I appreciate all of you who are still excited for this story and those of you that go back and read my other stories. All of your comments and likes, and favs are always appreciated no matter how long it has been. They remind me you're all out there. (Someone commented on an old story and prompted me to get this up.) Life does get in the way of posting but I assure you I haven't completely forgotten. Thank you.

"So… Ma, Dad, we were wondering if you'd allow some guests to stay with us for a few days," Penelope mentioned casually as she took a seat at the breakfast table.

Flora paused as she was sitting down and gave her daughter a quizzical glare, while Arturo froze mid-bite. "And who are these people, Mija? Because you wouldn't be asking like that if we are supposed to be excited about it."

"Tell her no, Dad. We don't need any of her friends here taking up even more of her time," Marcos said through a full mouth.

Penelope ignored Marcos and replied to her father. "Actually I think you'll be happy to have these guests."

"Okay then, hita. Who are they?" Flora asked.

"We were all talking about Gina the other day, and I hadn't talked to her in a while, so I called her and asked if she'd like to come down and see me and everyone else as well."

Everyone in the room turned to Git. "I told her it was fine," he said to Santi who was closest to him.

Flora nodded. "She is welcome. That's not something to be hesitant about, mija. She practically used to live with us. It's been a while, pero…"

"Right, well, also, Luke's brother was free, and he could also visit for a few days, and we wondered if that would be something you would want-"

"Oh yes, tell him to come today. I like him already," Arturo said waving his fork in dismissal.

"Si, we can figure out the room arrangements. Gina can sleep with you, and we'll figure out the rest." Flora smiled at Luke.

"It's good you are on board because they'll both be here before dinner." Penelope rushed out and then took a sip of her juice.

Both Arturo and Flora paused mid-motion and glanced at each other before they both started chuckling. "So, this asking was just out of courtesy?" Arturo asked.

"My brother doesn't have to stay here, truly. We can-"

Flora cut Luke off. "No, no, that's silly. We have never minded a full house."

"Gina's flight gets in at three, and Alex's at four thirty. I can drive there and just wait with Gina for a while," Penelope said.

"I can drive you," Juan spoke for the first time that morning.

"We are so close to being done with the project. Luke can leave early to go with you. It's his brother," Arturo said.

"If you're done in enough time, maybe you both can come." Penelope shrugged at Juan. There wasn't really an appropriate excuse to give.

"We should probably try to get done early anyway. With more guests, we don't want to be all tied up in the shed all week. That's rude." Juan told the group.

Santi shrugged. "The man's got a point. We should get this done, so we have enough time to spend as a family before we go on vacation… as a family."

"I need to leave here by two thirty, so Gina won't have to wait long," Penelope said.

"We should really get going then, you guys. No time to waste." Juan put his dirty dish in the sink and then grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before walking out of the house.

Luke chuckled as he pushed away from the breakfast table. "Thank you for letting my brother stay here. I'm sure he appreciates it." He set his dish in the sink and also grabbed water.

Penelope got up and walked behind him towards the door so she could kiss him with at least a little bit of privacy around the entryway. She grabbed him by the shirt and stood on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. Luke backed her against the wall as he put his hand on her butt.

"Eww, we can hear you even if you're around the corner," Marcos's voice rang out.

Penelope turned an angry eye in the direction of her brother, but Luke pinched her butt and then bit her neck before opening the door and following Juan.

Penelope returned to the table where everyone else was enjoying their breakfast at a regular pace since they didn't have Juan's motivation to get done quicker.

"Are they both staying until we leave for the states?" Git asked casually. He gave Penelope permission, but he didn't come back to ask her what Gina decided on, and he didn't text Gina himself either.

"They are. Alex can fly back with us. Catching a flight to New York from D.C. is like catching a bus around the corner." Penelope dug into her fruit salad. "Gina can get a flight to Cali from here easily."

Flora nodded. "You'll help me get the house ready."

"Yes, Mom." Penelope smiled.

