Island Affair (Keys to Love #1) - Priscilla Oliveras Page 0,98
time with someone new. She’s going to want to meet her. Soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if she twists your arm to bring Sara to familia dinner tonight.”
The mere idea of Sara sitting at his mami’s table, confronted with the inevitable Navarro Cuban Inquisition, made Luis’s blood run cold with dread.
He sure as hell hoped his sister was wrong. No way would he put Sara through that.
* * *
At noon, while the Vance family and Luis waited for a table at Bistro 245 overlooking the harbor teeming with sailboats and catamarans bobbing on the water, Luis received the forewarned text from his mami.
I cannot wait to visit with your new amiga at familia dinner tonight. 6 PM. No falles.
Don’t miss.
Co?o, her edict had been laid down. And no matter how badly he may want to, Luis knew better than to defy his well-meaning, henpecking, chancla-throwing mami.
Chapter 18
Sara drummed her fingers on the center console in Luis’s truck, the sound echoing the ominous beat pounding in her head. She peered in the passenger side rearview mirror at the “Welcome to Key West Paradise USA” sign with its brightly colored tropical sunset scene growing smaller in the distance behind them. Ahead, US 1 was a gray ribbon leading them toward his parents’ house in Big Coppitt Key.
“How far did you say the drive was?” she asked, not quite hiding the trepidation chipping at her self-confidence like a woodpecker high on an energy drink.
Luis cut a worried glance her way, then went back to watching the road when a car signaled into their lane.
“We’ll make a left onto Diamond Drive around Mile Marker Ten. It’s roughly twenty minutes from downtown, without traffic.”
That meant she had about ten more minutes to pull herself together. To center her thinking on positivity and stop the spiral of doubt that could trigger unhealthy urges.
Her fingers thrummed the console again, telegraphing her agitation. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Luis.
Hands clenched on the black leather steering wheel, he drove with his body rigidly straight in his seat, his expression schooled in his infamous, calm game face. From the moment they had said good-bye to her family and closed the front door behind them, Luis had slipped into the tough-guy, man-of-few-words Vin Diesel role that had drawn her to him on Friday.
A role she now knew he often played as a way of protecting himself from deep emotional wounds he tried to deny.
Ones he hid well behind that serious game face, along with the fun-loving, the honest, and especially the tender lover sides she’d come to care for.
But, once again, they were about to break the one cardinal rule from the very beginning he had asked her to respect. Don’t involve his familia.
Guilt pressed down on her like a two-ton whale. Sara closed her eyes, blocking out the peach, orange, and purple early evening sun streaks smearing the sky.
“I am so sorry about this,” she offered, knowing the words were little compensation for what lay ahead when they arrived at his childhood home.
A deep groove cut in between Luis’s brows at his frown. “For what? I’m the one dragging you out here. Away from fine dining at a five-star restaurant with your family to a buffet-style madhouse with mine. Where, as much as I’ll try to fend her off of you, I’m fairly certain my mom will be in prime Cuban Inquisition mode.”
The exasperation tinging his voice coupled with his over-exaggeration assuaged Sara’s fears and tickled her funny bone.
His frown deepened at her chuckle. “What’s so funny?”
“The Cuban Inquisition? Really?”
His eyes bugged out, his brows rising high. “Uh, yeah! Just wait.”
She sighed, oddly comforted by the fact that, despite the potential trouble her meeting his family could cause, Luis seemed mostly worried about her. His kind streak no longer surprised her really. It simply confirmed one of the multiple reasons why she was falling so hard and so fast for this generous giant of a man.
“At least, we can count on Anamaría for help deflecting,” he continued. “Mostly for your sake, not mine. She’d love to see me squirm. But for you, the biggest name in social media influencer circles and her absolute idol, she’ll take heat from Mami.”
“I am not the biggest name,” Sara deferred, slightly embarrassed by Anamaría’s effusive admiration this morning. Though also proud that her career trajectory would inspire his sister. “But I was serious when I said I’d sit down to go over her business plans, answer any questions.”