Page 32 of Never Again
“Hey,” Carmen said.
“I should have called before, but I’ve been busy with my work. I just called to say I love you.”
Her lips smiled, but her eyes held a hint of sadness. “I know. I love you, too, but you don’t believe me.”
“I do, but I was having a…moment when you were here, that’s all. Since then, I’ve been thinking. You came to see me, and now it’s my turn to come see you.”
“You’re coming here?” Her brown eyes lit up with excitement.
“Yes.” Damn, if she didn’t make him feel like the grand prize in the most important contest in life. “I’ll come in a few weeks, after the Tennessee festival. I’ll need to wrap up a few projects, but I should be able to stay in Toronto for a couple of weeks. Then I could go to the other festivals I had planned to attend.”
“That would be great, but don’t you have to prepare for the events?”
“I do, but I’ll be ready for the one in Tennessee, and if need be, I’ll skip the other events.”
“Carlos, your work is important. I don’t want you to do that.”
“It’s no big deal. I want to see you, and that’s all that matters. After I leave Toronto, I’ll come back and work hard and see what happens. It’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then you could stay with me!” Her voice pitched higher as her excitement rose.
“I like that idea.” He’d planned to stay with his mother, but he liked her idea better.
“Yay,” she said softly. She smothered a yawn. “Oops. Sorry.”
He chuckled. “You should go to sleep. It’s late.”
“No, I’m staying up so we can talk.”
“But you need to rest. Listen to your body.”
She smiled through the biting of her bottom lip. “I’m so glad you’re coming. I can’t wait. Three weeks!”
He chuckled again. “Three weeks. I have something to take care of, and then I’ll start preparing as soon as possible so I can get there like I promised.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Of course.”
“Good night,mi corazón.”
“Good night,mi amor.”
She blew him a kiss, and then they both hung up. Carlos rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn’t told Carmen what he needed to take care of, one thing he’d delayed but could no longer avoid. Not if he wanted to be the kind of man she deserved.
He needed to take the first steps toward correcting a decision he now regretted with every fiber of his being.
He should have donethis before, but better late than never.
Carlos restlessly paced the floor outside his financial planner’s office at Newmark Advisors. Now that he’d made the decision, the few minutes he waited seemed like forever.
Rashad, his advisor and one of the owners of the company, opened the door of his office. “Come on in, Carlos.”
Rashad had dark chocolate skin and was an interesting character whose flamboyant style included a purple and black plaid suit today, which Carlos didn’t think anyone else but him could pull off. Despite being a showman and obvious ladies’ man, he was one of the nicest guys Carlos had ever met.