"Alright, boys, I guess we should work harder than we've ever worked before." Arturo kissed Flora and deposited his plate in the sink. The other three followed him out to start the day.

….

"We're going to need to leave. It's almost ten to three. I text Gina that I'd be a little late, which is fine. She has to grab her bags and stretch from the plane ride, but I'm not leaving her there for an hour and a half by herself." Penelope told Luke as she watched him putting on a shirt from the doorway of Juan's bedroom.

"I know, mi amada, but the airport is a quick drive, and, like you said, she has to get off the plane, and find her way around. We don't need to be there when she lands. Give Juan a few more minutes." Luke was pulling his belt through the loops.

"Why are you so… invested?" She had a curious smile on her face.

Luke let his eyes drop to the bed. "I don't want to see my little brother make the same mistake I did, not jumping on something that could be good for him. I'm glad we know each other like we do. I can't imagine it any other way now, but I have a feeling, if I'd have asked you out at the beginning, we'd still have made it here." He shrugged not meeting her eyes.

She bit her lip. "He has twenty minutes, but then I'm going with or without either of you." She stuck her chin in the air.

Juan pushed Penelope out of the doorway. "I only need ten." He hastily grabbed some clothes and then pushed past her again to get to the shower.

Penelope gave the empty hallway a glare. "He's really pushing it."

Luke laughed. "We have ten minutes to makeout," he coaxed.

"When you put it that way." She brought her arms up around his neck as he pushed her back into the doorjamb.

Neither of them thought it had been anywhere near ten minutes when Juan's footsteps came barreling down the hallway. "I can see your hand in his pants. At least you're not following orders, I guess." The two of them had pushed away from each other when they heard his voice, and Juan squeezed in between them to get his shirt.

Penelope scolded, "Can you please not say things like that outloud?"

Juan was hastily grabbing a decent button up from the closet. "Fine, fine, but, if you don't want people to know, you two should be more careful what you say when you're not really alone." He motioned that he was ready.

Luke raised his eyes. "Noted." He grabbed Penelope's hand and led them down the hallway.

"We'll be back soon." Penelope waved at Flora.

"Okay, mis ninos. Be safe." She blew a kiss towards the three.

…..

"Which airline is Gina on?" Juan asked.

"Erm…" Penelope grabbed her phone. "Oh, she just texted me." Penelope pulled her other hand from Luke's so she could communicate back. "Let's sit here. I told her we're near the coffee place in baggage claim."

Luke and Penelope sat down on the bench together while Juan leaned against the wall next to them. "Do you think Git will finally get his head out of his ass?" Juan questioned.

"He seemed pretty excited to me, or, I should say, I saw his eyes dilate and his pulse speed up when he heard she was going to be here," Luke explained.

"Alex said you were annoying like that. Great, and you want me to keep your secrets." Juan rolled his eyes.

"I don't use those skills outside of work often, but I will admit I was curious this morning. I might've paid him some extra attention." Luke had his arm around Penelope and was slowly stroking her arm.

"I just hope they talk to each other. Even if she did something terrible, it's been so long, and it's clear their relationship is bigger than the incident." Penelope's lip was turned in contemplation.

"So true. I hope whatever she did wasn't too bad anyway, but c'mon. She's been holding her life up for fifteen years as a punishment. I think she's served her time," Juan agreed.

Penelope's face lit up. "There she is." She pointed to a pretty redhead with a small suitcase trailing behind her. Penelope walked quickly towards the woman who was giving her a huge smile. They both loudly greeted one another and hugged.

Luke stayed by Juan. "She is whiter than Penelope," he remarked dryly.

Juan laughed. "She can't even be in the sun for three minutes without turning into a tomato."

"You remember her well."

"She was in my life since I was five. I don't have many memories before her," Juan told him. He smiled as the two woman came closer to them.

"Juan!" Gina grabbed him and hugged him. "Why do you always look taller?"

"I swear I haven't grown since I ran into you last year." He kept his arm around her shoulder.

