Page 25 of Just for the Holidays
“Looks like someone wants to give you some competition,” his mother quipped and he turned his head to watch Perla getting pulled onto the dance floor by the son of one of their neighbors. Since they lived in one of the most exclusive zip codes in the country everyone at their little Nochebuena dinner after-party was loaded, and it seemed like Perla had garnered the attention of the heir to a Latinx fashion empire. Miguel Correa was a little older than Gael, but undisputedly handsome, and he was looking at Gael’s fake girlfriend like he wanted to swallow her whole. Gael’s eyes zeroed in on the spot on Perla’s wrist where Miguel had placed his hand and made a menacing sound. He wanted to go and physically remove him from her vicinity.
His mother’s knowing laugh pulled him out of his bloodthirsty thoughts. “You’re absolutely not allowed to rip our guests arms out, mijo.”
If Miguel didn’t stop with the touching and close-talking, he would be lucky if his arm was all he lost.
“Why don’t you go rescue her and I’ll go talk to Gabi and Abuela? We should be wrapping up soon. Your vieja can’t party like she used to.” His mother’s joke went a long way to cool off his fury, but after giving her a kiss and walking her over to the couch where Gabi and Abuela were observing the proceedings, he went right back to glaring at Perla and her suitor.
“Bendito, bro, are you going to let Miguel outdo you like that?” Gabi teased like the smart-ass she was, and Gael had to make an effort not to grind his molars to dust as he watched the man glide through their living room with Perla. Blood rushed to his head as a choir of “mine, mine, mine” rang through his head.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Go get her, tiger.” His sister was such a pain in the ass.
Gael moved purposefully the few yards to the middle of the room. Perla danced gracefully, her hips swaying to an old-school merengue. Miguel was giving it his all, moving his feet with perfect form, but Perla seemed distracted, her eyes roaming the room until they landed on him, and her whole face lit up.
And damn, Gael was in so much trouble. He had no idea how he was supposed to walk away from this. The way her eyes roamed over him made his heart claw at the inside of his chest. As he reached her he took one long breath in through his nose and let it out slowly before he opened his mouth, trying to calm the storm brewing inside him. How could he still want her this much? How could he let her go?
“May I interrupt?” he asked after unclenching his teeth, his heavy hand on one of Miguel’s shoulders. Miguel did a double take at whatever he saw in Gael’s face, and immediately let go of Perla.
“Your girl can dance, man. If you don’t watch out I might try to steal her from you.”
I’d love to see you try, asshole.
Gael bared his teeth in answer and slid his arm around’s Perla’s waist. Within seconds he’d taken his woman as far away from Miguel Correa’s greasy hands as he could.
Perla shook her head and laughed as he started moving them around the room. “Well, this is not a very flattering side of you,” she told him, but her eyes were twinkling.
“You love it.” He was practically growling, and she threw her head back and laughed in earnest.
“I wouldn’t saylove,” she told him with a wink. “But it’s kind of flattering to see you drop your stoic mask for a bit. I’ve always liked it when you let your passions run wild, Gael.”
And that was where this woman would end him. The way she let him see everything. Unafraid to show him that he’d pleased her. He’d been in Hollywood for so long he’d forgotten what it was like to have someone who didn’t pretend. Who said what she meant and meant what she said. Someone who despite the ways she’d been hurt—hurt by him—could still be this open.
The song changed from a faster tempo merengue to “Veinte Años,” a slow, moody bolero about a story of a twenty-year-old love affair that cannot be forgotten. Because his sister was in charge of the music and she loved messing with his head. But as Perla melted into his arms, he pressed her to him and let himself have this moment. For so long he’d refused to dwell in his feelings and when a light had gone out inside him, he’d told himself it was for the best. That he didn’t have time for love; he had responsibilities. His entire family was depending on him. And until this moment, he hadn’t permitted himself to admit that breaking up with Perla had carved out a piece of his soul and it had never grown back.
“Are my moves not to your liking or do you just enjoy scowling?” Perla asked jokingly, looking up at him. Her cheeks were flushed from dancing. She looked so beautiful. And her moves were more than to his liking. He had a hand on her hip and could feel them sway seductively to the music. Unbidden a memory of her astride him, rocking with him in that same sensual rhythm, robbed him of breath. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait any longer; all he wanted was to drag her out of that room and finish what they’d started that morning.
“You know your dancing is fire,” he told her and laughed when she made a show of fanning herself at his compliment. God, this woman—he didn’t just find her irresistible, he also liked her. He liked her so damn much. Impulsively, he bent down to press a kiss to her mouth. As expected, there was a flurry of cheers and whistles coming from where his family was sitting, but he couldn’t even be bothered to care. He wanted every person in this room to see how much he wanted Perla Sambrano.
He pressed his fingers into her skin until she was flush against him, and every nerve in his body buzzed with electricity. They were still clutching hands, and he squeezed her tighter. Needing to ground them both in this kiss. He tasted her gently, a sharing of breath that seemed to fill his lungs with oxygen. He imagined their hearts speeding up in unison as he deepened the caress. He was wondering how much longer they’d have to stay at the party before he took her back to the cottage, when something buzzed against his leg and almost instantly Perla stiffened.
She pulled back, the haziness in her eyes gone, replaced by uncomfortable alertness. That was when he heard the faint ringtone. It sounded like a horn of some sort.
“Is that your phone?” he asked curiously as she unclenched her hand from his and slid it in the pocket of her dress.
“It’s my mom,” she whispered with a grimace and she signaled to the hallway at the other end of the room that led to the den. “I’ve been avoiding her all day.” He nodded and made a move to follow her, feeling protective. He suspected her mother was probably calling just to ruin her evening, and he didn’t want to leave her to face it all alone. Then he reminded herself that no matter what his dick or his family thought about the situation, he was not actually her man. Not in any way that gave him the right to walk out of this room with her or intrude in a private conversation.
And thankfully, she had her head on straight better than he did, because she slipped out of his hands with the phone pressed to her ear and walked out of the room without a single glance in his direction.
Fourteen
“Are you okay?” he asked again as they walked into the cottage.
“You know how my mother is,” she told him in a brittle, subdued voice as she worked to take off her coat and boots. Her mother could always do that to Perla, suck the joy right out of her. He’d seen it so many times when they were together. Perla would take her mother’s call glowing and happy and after a two-minute conversation, she’d walk back into the room ashen and looking a little lost. Carmelina’s poisonous words always struck true; a few well-aimed barbs and she could incinerate Perla’s happiness down to ashes.
“I’m sorry,” he said, biting back angry words. She didn’t need to hear what he thought about her mother. That would only hurt Perla, and Carmelina had taken enough from her already. If she was his, he’d make sure she never...no, there was no point going there. She had already been his and he’d squandered her love, just like her family had, and she deserved so much better than that, from everyone in her life.
“I don’t want to think about her anymore,” Perla said as if she could read his mind.
