She nodded. “That, it is. Isn’t this stuff insanely good? I can’t get enough of it.”
“Can I try?” Asia asked.
I held it up to her lips for her to sip. “You can have all of it if you’d like. I had four cups of it at lunch.”
And Asia answered me by taking the cup from my hands and chugging it until it was gone.
“Wow, this is good. Where did you guys get this?” Eva asked.
Asia smacked her lips together before licking them. “That’s fresh, isn’t it?”
I winked at my daughter. “Good job, kiddo. You know your fresh fruits. Yep, it was freshly pressed just for lunch. It’s a great combination, too.”
Eva looked inside her glass. “I’ll have to make that at the house. What’s the ratio of grapes to mangos?”
My assistant director held out her hand. “The catering company is still here. I’m sure someone on their staff would be delighted to indulge you in that. Come, come.”
Eva passed off Asana to me, and I watched the two of them walk off. Mandy, my assistant director, and Eva, my fiancé. I smiled at the idea. I had purchased that ring just before she gave birth to our daughter, and it had been sitting in my pocket every single day since. I didn’t want to chance her cleaning the house or rummaging around for something and coming across it, so I kept it on my person whenever I left the house. And the damned thing had been taunting me and mocking me for a solid three months.
But, it was all worth it to see Eva peer over her shoulder and smile at me before wiggling her ring around for the lights of my studio to reflect off of it.
“I knew she’d love it,” I murmured.
I watched them walk away as I cradled my two daughters. One at my side, and the other in my arms. I stood there like a man on a mission, waiting for one of my most important women to come rounding back around that corner. I would always be protective of my family. I would always be protective of what we had created and what we deemed as ours. And as Eva came walking back over to us, she pecked me on the lips before taking Asana out of my grasp.
“So, I have just one question for you,” she said.
I tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Name it.”
She peeked up at me. “Now that I have that delectable recipe that’s totally going to be something we serve at our wedding, I need to know something.”
I chuckled. “And what’s that?”
She smiled brightly. “Can we do a fall wedding on the beach? I’ve kind of always wanted to do one of those.”
The idea seemed so simple and so perfect that I could only think to capture her lips once more in a kiss. So, that’s exactly what I did before cupping her cheek.
“Anything you want, my future wife. You can have anything you want for this wedding.”
“Will I get to be in the wedding, pleaseeee?” Asia asked.
And as the two of us laughed with one another, I listened to Eva assure Asia she would be in the wedding. Then she rattled off all sorts of wedding plans while I escorted our little family out to my car so we could go forth and forage for food.
The family that I loved.
The family that I protected.
The family that I treasured.
“So, exactly how upset is Jorge going to be?” Eva asked.
I opened the door for her as I contemplated her question. “On a scale of one to ten? Possibly a six.”
She started putting Asana in her car seat. “Any way to make that at least an eight? He needs to pay for waking me up this morning.”
I grinned. “Well, he absolutely hates pranks. And he definitely wouldn’t want anyone messing with his new garden that is finally sprouting this year.”
She peeked up at me. “Want to go buy fake spider webs and put them all over his tomatoes.”