"I don't believe you." She pushed at his stomach.

Penelope smiled at her. "Gina, this is my boyfriend, Luke."

Gina released Juan and leaned in to hug Luke. "I'm a hugger, sorry."

Luke smirked at her as she pushed away. "Fine by me."

"Wow, he's really hot," Gina said to Penelope as if he couldn't hear her.

Penelope had wide eyes. "I know, right?"

Juan addressed Luke, "Don't feel too flattered. She also finds Git attractive." His arm was around her shoulder again.

Gina rolled her eyes. "He was even cuter before he started carbo loading."

"Baby brother, you basically started a relationship with a stranger because he resembled Luke, so maybe not so much with the talking." Penelope raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah, I need the full explanation. I only heard the abridged version," Gina requested.

"We have less than an hour before he gets here, so should we get some coffee and catch you up?" Penelope gestured to the small shop.

Everyone agreed and made their way towards the small counter. They ordered tea and coffee. Gina and Juan shared a cookie while they explained what was happening with Alex and about Luke and Penelope.

"Wow, so this has been an eventful couple weeks for the Garcias' love lives, eh?" She licked the little bit of chocolate on her thumb.

"Maybe even more so with you here," Juan chimed.

Gina sighed. "He doesn't even want to hear- fifteen years later, and he doesn't - I doubt it."

"I know I wasn't there for that, but I don't think he's as closed off as he's been in the past. He seemed pretty open about having you visit," Luke informed casually.

Gina gave him a sad smile. "We're sort of friends over the past few years, but I don't think…" She shrugged.

"Actually, Luke might be right. Git seemed like he was a little bit more remorseful, or contemplative, like he's been recollecting lately." Juan also gave her a casual grin.

"He and I talked about our stuff. Maybe he sees that fences can be mended?" Penelope shared.

Gina nodded. "We'll see."

Juan felt his phone vibrate, and he pulled it out. "Uh, they just landed, so it'll probably be another thirty minutes to get his bag and go through customs." Juan put his phone away and then pulled it out, only to put it away again.

Luke laughed. "You're going to fidget for the whole half hour?"

Juan fixated on him. "Hey man, what was all that loyalty crap you were talking about?"

Luke gestured around to the airport they were all currently in. "I've done my fair share. You're the one who's been a little wishy washy with the support," he admonished.

"Okay, okay, I promise. I will be steadfast from here on out. Just please don't make this as bad for me as it was for you two," Juan bargained.

"What are you talking about? It's still bad, or were you not just betting on our relationship yesterday?" Penelope asked incredulously.

"No," Juan said adamantly. "We were betting on your sex life. It's a different thing."

Penelope scoffed. "You're deal was with Luke, and Luke alone. I reserve the right to be an asshole."

Juan narrowed his eyes. "The way I see it, I'm keeping some pretty juicy information to myself so…" He crossed his arms smugly and raised his eyebrow at Penelope who was staring daggers at him.

Gina glanced between the two and then to Luke who had his arm casually rubbing Penelope's shoulder while he suppressed a smirk. "Oh god, I don't wanna know. Not yet. I have to pee."

"I'll walk over there with you," Juan said and gave Penelope a snicker as he followed Gina.

Penelope took a deep breath. "I'm glad he's your favorite because right now I dislike him very much."

Luke hummed and then leaned in to kiss her. "He won't say anything. Besides, I don't give a damn who knows."

"Really? I thought you said this was just for us to have."

"It is, and nobody else will ever understand it or truly know what we do or what it means, but, if they all think you like me taking care of you, oh well. It's the truth, but it's hardly an indication of what's going on between us."

"Easy for you to say. No one pictures you serving me on your knees," she argued.

"Hmm, but I have." He leaned into her ear. "But Penelope, even if they thought that, so what. It's not embarrassing, as long as it's truly what you want. There's nothing wrong with it." He let his lips fall just below her ear, and she tilted her neck further into him, not able to handle the sensation. Then she captured his lips with hers and turned into him so his arms could come fully around her.

