“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking it off.

Pretending to be distracted by the huge entrance, she glanced away so that he wouldn’t see her, once again, flushing face. Get a grip! Just as they stepped onto the first steps of the grand entrance, there was a honk behind them, and they both turned.

“Well, shit,” Hector smirked.

Charlee didn’t remember exactly what the Starsky and Hutch car looked like, but the car coming up the driveway was close enough. Seeing Abel behind the wheel only confirmed it—Gran Torino. He held his hand out the window, dangling something.

Hector started down the walk, bringing Charlee with him hand in hand. “What is that?”

“The keys!” Abel yelled out. “It’s a done deal. Escrow closed today.”

Now that Abel was closer, Charlee could see he wasn’t alone. And as she and Hector walked toward the car, she could see who was with him. Even though she’d seen them all at the party a few weeks earlier, she hadn’t since, and after spending so much time reading about them on ‘The 5th Street Journey’ blog, she almost felt as if they were minor celebs.

Though she hadn’t quite got past the way Hector made her feel so captivated, and she honestly didn’t think she ever would, she had begun to feel more at ease around him. At least she could talk to him now without feeling so tongue-tied, but suddenly, as the guys all stepped out of the car, her stomach was in knots again.

“What are you doing here?” Abel asked, glancing at Charlee with a smirk.

Her face warmed, knowing what they all must be thinking, because secretly she’d begun to not only wonder but hope that maybe Hector had brought here for a little more privacy.

“I was gonna show her the place. She lives close by here.” Hector turned to her and smiled. “Charlee, this is my brother, Abel. These other two clowns are my partners, Noah and Gio.” He pointed at each respectively. “Guys, this is Charlee,” he paused with a smirk and to her surprise added, “my girlfriend.”

They all seemed momentarily stunned just as Charlee was, but then each one nodded greeting her. Abel was the only one who actually commented. “Girlfriend, huh? Well, this is news.”

“Fresh off the press,” Hector said, squeezing her hand.

Like in all his pictures and even the night of the party, Abel’s expression was deadpan now. She got that in most of his promotional pictures for his fight he had to have that hard look that fighters purposely put on to stay in their tough fighter character. But even in all the other ones he was always the most serious of the four. He started toward the house and they all followed. “Mom know about this?” Abel asked without turning back at Hector.

“Not yet,” Hector said, nudging Gio, who walked next to him and laughed.

“That’ll be interesting,” Abel said then glanced back as he walked up the stairs of the entrance. “She doesn’t know about this yet either. She thinks it’s still gonna be weeks before escrow closes.” He pushed the buttons on the keyless lock and opened the front door then stopped and turned back to face Hector. “She’s going to see abuelita in a few days. She’ll be gone for at least a week. I want to surprise her when she gets back and have everything moved in here by then.”

“I probably won’t be here for the surprise,” Hector informed Abel as they walked into the luxurious lobby of the house. “But I’ll be here to help with the move.”

“Where you gonna be?” Abel stopped walking and faced Hector.

“D.C., remember? U.S. team meeting?”

Abel nodded and continued walking. “That’s right. Don’t worry about it then. Just do what you have to do.”

Charlee tried focusing on their conversation and not obsess about Abel’s “that’ll be interesting” comment. But it was nearly impossible. Why would it be so interesting?

The house, however, did make for a good distraction. It was incredible as they all walked through the front lobby, taking in all the impressive granite fixtures and enormous chandelier. Hector leaned into Charlee, taking advantage of his friends’ distraction. “That’s over a week away,” he whispered in her ear. “Maybe we can let whoever is making the traveling arrangements know we’ll only need one room.”

She froze as he nibbled on her ear before kissing her neck just below it and sucking just hard enough to start up the tingles.

They continued to walk through the enormous house as the reality of it all sunk in even more rapidly now. She wouldn’t just be traveling all over soon with her boyfriend, Hector. He was now making it clear they’d be staying in the same room when they did. Sleeping with this incredible guy would no longer be a farfetched fantasy. It was happening soon and then on a regular basis. He’d had no qualms about introducing her to his brother and closest friends as his girlfriend, and he was obviously planning on introducing him to his mother.

This was really happening, and while a part of her wanted to squeal like a schoolgirl in delight, another part of her, the one she needed to kill and bury already, was setting off warning sirens that screamed this was just too good to be true.

Chapter 24

Since introducing Charlee to Abel and the guys the day before, Hector felt even more certain that taking this leap was the right thing to do. He hadn’t expected to be telling any of them about Charlee so soon. He figured he’d mention her slowly, letting the idea that he was actually taking someone serious simmer with them for a while. He was certain none of them would buy into it. One thing he’d always made sure of in the past and they all knew was he’d never call a girl his girlfriend unless she really was. This was the first time any of them had ever heard him say it, not like some of the guys at the gym who, for the sake of making the chicks they were out with happy, did so easily. Hector didn’t play those kinds of games, and that’s why he’d made it clear to Charlee that from here on there’d be no guessing games.