"Something you want to tell me?"
"She asked what our plans were. I told her we hadn't made any yet, with everything else we'd been dealing with. She thought these might help."
I took a sip from the steaming mug she handed to me with an appreciative sigh. She did make excellent coffee.
"Mateo asked me about our plans, too."
"What are we going to do? They're going to keep asking. Applying for a fake wedding license was bad enough; I'm not planning a fake wedding."
I scrubbed my face with my hands. "I know. I hadn't anticipated this."
"This, meaning what?"
"I actually like Mateo. I want to work for him. To make him proud. For some reason, it's important to me."
She studied me for a moment. "What are you saying?"
"I thought it would be easier," I acknowledged.
"He'd meet you on the odd occasion, and that would be it. I hadn't anticipated you and his daughter becoming friends—or his wife adoring you." I pushed the magazines, toppling the neat pile.