"Oh geez! I don't know who the problem is, the Alvez's or the Garcia's." Gina's voice infiltrated their haze of affection.

Penelope turned eyes towards her while trying to calm her arousal, wondering how on earth Luke got her to behave this way in a public airport without even having to coax her. "What's that now?" Penelope asked.

Gina returned to her seat. "Both of your brothers are making out over by the guidemap." She picked up her cup and brought the straw in between her lips.

Penelope was returning from the haze of lust, but Luke scoffed and shook his head. "At least they're being logical and cautious like I asked."

Both Gina and Penelope giggled. "Oh, Honey, did you really think either of them would?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want either of them hurt just because they don't think it through," he said sincerely. Penelope smiled at him so genuinely, as he fixated on the walkway in the direction of his brother.

Gina was observing her. "Jesus, you two are worse than them. They're going to be making out, but you two are going to be making out, and you're in love. I hope you're right about Git because I'm not going to be pleasant if I'm the only one not getting laid." She scrunched her face at them and then grabbed up her and Juan's cups to throw in the nearby garbage.

Penelope was holding her breath and biting her lip, not turning towards Luke. She didn't know if she was in love. Everyone kept joking about it, but it was too early for that. They were barely dating. It might have felt very serious, she might want it to be the end game, but they still had to be logical and cautious too. They'd spoken seriously about things, but love had not been professed yet, and rightfully so.

Luke was sure he loved her, but he understood the caution, and he understood that his emotion could deepen. It already had in the past few days. He planned on only ever falling deeper in love with her, but she needed to get there on her own terms. He only hoped like hell that she would, and that she'd get there before their everyday hectic lives came barreling towards them and chased her away. He needed to do everything in his power these next couple of weeks to make sure her faith in him was solid enough to weather any storm.

"You weren't kidding. These two are sort of gross, huh?" Penelope turned toward the voice that sounded almost exactly like Luke, but, even if she wasn't sitting right next to him, she'd know it wasn't him.

"I told you," Juan said casually.

Both Luke and Penelope finally looked away from each other to see the three people staring at them from the opposite end of the table.

"Apparently, you two don't have a right to say anything." Luke snapped back quicker than her. He got up, and Alex met him halfway to give him a hug.

Penelope stood up and Luke's hand automatically reached back to take hers. "Penelope, this is my brother, Alex."

Alex reached forward to hug her. "It's actually really good to meet you. Luke talks about you every time he's home, which, granted, isn't often."

"I thought he only went home once last year," Penelope agreed.

"I think it was twice, but one was just a long weekend. I'm sure you didn't even know he was gone because we barely knew he was there." Alex narrowed his eyes and gave Luke an insincere smile.

"Sounds like Penelope, who can't manage to come down more than once every three years," Juan interjected.

"Oh my God! This again. Can we not, you guys?" Penelope rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, can we all just stop? I'd rather not be the referee in the fight between the couples that are five minutes old." Gina put on her sunglasses and started walking away, carrying just her small bag. "Juan, be careful with my bag," she called back.

Juan huffed. "All the memories of her bossing me around when I was in fifth grade just came barreling back."

"Remember in high school when she made you buy her tampons and told you not to be afraid of vaginas?" Penelope laughed.

"I'm not afraid of them, but I'm obviously not a fan of them either," Juan acknowledged as he made the other three people laugh.

Luke grabbed his and Penelope's empty drinks and disposed of them before grabbing Penelope's hand and strolling along with her.

"This is going to be very interesting." Penelope pointed with their clasped hands towards the other couple walking in front of them. Their shoulders were brushing, and they were smiling and flirting with each other.

"What are your parents going to say?" Luke questioned with a smile.

"Juan's plan was to pretend your brother just came for a visit, so I don't know how long we're going to have to wait for a comment."

Luke brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed the back of hers. "With the two of them like this, I don't think we're going to have to wait very long."