“Google says the drive is twelve hours. I think I should be able to make it in fourteen with sufficient bathroom breaks and pit stops for food and coffee.”

“Promise me you’ll stop if you get tired. Remember that you’re pulling this thing, and not to question your abilities, but when did you ever drive twelve hours straight pulling a U-Haul?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I groan.

“You can do it!” she yells, arms stretched out holding imaginary pom-poms. “But please, please promise me you will stop if you get tired.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ll probably be too wired the entire time.”

“Still, I’m sure Esteban wants you back in one piece. By the way, did you tell him you’re on your way back?”

“I haven’t yet. I keep going back and forth on what to do. Should I tell him? Should I not tell him and surprise him? I can’t make up my mind.”

“I see. Either way, you have twelve hours of time to muster up the courage to call him.”

“I’m not…” But as I try to argue, the butterflies start swarming in my stomach and my throat closes up so much I can’t even speak anymore. I swallow, blinking back the tears that have formed in my eyes.

“You’ve got this,” my friend says with her hands firmly grasping my arms, giving me the best and only kind of pep talk I need right now. “When you get there, I want pictures. Tons of pictures. Of you and Esteban, lovey-dovey, getting your happily ever after on. But nothing too graphic—please and thank you.”

“Got it, boss.”

“Now, off you go.”

I had to trade in my Prius for something with a little more horsepower. For the time being, it’s a GMC Sierra truck. It has zero charm and is much bigger compared to Esteban’s old truck. 

I’m getting rid of this monstrosity as soon as I unload my belongings in Albuquerque.

My heart flutters when I turn on the ignition, realizing that every mile I’ll cover will mean one less minute away from Esteban.

“Hey.” Lily peeks inside the window. “That stuff with Penelope...that was something else, right?” she says with a smile.

“It sure was,” I tell her, trying hard not to get too emotional about it.

“I miss your mom.”

“I miss her too.”

“I’m so thankful she was there to help you make up your mind. Now, go get your man.”

“I’ll call you from the road. I promise I’ll use Bluetooth.”

 

 

After fifteen hours, seven hundred eighty-five miles, seven calls to Lily, and a spilled cup of iced coffee later, I pull into the parking lot of Vida Dulce. I debated for the last five hours if I should shower and make myself presentable first. In the end, impatience won.

I got so excited by the time I crossed the New Mexico border, I even scrapped my initial plan and called Esteban several times, but he never picked up.

I have a stupid knot in my stomach at the thought he might not be returning my calls for a reason, even as I tell myself he might just have a busy night at work. As I park the monster truck, I realize I need to get out of my coffee-stained T-shirt. I pull another shirt out of a duffel bag in the back seat, glancing toward the entrance of the restaurant. I try to hurry, all too aware I’m half naked in a parking lot.

It’s the middle of December and it’s gotten colder, much colder. I shiver as the chilly air hits my skin and I’m soon covered in goose bumps.

As I pull the T-shirt over my head and make it halfway across my boobs, Esteban walks out of the restaurant, wearing a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black tie. It’s been his manager uniform since day one and I swoon every time I see him like this. Not to hate on his black jeans, but his ass looks particularly good in a pair of well-tailored dress pants. He’s so much man, even though he’s been working too much, and his face is a bit paler than the rich, caramel color he sported last summer.

He has his jacket in one hand, and he’s glancing at his phone in the other.

He brings the phone to his ear, frowning, just as the Bluetooth in my truck starts ringing loudly. He looks up, and his eyes meet mine. I’m still frozen with my shirt pulled down halfway. I slowly roll it down to my waist as his expression goes from one of surprise, to confusion, to pure, unadulterated joy. He hangs up the call and shrugs on his jacket, slowly, never taking his eyes off me.

The smile that stretches across his face is happy and confident, and the most handsome I’ve ever seen. I bite my bottom lip as he leisurely walks toward me. He’s smirking now, and I’m not mad about it, not when his smile reaches his eyes which sparkle like emeralds. God, how I’ve missed him.

