny bed," I pointed out theobvious. "Not even diagonally, I think.""It's fine. Go unpack your things. I'll make it work.""You won't. There's no way you can sleep here," I insisted,ignoring the dirty look Aaron sent me over his shoulder."I will."Stubborn, hardheaded man, I thought."You are the only hardheaded one here," he said.I narrowed my eyes at the mind reader. "Well, if you want to bemy pot, I'd gladly be your kettle." I pointed at the bed. "Prove it.Show me you fit in there, and I'll leave you alone."Aaron sighed as he uncrossed his arms and brought a hand tohis face. "Would you justâ" He stopped himself, shaking his head."You know what? This one time, I'm going to humor you. Just toavoid wasting away both our lives, arguing over this until we arerolling on matching wheelchairs."He was wrong; matching wheelchairs was something that wouldnever be in my plans where Aaron Blackford was concerned.In two strides, my fake and very tall boyfriend was right in front ofthe modest twin.He won't fit. I was sure of it. So, I leaned back and waited for himto prove how right I was.As soon as Aaron climbed onto the tiny piece of furniture, themattress bounced a little too wildly under his weight. With a loudsqueak, he adjusted his body, lying on his back. Changed hisposition a couple of times as the mattress complained under hisweight. Nothing.He. Did. Not. Fit.Taking in the clearly larger-than-the-bed man in front of me, feetdangling off of the frame and glaring at the ceiling, I couldn't help butlet the grin I had been fighting finally break free.It wasn't the fact that I had been right all along. Nope. Thesatisfied and toothy smile that split my face had everything to do withthe grumpy Aaron who was lying diagonally on the tiny twin bed witha scowl that went for miles. The best part was that he had humoredme and proven it, just because I'd told him to. Just because we wereequally stubborn.And that ⊠only made me grin wider.Walking closer, I didn't turn down the megawatt smile as I lookeddown at him. "Comfy?""Very.""I just bet you have never been this comfortable in your life."He rolled his eyes. "Fine," Aaron said as he sat up, the springs inthe simple andâlet's face itâmost likely cheap mattress creakingloudly under his weight. "So you were right," he continued as hemoved to the edge, trying to leave a bed that seemed to be turninginto quicksand, swallowing each of his movements. "Now, if youwould justâ"Before I could even realize what was happening, the structure ofthe bed gave in with a big bang, engulfing part of the mattress andAaron along with it.A gasp shot out of me as my hands flew to my mouth."Jesus fucking Christ," Aaron growled."Oh my God, Aaron." The cackle that left my mouth as I stared atthe grumpier-than-ever man sitting in the middle of the box springcatastrophe was probably heard all the way in New York City.He didn't look anywhere near okay if the way he glowered wasany indication.But I asked anyway, "Are you okay?" I tried to sober down; I did.But I couldn't hold in the laughter. So, I laughed.Then, I laughed louder."Yes. All good," he grunted. "Nothing I can't handle.""Okay, but just in case âŠ" I stretched my hand to help him out,but both of us froze when a holler came from the entrance door ofthe apartment. A voice that sent shivers down my spine."Hola!" a pitchy shrill called.Was that âŠ"Hay alguien en casa?" that voice I realized I knewâand I wasrelated toâcalled again.No.The woman whose red hair I was almost certain was about tomake an appearance in about two seconds asked if there wassomeone at home. As if she hadn't probably known already.Charo. My cousin Charo was in the apartment. And judging bythe quick clicking of her heels, she'd be in the room in aboutâ"Ay, pero mira quĂ© bien. Someone is christening the bed." Agiggle that was not adorable and was outright evil instead reachedmy ears from behind me.Understanding flashed through my fake boyfriend's face.Not caring to wait for my response, my cousin continuedbabbling, "Look at this mess." She tsked. "After being single for solong, one would think you were out of practice, Linita."I grimaced. Way to put it out there, prima. My eyelids shut oninstinct, and I felt a blush climbing up my throat."Because, really, how many years have gone by since the wholething with Daniel exploded? Three? Four? Maybe more."Oh sweet Lord, I wanted to disappear. I couldn't believe Charohad gone straight to that after barely saying hello. And in front ofAaron. I didn't want to look at him. Didn't want to look in his directionfor that matter. Couldn't that busted and mangled bed swallow me uptoo?And just like