Page 54 of Yours, For Now

"Life just isn't what it was for the previous generations."

"Yeah. They don't bug us too much about it, luckily. In any case, there'll be plenty of space, if you want to go. We each can have our own room, spend some time with my family, then return to the city and keep to our plan."

What would it be like, to be with a mostly-new family like that, and pretend to be dating Gabe? My heart beat faster at the thought, because the images that came with the question tempted me more than they should.

"So you want to go?" Gabe's voice betrayed both nerves and excitement.

"Yeah. It'll be good. I haven't had a break since…" I frowned. "I don't know when was the last time I did something for me, and not for the company or my family."

"These weekends are my breaks and I enjoy them, but I get it if they're not your kind of thing. I don't want to get in the way of your goals."

"You're not. I probably could use a bit of a break… and a weekend away with your family might help with this curiosity I have. Are the Sotomayors as nice as they seem?"

"Oh, you know nothing, Lina. We need to be careful, or they'll try to adopt you, too."

"Didn't they learn their lesson with Essie?"

"They didn't try to adopt her."

He went back to his ice cream, silent after dropping that nugget of information. I nodded, and indulged in the make-believe that things could be different for us. That our fake relationship could turn real and not wreck our short-term plans, and that I'd find a warm family relationship in his world.

We spent the next several minutes in silence, until we finished our ice cream.

"How much will we have to pretend?" I asked. "Probably not much, right?"

His nod was slow as he looked at the ground. "If we're breaking up in a few weeks, we don't need them to think everything's going well. Right? And it'll get them thinking, when they realize we're not sharing a bed."

We walked back to his car, side-by-side again. At one point, his hand brushed mine. My fingers flexed, the instinct to take his hand strong, but unfulfilled.

Chapter 17

Tres Amigos + Jake Chat Group

Jake: I think you should all come to the

Sotomayor lake house in a couple of weeks

Gabe: Fuck's sake, Jake

Max: I'm in. Especially because Gabe's response

suggests there's something going on

Jake: Gabe is taking his 'friend' and business

associate to meet the family

Gabe: she already knows the family,

what are you talking about?

Javier: not all of the family, evidently. I'm in

Jake: exactly. We're the extended family. And

if these guys learned of this weekend and

that I didn't tell them, I'd have to face the