Dammit, Rey, don’t come this way. Don’t come this way.

A line etched between his brows, Rey scans the table, tilts his head, then walks over to us. “This is a surprise. Solange, I thought—”

Before Rey can finish, Tia Mariana reappears, tackles her son, and stuffs a coxinha in his mouth, almost toppling the only empty chair in the café. As she drags Rey away, she smiles at our group. “He’s been harassing me about using this new recipe. I wanted him to try the results as soon as he got here. Hope you’re enjoying the food!”

Peter grins. “Everything’s great. Thank you!”

Maybe Peter’s finally given up. Maybe he can be a decent person when he wants to be. Maybe Mercury’s no longer in retrograde. Whatever it is, I’ll take it.

But then the bell chimes again, and two middle-aged people walk into the store. The woman isn’t a stranger, but I’m having trouble placing her.

“Cláudia!” my mother exclaims from behind the counter, her voice high and tight. “What are you doing here?”

Oh shit. I think I may have tinkled in my underwear. Can this really be happening? Of course it can. It’s my life after all. Cursed. Every damn cell in my body is cursed.

“Oi, família!” our cousin Cláudia says. “I know I said to expect us on Friday, but Rodrigo and I decided to surprise you!”

The doorbell chimes yet again, and a man and a woman laughing and jostling each other stumble inside.

“And here’s my daughter and her husband!” Cláudia says proudly.

I lean over to Dean, throw my arm over the back of his chair, and press my mouth against his ear. “Remember that IOU?”

He swallows audibly, the gulp in his throat sounding like a boulder hitting the surface of a lake. “Yeah.”

“I’m calling in my debt right now.”

Chapter Twenty

Dean

San Antonio, we have a problem.

If I’m understanding Solange correctly, we’re now trapped in a fake dating mashup that’s going to tie us together for just a bit longer. Are we tempting disaster by prolonging this pretend relationship? Of course. Am I going to do it anyway? For Solange? Hell yes.

Solange’s mom and aunts gather around the newcomers, and everyone talks excitedly with one another. As the group drifts away from the door, the younger of the two women waves at our table, crouches between Solange and me, then gives Solange a peck on the cheek.

“Oi, prima,” she whispers. “Is this the new boyfriend?”

“Oi, Ana,” Solange says, looking down and rubbing an eyebrow. “He’s the one.”

The woman winks at me, then straightens. “Can’t wait to talk later.”

My “girlfriend” lightly squeezes my thigh and stands. “Excuse us, everyone. Our cousins are visiting from Brazil. Dean and I should go say a quick hello.”