that, my wish was granted.Aaron tugged off my arm and pulled me right with him, ripping asqueal out of me. Right onto the chaos that used to be a twin bed.My body ended up sprawled half on top of him. Not for long thoughbecause before I knew what was really happening, his large andmeaty arms flipped me onto his lap. Turning me to face my cousinCharo and causing my body to go as stiff as a broomstick at thechange of positions.Holy shit, I am on Aaron's lap. Back to front. Ass on ⊠yeah. Onhis lap."I'll take the blame for all this." His deep voice came from veryfreaking close behind me as I slowly recounted all the body parts Ifelt pressed against my own much softer ones. Thighs, chest, arms,all hard and flushed against my back. Against my ass. Against myown thighs and ⊠I had to stop thinking of body parts. "Hard to resistmyself really." My fake boyfriend's words entered my ears at thesame time I noticed the muscles underneath me flexing. "Right,bollito?"Oh my God.He was ⊠I was ⊠I justâ"Right," I croaked, "osito."Charo beamed at us, one hundred percent satisfied with theshow. She had just gotten to the apartment and already obtained astory I'd be hearing about for the next ten years. The time Lina andher boyfriend broke that twin bed. I bet she'd add stuff that neverhappened, maybe that she had seen Aaron naked or something.A mental image intruded my mind. One of Aaron. Sans clothes.With all those muscles I was feelingâNo. No. No."Ay, look at you two," my cousin said, bringing her hands underher chin. "You look so adorable together. And, Lina! I never thoughtyou'd be this kind of crazy." Charo wiggled her eyebrows.Aaron's hand landed on my knee, the contact branding the skinunder my jeans. God, I could feel him all around me. If I relaxed myspine, I'd snuggle right into him.That warm palm squeezed my thigh.I kept losing my focus, and now, Charo seemed to be waiting forme to say something."Oh yeah." I recapped as fast as I could. I needed to get out ofhere. Off Aaron. The position we were in was too distracting. In avery, very, very bad way. "Erm. Yes, crazy. Oh, you bet! This is allsuper crazy," I said, squirming in Aaron's lap as I unsuccessfully triedto make my way out of the man-sized black hole that had sucked mein. "It is crazy because I am super crazy. Crazy about him, that is." Isquirmed some more, realizing I might be stuck somewhere betweenhis large thighs. Keep talking. "Like, so crazily in love, it's even crazy,you know what I mean? So crazyâ""I think she got it," my fake boyfriend whispered in my ear,sending a stupid shiver rushing across my whole body.I kept shifting further in his lap, ignoring how everything I feltunderneath meâor my ass, more specificallyâwas solid and warm.No, hot. It was hot. Muscles upon muscles upon more muscles.Some of them becoming harder with every useless effort I made.Oh my gosh. Oh Dios mĂo. Was that ⊠no. It couldn't be. Aaroncouldn't be ⊠aroused.Desperate, I tried to propel myself off him one more time,obtaining a little grunt from Aaron's lips. It landed on the back of myneck as a puff of air."Stop," he breathed in my ear. "That's not helping with thesituation."I immediately obeyed, forcing my body to relax into him. Okay, Ihave this. Think of it as a chair. A throne. Not Aaron. Just a hardman-sized throne.I gave my cousin a fake smile. "So, what are you doing here,Charo?""Oh, I was going to stay with a friend for the wedding weekend,but the bathroom in his apartment flooded or something, and I haveno choice but to sleep here instead," she explained with a little wave."I'm sure you thought you had the place to yourselves, huh?" Shewiggled her eyebrows again. "I swear I won't be in the way. Youwon't even notice I'm here."There was only one way we wouldn't notice Charo snoopingaround, and that included hard-core narcotics."Great. Well, we should really unpack and let you do the same," Iannounced from my position on my Aaron throne. I cleared mythroat. "Yeah, all right. Let's do that," I added, neither Aaron nor memoving. I cleared my throat very loudly. "Don't you think we shouldget going, osito?"Before I could ask, Aaron's big hands were on my waist, and Iwas lifted off his lap and then up in the air. With shaky legs, I landedin front of my cousin.Whoa, okay. So, it could have been that easy.Aaronâwho had mysteriously regained his usual agilityâfollowed suit, leaving behind him the spring and wood disaster."I haven't introduced myself." Aaron stretched out one of thehands that had been wrapped around my waist a little more than asecond ago. The one hand that had squeezed my thigh. "Soy Aaron.Un placer conocerte."My