Page 38 of Of Vows and Betrayal

“Yes, Ophelia has quite a reputation in the neighborhood for helping everyone—from the homeless to kids, not forgetting stray animals. She’s really a good soul with a pure heart. You’re lucky to know her.”

Tiago’s steady gaze pierces me, an unspoken condemnation. I try to shake it off, focusing on Ophelia instead. Her wide, innocent eyes brim with concern, oblivious to the storm raging inside me. I’m determined to keep it that way.

She waves her hand dismissively. That’s what she does, dismissing all her goodness as if it means nothing instead of what it truly is… everything. “It’s not much.”

“It is,” Tiago insists. “It’s everything you have to give. It’s easy for people to give money when they have so much they can’t even spend it all.”

I feel that one was for me, and fuck him for that! I give money to all his causes without batting an eye.

“Phee!” A young boy comes running breathlessly.

She turns toward him, and part of me mourns the loss of eye contact.

“Megan is sick, and she can’t do the makeup. Can you do it?”

“Hey T, I’m sorry, but I’m hel?—”

The woman from the bakery laughs. “You go help him, it’s clearly more urgent.”

“So, Father Hernandez, may I interest you in a baked good?” she asks, and I watch Ophelia as she disappears into the crowd.

I take a step to follow her, but Tiago moves back a step, stopping me in my tracks. Yes, he’s not done with me.

“Do you have anything with chocolate? It’s my weakness,” he tells the woman, still ignoring me.

“Yes.” She extends him a muffin. “Peanut butter and chocolate. Let me know what you think.”

He reaches into his pocket and gives her five dollars. “Keep the change.”

“What about you?” Her whole demeanor changes when she looks at me. She’s not a fan.

“Do you have one of the Danishes Phee loves so much?”

Tiago shoots me a sharp look, making me realize my mistake in calling her Phee publicly.

“Ah, she’s got you hooked too, doesn’t she?”

In more ways than one,I think, managing a nod.

She reaches under the table and gets the pastry for me, and I give her ten dollars, telling her to keep the change as well.

“Phee, huh?” Tiago starts as we make our way through the crowd.

I shrug, taking a bite.

“She’s a nice girl, Javier, a real nice girl. You haveto?—”

We both stop talking, stopping a few steps from the makeup stand. Ophelia is already there, her focus entirely on the man in front of her.

“Is that—” I begin, but Tiago finishes for me.

“Derek.”

The jealousy I feel at the easy smile she’s giving him is immediately obliterated when he starts laughing. Derek laughs. I turn to Tiago just as he turns to me, and I’m sure the incredulity on his face is a mirror of mine.

“I’ve never heard him laugh before,” I tell Tiago. At least not a full, real belly laugh. I’ve heard his sadistic, sarcastic, and dark laughs, but a genuinely happy one? Not even once in the twenty-five years I’ve known the man.

“No, me neither.” Tiago shakes his head. “She’s something.”

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