When he’s almost reached me, I see the intention in his gaze. He’s going to grab me and kiss me senseless, but then something makes him hold back, and I realize he’s afraid. He doesn’t know that I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Then, he takes in the whole scene, he looks at the truck, and the trailer…and a brief, hopeful smile illuminates his face once more.

“Where did you get this thing?”

“I had to trade in my cute, eco-friendly Prius to make sure I had enough horsepower to pull that,” I tell him, pointing at the trailer behind me with my thumb.

“You could have gotten something in between, something smaller.”

“I was in a hurry,” I tell him, dropping a hint. He smiles again, a little bigger this time. He looks so beautiful and…happy. I’m dying to feel his lips on mine. It’s been too long. How have I survived all these days without him?

I’ve been so stubborn and stupid. I can’t wait to apologize to him…in bed.

“Would it be really presumptuous of me to assume this means you’re staying?” he asks, tapping his fingers on the Sierra.

“You may rely on it,” I chuckle nervously, and his eyes brighten up even more.

“Magic 8-Ball?” he asks, and I nod, pressing my lips together. “Oh, you strange, beautiful girl. What am I going to do with you?” When he smiles at me like this, and he goes from shy to seductive, the butterflies take over with such force, I feel as light as a feather.

“Keep me forever?” At this point, I’m not even surprised by how bold I sound. The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions.

“You may rely on it,” he replies, humoring me, the smile on his face unleashing another swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

“I have even better things for you to hear, if you’re up for it.”

He brushes a lock of hair away from my cheek. “Like what?”

I clear my throat. “Like…would it be really presumptuous of me to assume you’re about to kiss me until I have to come up for air?”

A lopsided grin spreads across his face and he bites his bottom lip.

He takes a deep, steadying breath, eyes shining with happiness. “Looks like you can read my mind.”

I smile, a surge of energy running through me from being so happy, even though I’m ridiculously tired. “I guess I can. Who knew?”

“Let’s hope you can’t read everything else I’m planning to do to you tonight. It would ruin the surprise.”

“That would be a pity.”

He shuts the door of the truck, and after he takes one step closer, I close my eyes, anticipating his kiss. Instead, he swoops me up in his arms, and then he kisses my lips.

“Welcome back,” he whispers.

A solitary tear runs down my cheek.

I’m enjoying this too much to even tell him to put me down. Besides, if he messes up his back because of me, he’ll be confined to bed for days. Actually, Esteban confined to a bed doesn’t sound like a terrible plan, especially since I’ll be volunteering to take care of him. He makes me open the door of his truck and sets me down on the worn-out leather seat, and then not even a second goes by before we’re a tangle of hands and lips and kisses and whispered words. His chest presses against mine, my tongue wraps around his, both of us trying frantically to make up for the time we lost. 

His face is cold, and so are my hands.

I pull back, breaking our kiss.

“Take me home,” I say breathlessly, and then notice tiny white flakes landing on his jacket. “It’s snowing.” It’s just a handful of flurries, but they still take me by surprise.

He looks up for just a second, as if he has no intention to stop looking at me.

“Oh, yeah. It sure looks like it.”

“Do you think it’s a sign?”

He cocks one eyebrow. “Do you believe in signs now?”

“I have good reason to,” I whisper, looking into his eyes.

“You know what? You’re right. This might be a sign, since it rarely snows in town.” We both smile at each other, and then it’s another sequence of hungry kisses.

“I’ve hardly seen snow in my life,” I tell him when I come up for air.

“We could fix that. I was thinking of taking you up to the mountains in a bit.”

“Really? When?”

“In a couple of months, when it’s layers and layers of fresh powder. And I’ll ask you to be my wife, even if it might sound crazy to make that kind of commitment so soon.” His eyes beam in a way I’ve never seen before and the fire in my chest burns with the intensity of my love for him. I can’t wait to make Esteban’s dreams come true.

“It doesn’t sound too crazy. You’ve been waiting for me a while, after all.”

His eyes widen in surprise and a bright smile splits his face in two.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” he teases.

“Let’s go home, so I can show you exactly how I feel about you.”

“That sounds like a fantastic plan,” he laughs, giving me a small peck on the lips, his eyes lit with sheer joy.