cousinâwho I suspected had already requested all of Aaron'savailable information from my motherâtook his hand and pulled himto her. "Ay y habla Español! El placer es mĂo, cariño." She plantedone kiss on each of his cheeks.Yeah, I was sure she hadn't been lying when she said thepleasure of meeting him was all hers.After my cousin released Aaron, who looked a littledumbfounded, she engulfed me in a hug too. "Come here, prima. Ihave kisses for you too." And she added in a whisper so only I couldhear it, "ÂżDĂłnde tenĂas escondido a este hombre?"Where were you hiding this man?I chuckled. "Oh, prima, if you only knew."Stepping away from my red-haired relative, I was startled by thecontact of Aaron's palm on the small of my back.I jumped back, right into his front.Aaron looked down at me, a question in his gaze. "Go ahead toour room and start unpacking. I'll take care of this mess for yourcousin."That was ⊠so very thoughtful. I had forgotten about it.Apparently, leaving my cousin to deal with a broken twin bed wasn'thigh on my priority list."Uy, no, no." Charo intervened before I could apologize. "I will callTĂo Javi," she said, referring to my dad as Uncle Javi. "You two goand settle in. I'm sure you are exhausted from the trip. Just makesure not to break the other bed too." She accompanied that with acackle. "I can take the blame for this one but yours? That would bean awkward conversation with your dad." Then, she winked.Without more than a thank-you, we shuffled back to what wouldbe our room.Our room, which we had to share now.Dammit.We'd better unpack and try to get comfortable. If that had beenany indication of what was ahead of us during the upcoming days,my fake boyfriend and I were in for a messy ride.Suitcases almost empty and all wedding attire already hanging inthe closet, I sent a sideways glance at the bed in our room. I hadbeen doing that for the last fifteen minutes.I'll be waiting here, it seemed to sing, making me wish it wouldmagically crumble down and disappear too."Stop worrying. I can sleep on the floor if it makes you thatuncomfortable." Aaron looked at me, eyebrows creased."I'm not worried," I lied.Sharing a bed with Aaron was something I hadn't expected. Orplanned for. My parents had said only we would be staying in theapartment. Most of the guests were from the region, and the oneswho weren't would be arriving only for the big day."We are adults, and we have known each other for almost twoyears now. We can be civil and share the bed. At least it's a double.And it's standing up.""I'll tell your parents that I will take care of the other one. I'll payfor the damages." There was something in his voice. He soundedpensive and almost ⊠embarrassed?"You don't have to, Aaron." And I meant it. "It wasn't your fault.The bed had lasted more than it should have, really. These things âŠhappen."Grabbing a couple of shirts off my suitcase and unfolding them, Ipondered my own words. Never in my life had I witnessed thatfirsthand, but hey, these things did happen. Maybe to Aaron theyhad. Maybe he had destroyed dozens of beds. Reducing them to amess of wood and springs. He was a large man, one who was builttoo. Beds could very well give out and burst under his weight. Maybeif he moved around too much. Or if he dropped his body on themwith certain force. Or if he engaged in activities that tested theresistance of the frame and springs andâNo, no, no. I kicked out of my head that image of a sweaty andnaked Aaron doingâNo."Okay," Aaron said, zipping closed his emptied suitcase. "And ifyou are sure we can share the bed, then we will. With a little luck,this one won't shatter too."A whole new mental image ambushed me. One very similar butthat now included me andâNope. I needed to stop this nonsense."It's settled then," I said, getting rid of those unwanted thoughtsand ideas. "No sleeping on the floor. We can't risk getting caught,having Charo around. Couples share beds.""And we would get caught exactly how? Does your cousin goaround, entering bedrooms she doesn't sleep in?""Well, Aaron, I really wish I could tell you she didn't, but I wouldbe lying."Years had taught me that Charo was unpredictable."So"âI changed the subjectâ"in a couple of hours, we will bemeeting the youngest members of the MartĂn clan for phase one ofthe bachelor-slash-bachelorette party.""A little briefing, please?" he queried. Aaron had finishedunpackingâwhich I hadn'tâso he leaned his back on the wardrobethat was in the corner of the room and gave me his full attention."You'll be delighted to hear that we will spend the day outside,enjoying the warmth of the Spanish sun on our skin and doingsomething