Beat of the Heart

teeth for a second. “You make me really happy, you know that?”

He sank down to where he was on eye-level with my belly. “You hear that, Bella? Your stubborn-ass mom finally told your old man she loves him.”

“We gotta work on your mouth before she gets here.”

He grinned up at me before pressing a tender kiss on my stomach. I brought my hands up to cup his cheeks. As the beads on my Saint’s bracelet caught the sunlight, I knew I was truly blessed.

24

“Oh my God, that was amazing!” Mia exclaimed as we excited the Degollado Theater. Since I begged to differ, I kept my lips pinched shut. I’d almost dozed off twice. Okay, so maybe I did fall asleep since Mia elbowed me because I was snoring. I’d even drooled a little on her arm. Thankfully, she was so fucking stoked to be seeing her favorite opera, La Boheme, that she could have cared less about what I was doing.

But I still felt like an ass because tonight was all part of a very strategic romantic plan. It had started off this morning with a Mariachi band serenade. When she and Abby had staggered out onto the rooftop at six am to find a full ensemble of musicians and singers belting our anthem of Guadalajara, she had stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at me like I had totally lost my mind. To me, the Mariachi band was an obvious choice. I mean, Guadalajara is where Mariachi originated. But I guess Mia felt a little ridiculous in her pajama pants and bed hair in front of a bunch of strange men in glittering suits.

But that all changed when I led her out to the chair waiting for her in the center of the roof. Then I took my place among the singers. I’d been practicing secretly for days while she was spending time with my family. In perfect Spanish, I began singing Aneme e Core to her. As the sun began to rise over the city, tears glistened in her eyes as I knelt before her and took her hands in mine.

When I finished the song, she dove into my arms, smothering my face with kisses before bringing her lips to mine. “I love you so much,” she murmured against my mouth.

“I love you, too.”

The band stayed on, and while they sang Amorcito Mio, Mia and I danced together. That’s when I surprised her with tickets to the opera. She had squealed with delight and squeezed me harder. When everyone had started heading back to bed, I kept Mia out on the rooftop. Pressed into an alcove where no one could see us, I’d spun her around, pressed her palms against the wall, and then jerked her pajama pants down. The more I pumped furiously into her, the more vocal she got.

Even though I didn’t give a shit if Jake heard us in the bedroom, I didn’t want the neighbors or worst of all Abuela to hear. I covered Mia’s mouth with my hand. “You make me so fucking hot with those sounds, but someone is going to catch us,” I whispered into her ear. She bobbed her head, and almost made me blow my load by flicking her tongue against my hand in time with my thrusts. When she came, she bit down onto my fingers. I followed quickly after her.

Now everything was going according to the plan I had in my mind. Well, except for the fact I found opera boring as hell and with a full stomach from our romantic dinner, I had made an ass of myself falling asleep.

Staring up at the starry sky, Mia gasped. “Look at the moon, AJ!” she exclaimed.

As I peeked up at the rounded, full moon, I shrugged. “What about it?”

Spinning around, Mia practically glowed with happiness. “It’s a bella luna just like in Moonstruck, my most favorite movie ever. And we just went to the same opera in the movie, too.”

Since I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, I merely smiled and took her hand. “Let’s go there,” I motioned to what looked like a carousel without the animals. It was perfect not just because it looked incredibly romantic all lit-up in glittering, white lights with an excellent view of the city. But to me, a Merry-Go-Round was so symbolic of mine and Mia’s relationship so far.

“Okay,” she replied with a dreamy smile. Somehow she had managed to find the sexiest maternity evening dress I’d ever seen. It was black satin that hugged her curves. My favorite was the plunging neckline that showed off her expanding tits. The back of the dress hung low, exposing more of her delicious skin. When she had stepped out of the bedroom wearing it, I had to hold myself back not to rush forward and bang her in the hallway.

After leading her up the stairs, I was stoked to find no one else inside. “This is so beautiful.” She pressed herself against me. “Thank you for today, AJ. Everything has been so amazing on this trip. Your family has been as wonderful as you described them. I feel as though they have accepted me with open arms. I hate that we have to leave in a few days.”

I nuzzled my head into the crook of her neck. “You’re welcome. And, of course they love you. How could they not? But we’ll come back. I promise.”

“Good.” She ran her fingers through my hair. “God, I love you so very much,” she murmured.

Just those words caused my perfect plan to get shot to hell. “Marry me,” I blurted, my voice vibrating against her neck.

She jerked away and stared incredulously into my eyes. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Yes, but I’m pretty sure a statement like that bears repeating.”

I grinned. “You’re not a traditionalist, but if you’d like, I’ll get down on one knee.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious.”

Mia’s brows crinkled. “But we barely know each other.”

I shrugged. “How much does any couple actually know each other when it comes down to it? Sure, I might’ve only known you five months—”

“Which four of those we were apart,” she countered.

“But I still know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” My hand came to rest on her stomach. “Besides, you’re carrying my daughter.”

Staring up at the twinkling lights, Mia gave a sad sigh. “I don’t want to get married just because of Isabella. That’s what happened with my parents. I never want you to resent me or come to view me as ‘the chick who trapped you with a kid’.”

I shook my head furiously from side to side. “I could never think of you like that. Hell Mia, if anything, I’m the one that’s trapping you. I chased your stubborn ass down until you finally decided to give us a real chance.”

“You say that now, but who knows what might happen in the future?”

“Don’t you want to marry me?” My voice had taken on a wounded tone.

Mia turned to bring her hands to my face, cupping my cheeks. “That’s not it at all. Any woman would be honored to marry you. This is about me and all my hang-ups. All this seems too good to be true— you seem too good to be true. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop where I wake up to realize this isn’t real.”

I couldn’t fight the anger building within me at her response. “Dammit Mia, how many times do I have to prove that punishing me for your past isn’t fair?”

With a wince, she replied, “I don’t know…And I’m sorry. I truly am.”

“You know the four months I spent apart from you were miserable. Before you, I thought I’d been in love with other women before. When they left me, I was desolate. But it was nothing compared to what I experienced after you left. I was fucking obliterated.”

“So was I,” she admitted.

I threw up my hands. “Then what the fuck else is there to say? We’re miserable when we’re apart and happy when we’re together.”

Tears pooled in her eyes, and I shook my head. “No more bullshit about how I’m too good to put up with all your hang-ups and blah, blah, blah. Just marry me. You can’t worry about the future—we’re not even promised