Page 81 of A Dish Best Served Hot

“Oh, that’s why she called it ‘Engagement Party: the sequel.’”

“More like Engagement Party: Take Two. Let’s just say that the last one did not end well, and Leo unknowingly played a part in that.”

Lola grimaced. “Damn. Do you want to go find her and assure her that you all aren’t planning some elaborate prank to ruin her day?”

Saint shrugged. “She’ll figure it out. Besides, it will distract her from the fact that someone else is about to bring the drama to her party.” His eyes were on something behind her.

Lola followed his gaze to a duo of women standing where the distillery opened to the parking through a set of garage doors. They were both beautiful in an untouchable way, like movie stars or something. One was older, although it was difficult to tell how much since she was so well put together. She eyed the group as if preparing for battle. The younger woman looked more excited. She was smiling widely, the whiteness of her teeth almost blinding.

“Eva? Flaca?” a voice asked from the crowd.

At her side Saint stiffened. Actually, it seemed like everyone in the room stopped and tensed. Lola had never seen a party full of Latinos go silent.

The woman’s head swiveled in the direction of the voice. “Hello, Luís.”

Lola recognized Saint’s uncle when he pushed his way through the crowd to stand in front of them.

The man didn’t stop. He didn’t say anything else. He walked right up to the younger woman and wrapped her in a hug. The younger woman returned the embrace with a strong hug of her own. She buried her face in his neck.

“That’s my cousin, Evalisse,” Saint murmured to her. “She’s a Broadway actress. And that’s my tía Carmen, her manager.”

Okay. That explained who the women were, but it hardly explained why everyone was staring at the scene as if they were all standing on a nuclear bomb and those two held the activation codes.

A tall thin young woman appeared out of the crowd. Carmen looked at her. “Gabi,” she said as she leaned in for the perfunctory cheek kiss.

“Mami,” the woman replied. “It’s good to see you.”

Carmen nodded. Then she looked beyond her daughter. “And Alex?”

Gabi tried to seem breezy, but even from across the room Lola could tell she was even more uncomfortable. “Oh, she’s around here somewhere. She probably hasn’t heard you are here yet.”

For the first time Carmen’s impassive face cracked. A flicker of pain was there and gone in a second. “Right. I’m sure I’ll see her in a second.”

The most uncomfortable silence in the history of the world followed. There were at least forty people in the room and not one made a sound.

Then Papo Vega’s words filled the space. “What is wrong with you all?” he asked in Spanish. The crowd parted and he made his way toward the women. “Stop acting like Carmen and Eva are zombies who will infect you and eat your brains. They’re family, even if they did leave us for New York.” He reached the small group. He held his arms open to his daughter and she stepped into them. After a tight squeeze he leaned back and held her face in his hands. She was taller than him in her heels, but Papo pulled her head down and kissed her on the forehead. “Welcome home, mi amor.”

At the patriarch’s words the family finally reacted. They swarmed forward and soon the women were engulfed in a wave of family members embracing and welcoming them.

Saint didn’t move. He stood scanning the crowd. “I should find Alex,” he said.

She didn’t miss that he’d saidIand notwe, but she really didn’t want to stand there by herself. “Do you want me to go with you or stay here?”

He grabbed her hand. “You can come with me.” He led them through the crowd and through the doors that led to the restaurant where a bunch of young kids, including Rosie, were running around while the older ones sat slumped in booths showing each other stuff on their phones. Saint met eyes with a handsome boy who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen. The boy pointed to the hallway that led to the bathrooms.

Saint tugged them in that direction and sure enough there was Alex. She leaned against the wall, double fisting the strong whiskey drinks. Next to her stood Avery, who also had two drinks in her hands.

“What’s up?” Alex asked them with very practiced nonchalance.

“Are you okay?” Saint asked.

Alex shrugged. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” She took a deep drink out of one glass and then the other.

Saint paused. “You know who just got here, right?”

“Of course.”

Avery chimed in. “The audible gasps drowned out La India screaming about not wanting to see someone ever again.”

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