Page 14 of White Wedding
She warmed a couple of pieces and put them on the table. “It smells incredible.”
The first bite confirmed his suspicions. The hint of lime and the mix of herbs and spices—cumin, garlic, oregano, and thyme—gave the meat a delicious flavor. Though the dish resembled shawarma, his homemade chipotle sauce boosted the heat level considerably. A small sense of pride washed over him—the feeling he always got when he successfully pulled off a new recipe.
Araceli liked it enough to pile a second helping on her plate. “These are so good. You should see if you can add them to the menu at the restaurant.”
“Thanks, but that menu’s set in stone.”
His uncles had full control of the menu and only changed it on rare occasions. But he could see if his brothers might consider it for one of their catering gigs. Though they weren’t as inventive as he was, they were more open to suggestions than his uncles.
At some point, he’d love to create his own menus rather than work from their templates. To take risks with clients who were open to it. But he had yet to convince his brothers his ideas were solid. Maybe after this wedding, they’d take him more seriously.
Halfway through dinner, Ernesto strode into the apartment, a basketball under his arm. He was the tallest of the three cousins—lean and muscular, with a curly mop of hair and a cultivated three-day stubble. Araceli wrinkled her nose. “Eww. You stink.”
He stood over his sister and gave her a noogie. “What are you eating?”
She clutched her plate. “Don’t mess. Rafa made these delish Middle Eastern tacos, and you’re not getting any.”
Ernesto grabbed a beer from the fridge and pulled up a chair. “Hard pass. I already had a burger at In-N-Out.”
Rafael smiled. Ernesto might turn down his cooking now, but he’d probably end up stealing the leftovers from the fridge at midnight. Both he and Dario were notorious late-night snackers.
“Guess what?” Araceli asked. “Rafa got the Blackwood Cellars job. He’s catering their Christmas wedding extravaganza.”
“Nice.” Ernesto gave Rafael a fist bump. “That’s some big money, right there. Though it’s not gonna be easy.”
“Tell me about it,” Rafael muttered. “The couple are a pain. And Victoria Blackwood…” He wasn’t sure how much to reveal. Unlike Araceli, Ernesto was terrible at keeping secrets.
Ernesto snickered. “I feel sorry for her. That’s gotta suck, coordinating her ex’s wedding.”
“What?” Rafael sputtered, choking on a mouthful of pork.
“You didn’t know?” Ernesto grinned. “That’s some wacked-up shit.”
Araceli glared at her brother. “What are you talking about?”
“Gimme a taco, and I’ll tell you. That burger didn’t fill me up.”
Rafael was still coughing, trying to recover from the shock. As if it wasn’t enough of a surprise finding out Victoria was the mystery woman he’d slept with in Baja, now he had to deal with the knowledge that she’dalsobeen with Ben.
Araceli grabbed a plate and another piece of pita bread, then passed them to Ernesto, who made himself a taco. After a few bites, he set down his food. “Do you remember last year, when I volunteered on John Aguilar’s campaign?”
“Wasn’t he the guy running against Senator Macalister?” Araceli asked.
“Yeah. I was helping them dig deep for any dirt I could find on Macalister. Including stuff on his son, Ben, who’s a big-shot corporate lawyer.” He gave Rafael a pointed look. “The guy whose wedding you’re catering. Anyway, when Dad told me about the Blackwood Cellars job, I remembered reading a profile of Ben. I found the article again, along with a photo.” He brought out his phone and passed it to Rafael.
Rafael stared at the article. Most of it was boring bullshit about Ben being an up-and-coming player in the world of corporate law. But the sentence at the end hit him like a gut punch. “Ben Macalister is engaged to Victoria Leigh Blackwood, daughter of Brian Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Cellars.”
Jesus.She hadn’t just beenwithBen. She’d planned to marry him.
He passed it to Araceli, who whistled. “Holy shit.”
Ernesto came over and took the phone, then pulled up another article. He showed it to Rafael. “Check this out. It’s their original engagement announcement, posted last January. From the society pages or whatever. They were supposed to get married this year at Blackwood Manor on December 22.”
Araceli slammed her hand on the table. “That’s the date ofthiswedding, right?” When Rafael nodded, she went on. “You’re telling me Ben not only dumped Victoria, he got engaged to someone else and picked the same date? Like, he couldn’t even wait a few more months?”
“His fiancée’s pregnant, remember?” Rafael said. “That’s why it’s so urgent.”
“But to have it at the same place?” Araceli said. “Who does that? And why is Victoria running the show? That’s gotta be excruciating.”
