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“Yeah, negrita, I want to talk to you about that too.”

She’s looking out the window. “You’re mad at me.”

“What? No.”

She frowns at me. “Why are you using your serious tone?”

I shake my head. “I want to talk to you about something serious.”

“Okay…”

“I want to talk to you about Luciana and me…”

“You like her—a lot—and you think she can do better than Mateo.”

“I do like her a lot.” There’s no reason to lie about that.

“She likes you too.”

“Why do you say that?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s so obvi.”

“Obvi? We’re just cutting words now?”

“Don’t change the topic. I’m not a child, Papi. I’m thirteen.”

JesuCristo. I hate it when she says things like that. “I know you’re thirteen. I was there when you were born. But you’re right, I do like Lux. Actually, I more than like her.”

“Then you should ask her out.”

“Would you be okay with that?”

“Duh. I like Lux. She’s so cool. We get to do fun things, and she’s not stuck up. Even though I’m not her niece, she makes sure I get the same treatments as her and Bron at the spa. She’s also teaching Bron and me how to develop our own styles so we don’t look like everyone else.”

That makes me smile. “That’s good you feel that way. Como te digo, Luciana and I have been getting to know each other more.”

I let the words hang in the air.

Her eyes round a little. “You’re talking to her.”

“Well, yeah, we’ve been having conversations.”

“No, Papi. I meant talking. You know? Like when two people are seeing each other, but it’s not official.”

Oh. “Yeah…”

“You didn’t tell me.” Her tone is soft, and there’s something jagged in it.

“I wanted to be sure we were compatible before I said anything. You do understand, right?”

“I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other.” Her voice is even lower now.

There’s a dip in my stomach. “We don’t, but my first priority is to protect you. I want to make sure something is going to work out before I involve you.”

“Because of Marcia?”

Yes.