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Ollie is watching us, not saying much. He’s in the back of the room under the pretense of taking notes and making sure everything is working well.

“I’ll meet you ladies downstairs. I know nothing about fuchsia or videos.”

We continue going through the pieces, but my heart goes out to him because I know how big of a step this is for him. And this is huge for us.

Us.

“Are you really okay with your dad and I being friends?”

“You mean boyfriend and girlfriend.” She giggles, and it’s really so cute.

“Yes.”

“I love it. My dad is a great guy, and you’re awesome. B and I always thought you two would make a cute couple.”

“You never said anything,” I say to her.

“You guys are like Carla and the Hybrid, hiding your feelings so others don’t notice. Super cute.”

I laugh. I’ve learned to love Vampire Chronicles with Bron. I couldn’t wait for Carla and the Hybrid to become a couple.

“You like us being together. It means the world to me that you do.”

“Papi said the same thing.”

“You are the most important person to him, and I’m not here to change that. I couldn’t change it, and I wouldn’t want to either. I love you, and I’m getting to know your dad. If there’s something I do that bothers you, please tell me.”

“Okay. Thank you for not telling him. I’m going to talk to him tomorrow.”

She can’t be this easygoing about it, can she? But I don’t want to make it weird by asking all these questions.

“Ayla, if your dad agrees and you do too, I want us to get to know each other better too. Like, we can go out, just us, and talk more often. I want us to be a unit too.”

Her smile is slow, but there’s something there that twists my insides. It was the same as when she asked me if we were close.

She gets a call from Bron, and I go downstairs to give her some privacy. I sense she has lots to say. I find Ollie in my family room.

“She’s talking to Bron.”

He shakes his head. “She’ll be there for a while.”

“Okay, then,” I say and beeline straight for him, throwing my arms around his neck and crushing my lips to his.

I can’t believe how much I missed his body and his mouth. He pulls me tight against him, and I’m reminded of other things I missed. I pull back.

“I don’t want her walking in on this. We are not there yet,” I say.

He presses his lips against my cheek. “I’m not kidding. When she’s on the phone with Bron, you have to pry her away. I love that you’re considerate.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the couch. We sit a little apart. “What changed your mind?”

“I had time to reflect. You were right. I wasn’t really giving us a chance, and you deserve better. I deserve better. Being a dad doesn’t stop me from being a man. I also like you too much to let you go, Luciana. I can’t remember the last time I felt this strongly about someone.”

It’s the right thing to say because I go all warm, and I’m almost leaning forward. Instead, I squeeze his hand.

“I wasn’t trying to force you. I just wanted a real chance. I didn’t think you would do this.”

He frowns. “What did you think I would do?”