Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“I was trying to help you. You weren’t going to just run into someone working in the kitchen here,” her mom answered, bristling.
Deke spoke up. “Could you check the Hot Dates app, please? I think that’s the one.”
“Hmph,” Señora Rodriguez snorted as she scrolled through the apps. “I turned this off yesterday. Wait! It says you have three hundred messages? Look at all the men who want to meet you, Maya!”
“Mom!” Maya was beside herself with frustration and anger.
“Mom, hook-up site, remember? They don’t want to date Maya. They’re messaging to…” Mateo repeated.
“Don’t say that, Mateo,” her mom interrupted. “It says the plan is… Active? I’m sure I turned it off yesterday. I even had to put your number in to verify I was you.”
“That’s how they got your number,” Deke said quietly to Maya.
“You aren’t me, Mom. That’s the problem. Give me your phone and let me turn that off.” Maya held out her hand for her mother’s phone.
“You don’t have to be mean about it, Maya. It was a mistake.”
“Mamá, think how you’d feel if we set up an account for you. Hot Dates has a branch for people over fifty,” Mateo suggested.
“Don’t you dare! I don’t want all those people contacting me.” Maria Eugenia drew herself up to her full five-foot-two height.
“And you think I do?” Maya said, completely astounded that her mom wasn’t understanding how bad this was. She thrust her phone at her mom. “Look at the messages they’re sending me.”
She quickly traded phones with her mother and opened the app. Sure enough, Deke was right. Her mom hadn’t turned off the app but just updated it to include her phone number. Ignoring the gasps and other reactions from her mom at seeing all the pictures and messages sent to her in the last few hours, Maya quickly turned off and then deleted the account.
Then, she checked the other four dating apps icons her mom had on her phone and deleted two more accounts where her mother had filled in all her information but hadn’t activated them yet. The other two were blank. Thank goodness Mom hasn’t gotten those set up. She erased those apps from her mother’s phone as well.
Extending the phone back to her mother, Maya said, “Never again, Mamá. You are never to fill in a dating app or any information for me again.”
Her mother nodded immediately. Her ashen face told Maya just how appalled her mom was at the things she was being sent. “I’m so sorry, mija. I didn’t know that these—cretins would come out of the woodwork with this filth. Maybe you shouldn’t be dating.”
“She should be dating, but just me,” Deke said, speaking up.
“Of course. You are not a cretin. My apologies, Deke,” her mother said before walking forward to hold out her arms to Maya in an invitation for a hug. “Can you forgive me?”
“No more?” Maya asked, narrowing her eyes to look firmly at the woman she cherished.
“No more, mija.”
Maya rushed forward to wrap her arms around her mother and hug her tight. “I love you, Mamá.”
“I love you, too, Maya. I just want you to be happy.”
“Deke makes me happy, Mamá. He’s the right one for me,” Maya told her quietly but firmly.
“I’m glad. I owe him an apology, too.”
“Apology accepted, Señora,” Deke said in a light tone that made Maya smile.
He could have been a jerk about this whole thing. Of course, he wasn’t.
“Are you going to change your number?” Mateo asked.
“I don’t want to. I’ll just block all these numbers,” Maya said. “That should take care of it. Ugh! I don’t want to open all those up to see what they’ve sent.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Deke volunteered. “I have a couple of hours before I have to be at work. I’ll take care of it if you’ll let me have your phone today.”
“Thank you,” Maya said gratefully, feeling her face heat and knowing she was blushing. She’d almost added Daddy.
“I’m glad to handle it,” Deke told her. He looked at the people now gathered around the restaurant’s customer waiting space. “Just so you know, I love Maya. I plan on sticking around. No more matchmaking is needed.”
Like ants around a tasty treat, everyone swarmed to surround them. Maya wasn’t surprised to see how happy everyone was to welcome Deke to their family. He was the most wonderful man. She liked him staking his claim on her. A lot.
When the hugs were finished, she took Deke’s hand and walked with him out onto the covered walkway that connected all the shops and restaurants. “I love you, too,” she whispered.
Deke pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly before capturing her lips with his. The steamy kiss that followed could have set the concrete on fire. When he lifted his lips, she clung to his Stuff-It shirt.