Chapter 46

After a long day out on the water, snorkeling until our muscles were sore, we call for room service and eat dinner together in the suite’s dining area.

Ellie is so tired by the end of it that she can hardly keep her eyes open when she takes a seat on the couch.

Nico holds Ellie’s guitar out for her to grab. “Will you still play a song? Please.”

“How about I promise to play two songs tomorrow instead?”

“No.” Nico switches strategies by climbing onto the couch and tickling the bottom of her foot.

“Stop! I’ll seriously throw up if you do that again.”

“Mijo.” I look up from the photo I was sending to the family group chat.

“What?”

“Leave Ellie alone.”

“But she promised me.” He sticks out his bottom lip, but that strategy stopped working on me years ago.

With a sigh, Ellie sits up. “All right. One song.”

“Yay!” Nico bounces on the cushion a couple of times before settling down.

“He needs to learn no means no.”

“Good thing he has a dad who loves the word. He’ll be a pro in no time.” She grins.

I scratch my nose with my middle finger, and Ellie laughs while tuning her guitar.

My phone vibrates against my thigh, and I check the Muñoz-Lopez group chat. I sent a group of photos and a couple of videos of Nico snorkeling, hiking, and riding around on the back of an ATV with me.

TÍA

Nico reminds me so much of you and Julian when you were younger.

Rosa, Dahlia and Lily’s mother, follows up with a text thread full of different emojis.

DAHLIA

Is anyone going to address the obvious?

Most of the pictures I sent are of Nico and me, except for one that Ellie loved from our snorkeling trip. Nico is sitting between us with his arms wrapped around our middles, wearing the goofiest grin. Ellie is looking at the camera with a small smile and her body positioned in a way that hides her scars behind the plastic flippers.

I stare at the photo, looking for any possible clues. If I zoom in, there is a faint mark Ellie missed, but then the person would have to risk my wrath by admitting they were looking that closely at her legs.

ME

What?

DAHLIA

You’re smiling!

I completely overlooked that small but crucial detail in the photo.

LILY

I forgot what his smile looked like.

LILY

And half his face.

JULIAN

Still the least handsome Lopez cousin by far.

DAHLIA

Is it too soon to get rid of the flannel?

LILY

I vote no. I’ll volunteer as tribute to go through your closet myself.

ME

Elle never complains about my clothes.

DAHLIA

Are we officially caring about ELLE’s opinion now?

Fuck.

ME

Typo.

TÍA

Elle! ¡Me encanta!

ME

Please don’t call her that.

TÍA

¿Por qué?

LILY

It’s adorable.

DAHLIA

I mean I think you can do better than a nickname like that, but it’s still cute.

ME

Settle down, Strawberry Sweetheart.

Julian sends a middle finger emoji.

¡Me encanta!: I love it.

¿Por qué?: Why?

I’m quickly distracted from my phone by Ellie softly strumming.

“What about the new song you’ve been working on?” Nico asks.

While I’m happy she is getting back into songwriting again, my chest tightens at the idea of what could happen if Cole wants more songs from her.

It’s one song. Relax.

Ellie’s eyes pop. “No.”

“It sounds so good.” My son smiles.

“How do you know?”

Nico’s cheeks turn pink. “I might have listened a little bit.”

I make a face. “I told you it’s rude to go sneaking around like that.”

“I didn’t mean to…at first.”

That’s my son.

Ellie pauses her strumming. “It’s not finished.”

I clear my throat. “I didn’t know you were working on another one.”

Way to not sound like a self-conscious asshole.

She glances down at her guitar. “Yeah. I’m just messing around with a few ideas.”

“Can you play what you have so far?” Nico asks.

Ellie looks over at me before her eyes flick back to her guitar. “How about another one instead? Maybe one of your favorites?”

Nico makes a face, and Ellie, being the sweet, kind soul she is, complies.

“You don’t need to give in to him.”

“You try saying no to that face.”

On cue, Nico pops his bottom lip out and wobbles it.

“See?”

I shrug.

Seriously, Ellie spoils Nico way too much, but seeing as I can’t tell her no either, who am I to judge?

Ellie starts playing her new song, and both Nico and I become enraptured by her storytelling.

My momma says to look toward the future,

But I can’t see in the dark.

So I move around in a stupor,

Without ever hitting my mark.

My friends say tomorrow’s a brand-new day,

but I’m trapped in a never-ending night.

With no stars in the sky to point my way,

back to the missing light.

The doctor says to keep moving forward,

but I can’t seem to get out of reverse.

So I’m stuck in an endless torture,

With no way to break the curse.

Her voice is hypnotic and weaves a picture so vivid, I can’t help but wonder if what she’s saying is real. She continues singing, although the next verse has me questioning her lyrics even more.

I’m tired of hearing them tell me

how I’m supposed to live.

That if I want to be happy,

I need to learn what it means to forgive.

Ellie’s voice tapers off as the music stops altogether.

“That’s it?” Nico whines in disappointment.

Ellie’s cheeks turn pink. “So far, yeah.”

“I like it.” He nods. “But…”

She gives him a look, and he lifts his hands up. “I know, but I was thinking you could change it to sound like this instead.” He holds his hand out, and Ellie places her guitar in his open palm with a frown.

Nico sets her guitar on his thigh and plays Ellie’s original chords. “This is how it sounds right now.” My son replays the same chords from the opening verse without messing up.

“Right.” She nods.

“But what if you did this?” He changes the sound slightly, altering the speed at which the chords are plucked, which seems to add a bit more buildup before the first bridge.

I don’t know much about music, but whatever Nico did makes Ellie’s face brighten.

“Do that again.”

Nico repeats the same sound, and Ellie beams. “You’re a genius.”

“I am?”

“Yes! I need my notebook and my phone.” Ellie scrambles off the couch, kisses the top of Nico’s head, and takes off running toward her bedroom.

“So much for not being able to move!” Nico shouts at her back with a big grin on his face.

“If you keep up the sass, then I’ll never tell Cole Griffin you helped write his song!” she shouts from the hallway.

Nico’s mouth falls open as he looks over at me. “Wait. The Cole Ellie was talking about before is Cole Griffin?”

“Yup.”

Nico nearly drops the guitar. “Dios mío. And you didn’t say anything?”

“I had no idea you knew who that was.”

“Everyone does! He’s Cole Griffin!”

Knowing my nine-year-old kid listens to songs with lyrics centered around depression, anxiety, and broken hearts doesn’t exactly make me a happy parent, but Nico has always been interested in music, so I can’t expect him not to be curious about our generation’s greats.

“His songs aren’t for kids your age.”

“Neither are Ellie’s, but you let me listen to hers.”

“She’s different.”

“Because you like her?”

“Nicolas.” My cheeks flush.

He has the mischievous glint in his eyes that always gets me into trouble. “Oh. You’re getting embarrassed.”

I drop my head into my hands and groan. “Stop talking. Right now. Please.”

“Only if you admit that you like Ellie as more than a friend.”

“Fine. I like her.”

“Okay, but do you like her, or do you like like her?”

For fuck’s sake. “¡Por el amor de Dios, si! I like like her. Are you happy now?”

Dios mío: My God.

Por el amor de Dios, si.: For the love of God, yes.

I don’t need to look up to know that Ellie returned with her notebook. The way my neck prickles with awareness is enough of a tell, but I still check anyway to confirm that she heard my comment.

Based on her wide eyes, I have my answer.