Page 10 of White Wedding
He stirred the meat and the chopped onions, then regarded his cousin closely. He needed to confide in someone. Despite Araceli’s passion for gossip, she knew how to keep a secret. “If I tell you something, can you keep it to yourself?”
“Sure.” She set down her beer and leaned on the counter.
“You can’t tell anyone. Not your sister. Not Jaime. No one.”
She blew out a breath, then crossed herself. “I swear to God. It’ll go in the vault.”
He moved the cutting board over to the breakfast bar so that he was facing her. “Do you remember when I spent the summer in Baja?”
“Sort of. You were working at that resort for Tió Francisco. But it was good, right?”
“It was great.” He’d considered himself lucky when Tío Francisco offered him a summer job, tending bar at the beachside grill he managed at the Villa del Sol Resort. “But I had this intense fling. I hooked up with a rich girl from L.A. who was there on vacation. But it was more than a casual hookup. We totally connected.”
“I remember. You were busted up because she took off without telling you and then ghosted you after. Right?”
Another of Araceli’s qualities was her ability to remember every tidbit of family gossip she’d ever heard.
“Yeah. I only told a few people about it because I felt so stupid. Like, how could some rich, pampered princess ever be into me?”
“If she didn’t want you, then it’s her loss.” Araceli took another sip of beer. “Did she finally call you back? It’s been—what—four years?”
“Five years. Turns out she gave me a fake name. She wasactuallyVictoria Blackwood.”
Araceli spit out her beer. A full spit-take, like in a sitcom. “You’re shitting me!”
He grabbed a dishcloth and wiped down the mess she’d made on the breakfast bar. “I’m not.”
“You slept with Victoria Blackwood?” She reached for her back pocket as if to grab her phone but clenched her hands instead. “It’s taking everything in me not to blast the fam with a group text, but I’ll keep it quiet.”
He exhaled and set down his paring knife, which he’d been clutching a little too tightly. “Thanks. When I met her, she called herself Tori Dubois and said she was from Beverly Hills. The whole time, I had no idea.”
“Damn. Did she recognize you when you met with her yesterday?”
He raised his eyebrows. “What do you think? We spent two weeks in bed together. She was shocked as hell.”
An understatement, to be sure. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. Which stung more than it should.
Araceli said nothing until she’d drained her beer. Then she set the bottle on the counter. “And you’re pissed at her?”
Even now, he had no idea why he hadn’t shrugged off their fling. When they’d hooked up, it wasn’t as though he’d imagined them having a future together. Neither of them had made any promises. Why hadn’t he been able to let it go? Chalk it up to two weeks of amazing sex and leave it at that?
Maybe because it hadn’t just been about the sex. After all the hours they’d spent together, he felt like he’d found a kindred spirit. Someone who accepted him for who he was, underneath the tattoos and the rough exterior.
“Wouldn’t you be mad if you were me?” he asked.
“I dunno. Maybe? But she might have been afraid to tell you who she really was. Didn’t you say she’d been dealing with a messed-up family situation before she came to Baja?” When Rafael stared at her in shock, she smiled. “I remembereverything.”
“You’re right. But I’m not sure why you’re defending her.”
“I’m just saying you could cut her a break. But maybe it won’t matter. If the bride threw up at the tasting, she might not want anything to do with Mexican food.”
Try as he might, he couldn’t stop the irritation from creeping back into his voice. “It wasn’t my food that did it.”
“I know, but she still might associate it with puking in public.”
True enough. Chances were good she’d pick someone else. Then he’d never have to see Victoria Blackwood again.
Chapter 5