that has nothing to do with sipping mimosas and gettingmassages. Which was my idea." I walked to the narrow dresser andgrabbed a neat stack of towels. "My maid-of-honor duties wereoverruled by one of my youngest cousins, Gabi." I placed the towelson the comforter. "And that means only one thing." I pauseddramatically. "The Wedding Cup.""The Wedding Cup?" A chuckle left Aaron's lips.Strangely, that little noise made me want to smile. I ignored it andgave him a rundown of how we'd be occupying our day instead."In the Wedding Cup"âI sighedâ"Team Bride, which iscomposed of all the females invited to the bachelor-slashbachelorette party, competes against Team Groom, which will becomposed of the male ones." I said that last part with sarcasm. "Realrefreshing, huh? Boys against girls, competing in a series of gamesand activities. Yay."Aaron nodded, not taking any side. "I can tell, you are veryexcited. But please continue."I sent him a look. "The team that collects more points will securethe win and obtain the Wedding Cup.""And is this cup a physical trophy or just a symbolic reward?"Aaron asked, and I could tell he was trying to take this seriously.Unsuccessfully. He could barely contain his amusement."Listen"âmy arms went to my hips in an attempt to make myselflook imposingâ"I told you I was not in control of this. I am more of arepresentative maid of honor. My cousin Gabi is one of those fitnessobsessed people, and she organized the whole thing. So, just beglad that you are not stuck with me on your team." Picking up mytoiletry and makeup bags, I walked to the modest en suite bathroomas I kept absently filling Aaron in while I placed all my things on thenarrow space available. "I am not happy about this, okay? If it werefor me, we would be at a spa while you guys went somewhere to do⊠guy stuff.""Guy stuff?" I heard Aaron's voice coming from the bedroom."Yeah, punch your chests, drink beer like it's the end of your lives,or go to a strip club. What do I know?" I shook my head, knowing Iwas being a little too stereotypical. "But no," I continued, placing atravel-sized container of shampoo on the counter. "We couldn't be solucky. Funny enough, the one on board with this thing is Gonzalo.Who would have thought? A stupid competition over enjoying his lastday as a bachelor away from his bride. Not that I'm shocked.Gonzalo has been crazy about my sister since the moment he laideyes on her. So, why would he want to spend a day away from her?"What they had was the real stuff. Honest, devoted, palpable love.The one that transcended distance, differences, and obstacles. Thekind that was meant to be written about in books. Thinking of it filledmy chest with warmth and longing for something I didn't know I'dever be able to find."Anyway, Gonzalo is the Wedding Cup's biggest cheerleader.And something tells me, he'll be more than thrilled when he seesyou. He'll holler and bro-hug you, and you'll be his new best friend. Ican tell. Gon is so competitive, always has been, so he'll be over themoon to have the closest thing to a freaking Greek god on his team.Straight out of Olympia." I snorted.Aaron did look a little like one of those sculptures. All stoic withsmooth and symmetrical lines. Gonzalo would love Aaron on theâHold up.What did I just say?My eyes closed at the realization that I had called Aaron a god. AGreek one. Out of Olympia. Out loud.Oh, please, bathroom walls, be thick and soundproof. Please.Sensing his presence somewhere behind me and considering thedimensions of both the room and en suite, I remained very still.I opened my eyes and looked at his reflection in the mirror in frontof me.Aaron was leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed over hischest.Inhaling a deep breath, I let my eyes travel around the counter,taking in everything and making my way up until finding Aaron'sgaze on the mirror."Chances of you not hearing me from the bedroom?" I ventured."It depends." I watched his throat work, swallowing. "How good ofhearing do Greek gods have?"I had two options: own it like the grown-up woman I was, orignore this had just happened and be a total chickenshit.Rearranging every item I had just placed on the shelf in silence, Iopted for the latter, all the while feeling his gaze following my everymove.A moment later, I sensed Aaron turn around, but before hewalked away, I called for him, "Oh, and, Aaron?" I watched thereflection of his back in the mirror. "The losing team has to perform achoreographed dance tonight."No answer came from him, but when he finally took a step away,I could perfectly imagine the competitive gleam coming alive in his eyes.