He glares at me, and I hold my hands up in surrender. “You’re right; you’re right. How thoughtless of me. I’m sure that your tamales will be just as authentic and delicious as my Abuela’s family recipe.”
“Abuela?” He tilts his head to the side questioningly.
Rather than going inside the library, we move to a shady section and lean against the wall. I pull my wavy hair over my shoulder and start twisting the strands around my fingers. “My Grandma.Abuelameans grandma in Spanish.Abuelois grandpa.”
“Are your grandparents still alive?”
The thought of my grandparents brings a smile to my face. Abuela is a firecracker, always ready with a witty comeback, while Abuelo is reserved and as sweet as dulce de leche. “They are. Mami’s parents, anyway. Papá’s parents passed away before I was born. What about you?”
“Aye, both sets still alive and kicking last time I checked. My Da’s parents live on our property, while my Mam’s parents live in Belfast. Never saw them much growing up. They weren’t happy that she married Da, so they only came around once every handful of years.”
“That’s so sad,” I say. “Family is everything in our culture. Abuela and Abuelo live next door and were just as involved with my siblings and me as my parents were. And my cousins might as well have been siblings for all the time we spent together.”
Teagan smiles warmly at me. “That’s grand. I wish my family was as closeas yours seems to be. I love the thought of making huge meals with the entire family and kids running around everywhere. That’s why I love my job so much. I get to spend time with this great group of kids, and we just have a blast.”
Before I can stop the thought, my mind fills with a vision of Teagan in my family home at Christmas. He’s sitting at the table next to Abuela making her laugh while she teaches him how to make tamales. The vision shifts to him playing soccer in the yard with my brothers and cousins. I can see my sisters giggling and blushing every time he shows them the slightest bit of attention and Mami glowing with delight. Then I’m in the living room teaching him how to salsa. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close…
Just as my thoughts start to take a heated turn, a group of rowdy freshmen come out of the library, jostling each other. One goes flying into Teagan, which sends him careening into me. One of his hands immediately grasps my waist, while the other hand braces against the wall next to my head. Instinctively, my hands land on his chest.
“Fucking eejit!” he barks at the student who is now on the ground. “Watch where yer goin’, you bleedin’ melter!”
The guy mumbles something and hurries off, laughing with his friends. Teagan turns his head back to me, our faces now inches apart. I suck in a breath at the proximity.
“Are ya alright, Lovely?” he asks, squeezing my hip gently.
“Fine.” I nod, swallowing thickly. “Are you okay?”
Teagan’s gaze flicks to my mouth briefly before coming back to rest on my eyes.
“Aye, grand. I didn’t crush you, did I?”
He glances down at my body as if to check. Only then do I realize that in the course of the action, he’s kept his upper half from crushing me, but his lower half is another story. His pelvis is flush against mine, and at that precise moment, I feel something twitch against me.Dios mío.
Teagan abruptly pulls his hips back and clears his throat loudly. He does not, however, remove his hand from my waist or from the wall beside myhead, but I also don’t remove my hands from his chest. When his eyes meet mine again, they’re no longer filled with concern but something heated. There’s a promise in them that I’m very interested in finding out about. He slowly leans his head closer, his grip on my waist tightening. I can’t breathe. He’s going to kiss me. And I want itbadly.It’s been a long time since my last kiss, and it was awful. Somehow, I just know that kissing Teagan will be good. More than good. Curling my fingers into his hoodie, I raise my chin slightly, bringing our mouths closer.
“O’Brien!” a loud voice calls from behind us, making us jump apart like two teenagers caught making out by their parents.
Teagan
Fucking Rowan. I’m going to throttle him with my bare hands. Kissing Layla has been an ever-present thought in my head for a while now, but I didn’t expect it today, like this. Being this close, with my hands on her body and the way she was looking at me, has me reconsidering. Expelling a sharp breath, I glance at Layla who’s intentionally looking at her shoes.
Rowan saunters up to us with a shite-eating grin on his face. He claps a hand on my shoulder and looks back and forth between the two of us with wide, mischievous eyes. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything, mate.”
I glare at him and not so playfully punch his bicep. “Course not,mate.That’s the last thing on your mind, yeah?”
Ro winces, rubbing his arm where I hit him before looking towards Layla.
“How’s it cuttin’, Layla Love?” he asks.
Layla’s blushing but manages to raise a dubious eyebrow at him. “Todo bien, alborotador.”
“Troublemaker?” he says aghast, shocking Layla and I both with his understanding of Spanish. “I’m hurt.”
“Since when do you know Spanish?” I ask in disbelief.
“Ach, I’ve been taking a class every year. Surely I mentioned that.” Rowan shrugs.
“Never. Butwhyare you taking it?”
