Beat of the Heart (43 page)

few bags in my ‘delicate condition’.”

He shook his head. “It’s not about you being pregnant. It’s a customary thing here in Mexico.”

When I opened my mouth to protest, he replied, “Get your feminist panties out of a twist, Mia, and let

me do something chivalrous, okay?”

“Fine,” I grumbled, before handing over the bags.

We were on our way out when AJ stopped at a barrel of jewelry. He fished something out and paid

the lady. He then took my hand in his and slid a black, metal bracelet on my arm. I glanced down at it

before shooting him a look. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“What? It’s a Saint’s bracelet.”

“Duh, I know what it is. I’m Catholic too, remember?”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I shrugged. “They’re kinda hokey now because Bella wears one of them in the
Twilight
movie.”

“I don’t give a shit what they wore in some sparkly vampire movie. They’re for protection.” AJ

brought his hand to my stomach. “I pray for the saints to watch over you and Bella. If anything, wear it

to humor me, okay?”

I fought to catch my breath at his words. Even though we were in a crowded market, I’d never felt

more connected to AJ in my life. “Okay, I will,” I whispered.

“Ready to head back?”

I nodded in reply. As we started back to the car, I stared down at my bracelet. From time to time, I

let my fingers graze over the saint’s pictures.

“Wait just a sec, okay?”

Before I could ask him what he was doing, AJ had crossed the parking lot to where a woman and

her son sat. Shielding my eyes from the blazing sun, I saw the sign in her hand. Although it was in

Spanish, I knew it must be asking for help. AJ reached in his pocket and took out a wad of money. She

smiled and ducked her head at his gesture. The boy, who couldn’t have been more than seven, pointed

at AJ’s head. I saw AJ grin before he took off the Braves baseball cap he’d been sporting since we

left Atlanta. He placed it on the boy’s head, which caused him to beam with pleasure.

And in that moment of AJ’s kindness—when there was no paparazzi or fans to impress—I knew

what a truly decent and honorable man he was. But more than anything, I knew how much I truly loved

him and wanted to be with him. In that moment any doubt I had about him or about us instantly

evaporated.

As he walked up to me, his smiled faded, and concern lined his brow. “Amorcito mio, why are you

crying?”

“What you just did…” I said between my hiccupping cries.

“Oh that. Yeah, I—” I silenced him by throwing my arms around his neck and pressing myself tight

against him. “Hey, hey, what’s this?”

I pulled away to stare into his eyes. “I love what you just did—for the mother and for the boy. I

love that you pray for me and Bella. I love that you won’t give up on me, and you keep pushing me to

see beyond my past. I love that as hard as I try to make you just like all the other men out there, you

keep proving me wrong. I love that you wanted to bring me here to meet your family…” My lip

quivered harder. “I even love that you got me fatty American food to eat.”

AJ smiled. “You’re welcome.” With his thumb, he brushed away some of the tears streaming down

my cheeks. “I do all those things because I love you. You know that right?”

“I do.” I leaned over and brought my lips to his. When he tried to deepen the kiss, I eased back. “I

love you, too,” I murmured against his lips.

AJ’s closed eyes popped open. “What did you say?”

I laughed. “I said, I love you, too.” At his expression of disbelief, I cupped his face in my hands. “I

know without a shadow of a doubt that I love you.” Tears continued to spill from my eyes onto his

shirt. “You’re my anema e core.”

AJ’s lips were warm and tender against mine. When he pulled away, he tugged my bottom lip

between his 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.

“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 Bohème
, 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.