Page 20 of Never Again
Carlos leaned back against the arm of the sofa and pulled her between his legs and onto his chest.
“Maybe I have something to prove.”
“Not to me,” Carmen said, twirling a lock of his hair around her finger.
“To myself.”
“I can understand that. I feel that way sometimes and have the added stress of trying to impress my father.”
“He still doesn’t think you can handle the business?”
Carmen lifted one shoulder in a shrug, using the same finger to draw circles on Carlos’s right pec. “He still sees me as a little girl, someone to protect, and someone who needs guidance.”
“How do you see yourself?”
She looked into his eyes. “I do need guidance. There’s a lot I don’t know about our business, but I’m learning a lot, too. And I’m accomplishing a lot. I opened two locations by myself.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“I want him to be proud of me, too.”
“I’m sure he is.”
“He hasn’t said so,” Carmen said quietly.
“He will.”
“You’re so sure?”
“Your father’s not my favorite person, but he loves you and wants you to be successful.”
Carmen touched the tip of his chin. “I want the two of you to get along this time.”
“There’s a lot of bad blood and…history between us. He’s not going to be pleased when he finds out we’re back together.”
“I know,” she said glumly. She didn’t want to fight her father about her relationship with Carlos. Not again. “We’ll wait to tell him, like we discussed. It’s probably best anyway. I still need to prove to him that my decision-making is sound. Maybe once I know for sure that he’s happy with my work, we can tell him about us.”
“That’s probably best,” Carlos said.
Sofia’s meowsseemed particularly mournful this morning. Carlos sat at the table, and she stared up at him with accusatory eyes, as if she knew Carmen was going to leave.
“She has to go home, girl,” Carlos said, almost choking on the words.
The time he and Carmen spent together had been incredible. He worked in the studio during the day while she made phone calls and analyzed figures on her laptop. A couple of times they went out for lunch, and twice walked to the market to purchase ingredients, and then came back to his place and cooked dinner together.
Having Carmen stay with him had been a bad idea because watching her leave would be that much more painful.
Sofia let out another plaintive meow and then stalked away. She jumped up on the windowsill and resumed her customary position, keeping watch on the street below. Downstairs, Franklin waited for Carmen to descend.
Anxiety as tight as a ball of rubber bands filled Carlos’s stomach, and all he wanted to do was beg her to stay. She emerged from the bathroom and gave him a weak smile. At the sight of her red-rimmed eyes, his right hand curled into a tight fist on the surface of the table.
She cleared her throat. “I’m ready.”
Carlos stood and walked over to her. He took both of her hands in his. “We’ll FaceTime and talk every day, okay?”
She merely nodded, and he guessed she didn’t want to risk talking or she’d start crying.
“Let’s get your stuff downstairs.”
