“You do realize we go to the same school, right?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood, but it only makes Mom even more furious.

“He’s a Molina,” Mom says. “I don’t trust him around you one bit. Whatever is going on between you two, end it now. Before it’s too late.”

LARI: Meet me by the church?

PEDRO: I just need to figure out how to climb down from my bedroom window with a twisted ankle!

It’s close to midnight. I’m running down the deserted street, the wind blowing strong and heavy with a relentless drizzle. The feirinha has already been packed up. Not one soul around. I turn left at Alto da Sé, entering the church’s side patio.

The ocean breeze blows salty air at my face when I sit down on the wall to look out at the darkness beyond. Tonight, the moon is hiding behind thick rain clouds the color of mud.

I don’t know how long I wait, but when I hear quick footsteps approaching, I bolt upright. A tall silhouette enters the church patio. “Who’s there?” I call out.

The shadow steps into the orange glow a moth-obsessed lamppost casts. “It’s me!” Pedro says.

And I melt with relief. He walks straight to me, hobbling a little because of his injured ankle. I go to him, colliding into a hug. He lets out a little yelp of pain but doesn’t let go, hugging me tighter.

“I was scared you wouldn’t be able to come,” I say.

“I’m here,” he says in my ear, sending a tingling wave down my spine. He’s trembling, despite the warmth traveling from his skin.

“My mother wants me to stay away from you,” I tell him.

“My mother actually thinks we’ve been dating behind her back for ages.” He chuckles to himself. “If only.”

“Pedro, I... I love you.” I feel my cheeks getting hot. Is it too soon to say I love him? “You don’t need to say anything back. But after everything that happened today, I just wanted to tell you that—”

I hide my face in his chest.

“I love you, too, Lari.” He kisses the top of my head, and relief washes over me.

We stand like this, his arms around me, for a while.

“I don’t think I asked you,” he says. “What changed your mind about me, after all? Was it my charming smile or my incredible baking that won you over?”

Although he’s not far from the truth, I try to disentangle myself from our hug so I can give his arm a playful slap, but he doesn’t let go of me.

“If you really wanna know...” I say, looking into his eyes. “I saw the things that mattered to you. And suddenly I was terrified of losing you. But what changed your mind about me?”

“When you crashed into me that night.”

“What?”