“Muchacha, are you using that snail eye cream I told you about?” Esperanza sounded deeply concerned. “You look tired.”
“Sí, Abuela,” Jasmine replied through gritted teeth. “I use eye cream every day.”
“And night?” Esperanza raised her eyebrows, waiting on Jasmine’s answer.
Oh, for the love of—“Yes, every night.”
“Bueno.” Esperanza patted her cheeks and went back to stirring the rice on the stove.
Her grandmother was obsessed with skincare, and now that she’d discovered text messages and online shopping, she was forever sending Jasmine links to anti-aging products. Excessive nagging was how Esperanza showed she cared, but Jasmine couldn’t deny she was feeling worn-out today, and it probably showed.
“Give la nena a break.” Willie Rodriguez, Jasmine’s beloved grandfather, eased up behind his wife and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Jasmine’s eyes are beautiful.”
“Thanks, Abuelo.” Jasmine gave him a grateful smile. He was barely taller than Jasmine, with brown skin, a mustache that had gone white in recent years, and the kindest face she’d ever known.
The door behind Jasmine opened. Michelle entered the kitchen and signaled for Ava to get away from the oven.
Esperanza held up her hands like she was backing off, when in truth she never backed off from anything. “Yo lo sé, pero it’s never too early to start fighting wrinkles.”
Willie sent Jasmine a wink, and she took that as her cue tobeat a hasty retreat. Jasmine ducked out of the kitchen with the Primas of Power on her heels.
“Basement?” Michelle suggested. “I stashed two bottles of wine down there.”
“Basement,” Jasmine agreed. She’d take her chances with the children, who at least acknowledged that being on TV was a real job.
“Let’s get day drunk.” Ava grabbed plastic cups and they trooped downstairs to hide until the food was ready.
WHENASHTON DECIDEDto put distance between himself and Jasmine, he hadn’t meant miles. But talking about the Incident had triggered a deep need to see for himself that his family was okay. So after waking up early in her bed, he’d left her a note, gone back to his room to shower and change, then caught an early flight to San Juan.
Once again, his family had been surprised and happy to see him, although his father had pointedly remarked that it would be nice to know about these visitsin advance. Abuelita Bibi fussed over him, as she always had, and Abuelito Gus had a lot of opinions to share about the latestMission Impossiblemovie.
Being home was a relief. Seeing them safe and whole was a relief. But the restlessness that propelled him here refused to abate.
After they left for the restaurant, Ashton tried to lose himself in playing with Yadiel, like he’d done on his last visit, but all day long, one thought followed him.
He’d told her.
He still couldn’t believe it. Aside from Yadiel, the Incidentwas his most closely guarded secret. He didn’t even like referencing it with people who already knew. And while he wanted to blame his confession on gin or stress, those were lies.
The simple truth was that he trusted Jasmine.
And that scared him. If he’d trusted her with one of his secrets, it made it too easy to think about trusting her with the other.
That secret was currently clomping down the stairs. Ashton looked up from where he sat on the sofa, idly watching a baseball game while he waited for his son to “do something” in his bedroom. Yadiel approached him with an armload of books and dumped them unceremoniously and without proper warning onto Ashton’s lap.
Ashton jolted as the books—most of them hardcovers with sharp corners—landed on his thighs and groin.
“Papi.” Yadiel’s voice held a distinct tone of decree that immediately made Ashton suspicious. It was the same way the kid had announced that he wanted an Xbox.
“¿Sí?”
“IwanttogotoNew York.” Yadiel said it in English, like he was proving he was ready for the trip, placing emphasis on every other word.
Yadi had a bad habit of saying what he wanted with force instead of just asking in the form of a question and adding “por favor,” so Ashton raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“¿Puedo ir a Nueva York, pleeeeeeease?” The words spilled out in a rush as Yadiel clasped his hands together. “Look, I’ve been reading all these books about it.”
Sure enough, the books scattered on Ashton’s lap were a collection of stories likeTaxi DogandA Walk in New Yorkmixed with photo-heavy travel guides for kids.
