Page 100 of Yours, Forever

"Should we watch right away? Or can it wait?"

"Watch it," Javier said to Eva's side. "Just in case. Your dad is pissed about everything."

I stared at my friend. His furrowed brows brought my worry up a couple of notches.

Javier's eyes jumped between Eva and I. A chill went down my spine.

"What happened?" I asked.

Eva grabbed my hand. The conversation around us quieted down, attention now mostly on us. Tía Sonia's eyes zeroed in on my wife's sign of support, but mine stilled on Javier.

"Tell us," I insisted. "Eva has been as loyal as you all through this. She can hear it. Whatever my dad is planning will affect her, too."

Eva added her second hand and squeezed mine in both of hers.

Javier gave me a single nod. "He's been venting to my parents. He's been saying you are un tiro al aire—a gunshot to the air. Wild and unpredictable."

"Max…" Tío Raúl said. "I was going to wait to tell you, let you settle in… but since we're talking about it… your dad called me, too."

"What did he say?" My voice came out gravelly for once.

"He pretended to worry for you. He said you've been acting irresponsibly with your finances, moving to a small town where there are no actual business prospects with a woman you barely know." He cast apologetic eyes Eva's way. "He implied Eva is with you only for your money. He said he was concerned and hoped that I would talk to you, since he knows you trust me."

"There's a reason I trust you in ways I would never trust him." I squeezed Eva's hand. "What did you say?"

"That I would talk to you."

"And what do you think?"

"I know you two got married under strange circumstances, and that I've only known Eva for a couple of hours, but I am not worried. None of this would have happened if Carlos weren't a proud, selfish man, who put his business over his son's happiness. If you and your wife are content with your situation, then I am, too."

"Besides," Tía Sonia added, "it's clear you two care for one another."

Eva and I gazed at each other. Our connection sizzled with the affection we harbored for each other. Regardless of where we ended up, this was real, right now. I could trust her.

Tío Raúl tapped the table twice with his empty cordial glass. "Watch the video while I get all of us a bit more of the bajativo. This Araucano you brought us is at another level."

I shared another look with Eva. My phone's screen had locked while we talked through the new information, and I woke it up with a couple of taps. I pressed play on the video, and Eva and I watched it closely.

The investigator had struck gold. For one minute, a pretty clear security video showed us dancing slow in each other's arms, big smiles on our faces. Eva still held her bouquet. We whispered in each other's ears, joy in the way we moved against the other. At the end of the recording, we came apart and I gave her my jacket; it didn't quite fit her, which made us laugh. At the end I put the jacket over her shoulders, kissed her on the face, and we walked out of frame.

My whole world flipped. My insides did a somersault.

That second, secret napkin had never been so right, like now, when I watched us dance and smile at each other, and her trembling hands squeezed mine.

I gulped the bulk of my emotions down. "I rarely use my social media, but I could post this. Title it,the night I met you."

Her eyes cleared from concern and softened.

"What does the council say?" She smiled at me, before casting her grin at everyone.

Gabe and Lina were the first to watch, as Tío Raúl returned with more Araucano.

"I say it looks real," Lina gave us a teasing smile. "Post it."

"It was real." I sipped from the herbal digestif. "I'm pretty sure we weren't dancing for the pretense."

"It may sound strange…" Eva's voice faded, her face wistful. "But I'm sure I was happy that night. We may not have married out of love, but we both had reasons to celebrate."