Page 85 of The Art of Scandal

Rachel rose so quickly she nearly tipped over. Nathan steadied her and Sofia tensed, ready to pounce. Nathan lifted a hand to snap her out of it. “Calm down, Mom. Rachel was just—”

“I know what she’s doing.” Her chin hitched up and she kept her eyes on Nathan. “I’m surprised it took this long. Has her husband filed for divorce yet?”

Rachel folded her arms. “Sofia, I’m—”

“Ms. Cárdenas.Don’t address me like a friend. We arenotfriends.”

Joe touched Sofia’s arm and scanned their surroundings. “Mom, can we not do this here?”

Sofia jabbed a finger at Rachel. “She’s the one groping my son in public. Haven’t you humiliated us enough?”

Nathan nudged her hand down. “If you want to blame someone for that, blame me. I painted the damn thing.”

Rachel touched his arm. “Your mother’s right. This is my fault.”

Joe sighed. “Actually, it’s Hailey Dearwood’s fault.”

“Either way.” Rachel turned to Sofia. “I am so sorry for what happened at the gala. And for any additional pain I’ve caused your family.” She glanced at Nathan. “I came here because I care about your son. Very much.”

“Then stay away from him.” Sofia stepped closer. “You and your husband are salacious tabloid garbage. Stop dragging him down with you.” She turned to Nathan. “Can we go inside, please? Or are you just going to stand there and look at her?”

Nathan didn’t move. He took a step toward Rachel, but Joe touched his shoulder. His brother gave him a pleading look, begging Nathan to do the right thing.

“Your mother needs you,” Rachel said softly. “I’ll be fine.”

When Sofia argued with Beto, she was always eerily calm, as though she was waiting for him to figure out that she’d already won. Once, after a huge blowout, Nathan discovered Beto grumbling to himself as he picked up pieces of a broken vase.

“Thatwoman. Sometimes she makes it hard to…breathe.”

Now he understood what Beto meant. Nathan went upstairs and found Sofia gliding around his apartment, straightening pillows, and making decorating suggestions as if the fight outside had never happened. Even Joe looked uneasy.

“We came over to deliver the good news in person,” Joe said, eyes still on Sofia. “AboutAbuelita, right, Mom?”

Sofia moved a stack of coasters to the coffee table. “You have multiple offers from private collectors. Large offers, particularly for your grandmother’s portrait and…” Her jaw tightened. “Rachel.The nude is very popular.”

“It belongs to Rachel,” Nathan said. “And it’s not for sale.”

“Well, you may want to ask her first,” Sofia said. “With her current financial situation, she might disagree.”

Joe’s eyes flew wide. “Mom! Can you give it a rest? Let Nate celebrate his success without you—” Joe stopped when Nathan shot him alet me handle thislook. “You know what,” he said. “This is between you two. I’m going to grab something from that taqueria I saw on the way over.”

“They use manteca, Joseph,” Sofia sighed. “Even in the beans.”

“I’m sure I can get some shredded lettuce or something. I’ll be right back.”

They watched Joe rush out in silence. Nathan folded his arms and looked down at his mother, who was perched on the edge of his couch. “You’re looming,” she said. “Sit.”

“You’ve got to stop ordering people around.”

“No, I don’t. I’m still your mother, Nathaniel.”

“You are. But I’m not a little kid anymore. You can stop pretending I’m not the one who caused all this in the first place.”

Sofia stiffened. “She lied to me.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“It was humiliating,” Sofia snapped. “Our foundation auctioned a naked portrait of my son’s cougar lover. And I was the one who chose her as host!”

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