Page 5 of White Wedding
But the woman he’d known had been passionate and free-spirited. Nothing like the tightly wound businesswoman he’d just spoken to. Hard to believe she was the same person.
Once he’d gotten over the shock of seeing her, he wanted to demand answers. To ask her why she’d lied about her identity and ghosted him after their time together in Baja.
You know why, idiot. Because you weren’t worthy. You were just her dirty little secret.
Not that he’d been entirely honest with her either. Though he’d shared a little about his life in San Diego, he’d deliberately avoided any mention of Tres Hermanos or his older brothers. At the time, he’d been trying not to dwell on the mistakes he’d made back in Escondido. Mistakes that had left his family so frustrated they’d shuttled him off to live with his uncle.
But he hadn’t lied about his name. If Victoria had wanted to contact him, she could have found him easily. He couldn’t say the same for her. She’d called herself Tori Dubois and claimed she was from Beverly Hills.
He gathered up his menus and let himself out, taking the stairs down to the main floor of Blackwood Manor. Built in the late 1800s as a baron’s mansion, it now served as the headquarters and public face of Blackwood Cellars in Temecula, an hour northeast of San Diego. The manor housed a tasting room, two private dining rooms, a theater, and a grand ballroom. Outside, the vast grounds of the estate included gardens and public venue areas, abutting acres of vineyards.
He’d spent an hour reading about it before he left Escondido because he hadn’t wanted to appear ignorant during his presentation. But in all the research he’d done, he’d never thought to look up Victoria Blackwood.
A huge mistake on his part.
He was halfway back to Escondido when his phone rang. He answered it right away, knowing Martin would be checking up on him.
“How’d it go?” his brother asked. “You work your charm?”
“I did, but…” He clenched his hands around the steering wheel.
“But what?”
“I don’t think I can do it.” Although he’d kept his cool during the meeting, he wouldn’t be able to maintain it for the next three weeks. How could he work with a woman who’d lied to him the entire time they’d been together?
“Of course you can,” Martin snapped.
“It’s two hundred people. And—to quote Victoria Blackwood—they’re expecting ‘a certain level of service.’” He was still irritated at the way she’d delivered that line, as if to put him in his place.
“Then we’ll provide it, like always. You can handle it. You’ve been with us on loads of gigs. And you did a great job with Araceli’s wedding. I’ll make sure you have experienced help, both in the front and the back of the house. All you have to do is run the show. You’ve been asking me for an opportunity like this for months.”
“But Victoria was expectingyou.”
“I know. I wish Rosa hadn’t messed up the calendar, but I can’t get out of this charity gig. The family bid fifteen thousand dollars for this dinner party, and all the money goes to the American Diabetes Association. It’s a great cause.”
One that hit home, considering diabetes killed their father at age fifty. “I get it. But…”
He was tempted to tell Martin the truth. He and Victoria had indulged in a scorching-hot fling five years ago, when he was working at a resort in Baja. She was the one woman who’d gotten to him, different from anyone else he’d ever taken to bed, but she’d broken his heart in the process.
But Martin wouldn’t understand. He’d assume Rafael was up to his old tricks again, seducing women and leading them astray. In all honesty, there hadn’t beenthatmany women after he moved back to Escondido. Until the incident with Sandra, when he’d made a terrible judgment call. After enduring a blistering lecture from Martin, he promised his brothers he’d stop fooling around.
For almost two years, he’d worked hard at winning back their trust, putting in extra hours at the restaurant and pitching in whenever they needed him on a catering job. But he’d grown tired of taking a back seat. Now that he was twenty-seven, he was ready for more responsibility.
But not like this.
His brother’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Rafael? Are you there?”
“Sure. Sorry.”
“Don’t let this one get away. We could use their business. I have total faith in you, little brother.”
His brother had faith in him.
Rafael wished he felt the same way.
Chapter 3
After leaving the boardroom, Victoria headed back to her office, determined to find another caterer. On principle, she would have preferred to give Tres Hermanos the business, but she couldn’t work with Rafael. Even if he’d behaved calmly, he had to be seething underneath. This wedding was stressful enough without adding another ex to the mix.
