Page 99 of Yours, Forever

I gave a hug to each of my friends, and they did the same with us. Gabe's parents, Raúl and Sonia, were the last to join us. I gave them a hug as well, and waited for Eva's attention to make the introductions.

I brought Eva closer to me with a hand on her lower back. My eyes were on her, studying her reaction to everyone. She gazed at the people who'd taught me what long-lasting love looked like.

"Tío Raúl, Tía Sonia. It's my pleasure to introduce you to Eva, my wife."

They all shook hands.

"It's lovely to meet you." Eva smiled. "I've heard wonderful things, including how you will try to adopt me."

They both laughed, but it was Tía Sonia who spoke first.

"It is likely, especially if you call us tío and tía, like the boys do."

Her accent, always so comforting to me, sounded bright in the space.

When I heard her and Tío Raúl speaking in Spanish, with their Chilean accent and slang, it always stitched something in my heart.

"I think I can do that," Eva said.

Tío Raúl chuckled. "We like her already."

"Come, come." Tía Sonia called us in with a wave of her hand. "We'll make dinner now. Would you like some wine?"

"I'll serve some more for everyone." Lina hooked an arm around Eva's and pulled her into the house. "I want to get to know you more. I plan to take advantage of a loose tongue to give me material with which to tease Max in the future."

"I'm sorry." Eva's tone sounded playful rather than apologetic. "Not drinking to excess ever again was part of my wedding vows."

Lina laughed.

Everyone chatted together at the kitchen island while some folk cooked; before the meal, I took our bags to our room, and gave Tío Raúl the couple of bottles of a Chilean liquor I had imported for us.

Sometime later, the group sat together doing sobremesa.

"Tell us about Laguna Island," Tío Raúl said to Eva. "We hear it's beautiful."

"It is," she replied. "The coast and endless forests are ancient and special. The town needed some care, but it's buzzing now with excitement. Great things are happening."

"Eva and I are buying a house that will have enough room for you to visit in the future, if you like," I said. Everyone exchanged looks with each other and I smirked; I enjoyed surprising them all. "You've had me here so often, I can't wait to have you at our place so you can see the town with your own eyes."

Gabe held Lina's hand on the table, and smirked in my direction. "How many rooms? To know how many of us can show up at once."

"Relax, Gabe." Vi smirked. "Max may love us, but I don't know that he and Eva can host us all at once in his place."

"There's always Enrique," Lina said.

"We do need to figure out a hospitality option in town. Max is also looking into that," Eva said. "There's an old mansion that I hope will end up as a small hotel."

"Oh, the one on the rocky island on the bay?" Vi's eyes shone with excitement. "That sounds gorgeous!"

My phone chirped with the notification I had set for Leon.

"Excuse me," I said. "I'll check this quickly just in case—it's my lawyer."

Conversation continued around me as I checked the email.

Eva leaned close to me. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. It's another video of us. Leon thinks it's from after the wedding and it can help us if things go south with my father. He's saying we should make it public on socials, just to deter my dad's team. Preemptive measures, he says."