Claimed by the Alien Bodyguard - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,49

bathroom and joined them at the dining table, where Ana and Gabriela were already seated. There were three plates of steaming food set out—one each in front of the females, and another in front of an empty chair. The food’s aroma was even stronger now than when he’d come home, and his stomach growled as he breathed it in.

The females smiled at him as he took his seat. Their food was untouched, and their forks still lay beside their plates. He glanced down. Chicken thighs and potatoes in some sort of golden sauce with little bits of green cilantro sprinkled in it, accompanied by white rice and wedges of avocado.

Broxen met Gabriela’s gaze. “What is this?”

“Sudado de pollo,” she replied, her smile taking on a wistfulness he’d not seen before. “My abuelita used to cook it for my mom when she was a girl, and my mother taught me to make it. It’s like…Colombian chicken stew.”

“It’s good,” Ana chimed in. “Can we eat now?”

Gabriela chuckled. “Yes, we can eat now.”

They all dug in eagerly. Broxen sat back and groaned as he chewed his first bite. It had been a long while since he’d had a home-cooked meal—if he could really consider the simple foods he’d prepared for himself in the past meals—and this put everything else to shame. It was unlike anything he’d tasted yet, a blend of spices and flavors he’d never encountered, and it was delicious.

Of course, it was even more enjoyable considering Gabriela had made it for him.

Her sudado de pollo was so good that Broxen didn’t even realize how fast he was shoveling it into his mouth until his plate was almost clean except for the bones—and he knew it couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes since he’d started eating.

Gabriela grinned. “I take it you liked it?”

He paused with the final bite in his mouth, shifted the food aside, and asked, “Is there more?”

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” Ana chided.

Broxen snapped his mouth shut, eyebrows rising as he glanced at the kit.

“Mom says it’s rude.” She looked at her mother. “Right?”

Gabriela was covering her mouth with a hand as she laughed. “Yes. And yes, there’s more.”

Swallowing his food, Broxen offered a quick sorry before standing up and bringing his plate to the kitchen for another helping.

“It’s also rude to scold our host, Ana Sofia Romero,” Gabriela said.

Broxen glanced back at them to see Ana duck her head and smile sheepishly.

“Oops.” Ana looked at him. “Sorry, Mason.”

“No problem,” he said as he carried his freshly loaded plate back to the table. “I, uh…didn’t have a mother to teach me that stuff. So it’s good I have you to tell me now.”

“Did your mom leave you like my dad left us?” Ana asked.

Broxen eased onto his chair, unsure of how he felt. His childhood had been a long time ago, and the situation had simply been what it had been. He’d done what he had to in order to overcome it. He never really thought about it much, just like he never really thought about family, or the familial bonds that could be forged between people. Just like he never thought much about the love and support some families provided.

But he couldn’t help thinking about those things lately.

“My parents didn’t really care what happened to me,” he said. “Learned to get by on my own, and one day…I left. And it was hard, for a long, long time. Wish I had a mom like yours.”

“My mom’s the best.” Ana grinned mischievously. “I can share her with you.”

Gabriela made a choking sound as she drank her water. She quickly set the glass down and turned her head, coughing.

Broxen glanced between the two females, smirking. “Not exactly looking for a mother right now.”

“How about a wi—”

“Ana,” Gabriela intoned, her cheeks flushed. “Eat your dinner before it gets cold.”

Broxen chuckled, but when he shifted his gaze to Gabriela, his amusement faded. He knew exactly what Ana had been saying, and he was sure the clever kit knew exactly what she was doing.

I wish you were my dad.

He did, too.

This right here, this dinner…somehow, it was one of the best moments of his life. This simple gathering, sharing a meal and conversation, this outshone almost everything else he’d ever experienced. He didn’t care if it was greedy; he wanted more of this.

He wanted this forever—with Gabriela and Ana.

Twelve

“You brushed your teeth?” Gabriela asked as Ana hopped onto her new bed.

Gabby still couldn’t quite believe what she’d seen when