Page 12 of Love Me
“I treat my princesses special because they are.”
I watch as my dad sidles up to my mom, towering over her, but looking down into her eyes with such affection. Their chemistry practically ignites the entire room. For a second, I swear it’s as if the three of us, plus the movers coming in and out, disappear from their consciousness.
“But I treat my queen the way she deserves,” I hear him murmur.
My mother’s entire face lights up. She lifts on her tiptoes and leans in for a kiss.
I look away. Also, because something ripples through my chest. A yearning I can’t ignore but don’t quite understand.
One would think that since I recently broke up with my fiancé, he would be the one who my heart yearns for.
But it’s not him.
A knock at the door startles me out of my musings before I have time to put a face to the name my heart is calling.
My dad pulls it open. His six-foot-plus height obscures my view of who’s on the other side. However, his following comment alerts me to who it is.
“I figured you’d show up eventually,” he says with a familiar scoff in his tone. “This boy is always lurking around somewhere.”
When he steps away, my lips curl as my eyes lock with golden brown irises that I’ve known since I was nine years old.
“Diego!” Avery yells and runs to throw her arms around him. “Monique said you might not come over to help because you probably had to work. I told her it’s Saturday, but she said you’ve been working a lot lately.”
He looks at me and cocks his head to the side. My gaze is drawn to the grin on his pink lips.
“Are you lying on me, Mo?”
“Are you calling my Short Stuff a liar?” my dad interjects before I can answer.
“Damon, leave Diego alone,” my mother orders before she steps around my father and gives Diego a hug.
“Daddy, how long are you going to call me that nickname?” I ask.
He lifts an eyebrow. “Until I’m good and gone. Which won’t be for years and years and years to come,” he replies. He kisses my forehead.
Familiar warmth passes through me from my father’s loving words.
I’ve missed this.
I’ve visited my family over the years, and they came to visit me as well. This is different, though. I’m actually home. To stay, not just for a few days or a week.
That realization settles over me when I look over at Diego again. “I’ve missed the hell out of you, Mo. Come back home, please.”
After he asked with such sincerity and longing in his voice, it was no longer a choice. While I had a job, volunteer work, and friends in New York, it didn’t feel like enough. The pull of moving back to Williamsport was more significant than everything else combined.
“I didn’t lie,” I finally say to Diego. “I thought you would’ve had to work overtime since work keeps you so busy.”
There might be a slight bitterness in my voice. I may still be slightly miffed that he hadn’t answered my calls in the last few months of my relationship with Lawrence even though he’s been present since I agreed to move back home.
A shadow passes over his face but he quickly covers it. I tilt my head to the side and give him a look. Our gazes lock, and he squints ever so slightly. His way of letting me know he doesn’t want to talk about it right now.
“They’re doing it again,” my dad says with that slightly irritated edge in his voice.
I peer over at him, frowning.
My mother approaches his side and wraps her arm around his waist. “Doing what?” she inquires.
“That silent talking shit they always do.” My dad looks between me and Diego. “Been doing it since they were kids. I told you they had a secret language between them. They could be plotting the downfall of society and none of us would know.”