“Did you bring David dinner?” He was being petty and bit his tongue.
She wrinkled her brow. “Whoa, that had a little bite to it. Tired? Maybe you should take a shower first. I can heat this up.”
He stomped to the top step and marched across the porch to where she stood. The plate wobbled when he snatched her by the wrist. “Tell me the truth? Are you having David’s baby?”
“Excuse me?”
He let his gaze slip over her form. “I guess you’ve got a ways to go since you’re not showing at all.”
“You’ve got three seconds to let me go.”
He realized he had crossed the line and released her, but it didn’t assuage his anger. “You’re not going to explain yourself?”
She threw the plate on the rocking chair opposite the hammock. A piece of chicken rolled out from beneath the cloth covering the plate to land on the floor, along with a few kernels of corn. Daisy appeared out of nowhere to gobble up the unexpected treat. Jasmeka nodded her head at her. “Eat it all, girl. As for you, I don’t know who you think you are, but I don’t have to explain myself to you or anyone else.”
He gaped. “We were practically in bed already.”
“Oh, were we?” She laughed. “You were that confident, huh? Well, you know that idea is looking worse and worse.”
He was starting to wish he’d kept sharper control of his temper. At least he might have gotten more out of her. “You don’t have a problem jumping from one brother’s bed to the next? I should have realized that’s the order of the day down here.”
“Oh, so now you’re accusing me of being a woman who can’t keep her legs closed, and I’m supposed to be what? Following after your family? Tell you what, Miguel. Take care of your business, and stay out of mine.”
She spun on her heel and let the screen door bang as she stormed into the house. He slammed a fist against the porch railing and charged into the house. By the time he made it to the front hall, she was nowhere in sight. He checked the kitchen, but she wasn’t there either. His anger hadn’t cooled, so he decided he’d take a cold shower.
A little while later, the chilled water ran over his back, bringing goose bumps to his skin. He endured it. After soaping up a few times and rinsing off, he washed his hair and stepped out of the shower. Should he look for her or wait until morning?
What would I even say?
An apology came to mind, but he was stubborn by nature. That trait was built in from birth. His stomach growled because he hadn’t eaten, making the decision for him. Rather than the front stairs, he took the back.
Moving with a stealthy step he’d learned from his line of work, he moved toward Aunt Rosa’s private room where she liked to sit and watch TV in the evenings. He wasn’t in the mood to make conversation. To his annoyance, he found the door open and smothered a groan. Maybe she would be turned away from the door.
Voices reached him, his brothers speaking with his Aunt in Spanish. Miguel couldn’t believe she’d lived in America for so many years and didn’t know English.
“Why did you tell him about Jasmeka’s feelings for David?” Aunt Rosa was demanding.
Antonio whined, setting Miguel’s teeth on edge. “He liked her. Anybody could see it. He’s like a bull that—”
“Antonio Torres, you watch your mouth! I won’t have you using filthy language in my house.”
Miguel winced. Technically, it was his house. Tension tightened the muscles at the base of his neck.
“Well he was mad,” Antonio insisted. “I know he’s going to stay away from her now.”
“And what about Jasmeka?” Aunt Rosa said. “She loves you, and you shamed her.”
Angel spoke up. “She wasn’t there when we told him.”
“Who else would have told him?”
The boys were silent.
Angel found the courage to speak after a while. “We’ll go tell her we’re sorry.”
Aunt Rosa sighed. “Leave it be. You can apologize to her later. Maybe he will go away, and we can get back to our happy existence.”
“We can’t be happy, Aunt Rosa. David isn’t here.” Angel sounded devastated, and for the first time something stirred in Miguel other than just finishing his business and getting back to New York. The boys were so young, they must have thought of David almost like a father. His loss must have hit them hard, and maybe they were acting the way they were because of it. He should cut them some slack.
A good night sleep would put everything in perspective, and Jasmeka wouldn’t hide from him for long. Even if he had to barge into her room, he would corner her and have a talk.
Chapter 6
“What’s wrong with them?” Jasmeka’s sister Katrenda stuck a chopped carrot into the dip Jasmeka was just laying out on the table and popped it into her mouth. She munched hungrily while shaking her head at Antonio and Angel.
Jasmeka smacked her sister’s hand when she reached for another carrot. “Are you here to help me or eat the food because I’m pretty sure Laredo won’t pay for half the meal being eaten before all his guests arrive.”
Katrenda pursed her lips. “I ate one carrot. Gosh, you’re mean today. What’s going on over at the big house? First Antonio and Angel are hanging on your every word and running around doing your bidding. Then you get all snappy because I ate a snack. Usually, you keep making me try everything. What happened last night?”
Jasmeka frowned but then caught herself. “Nothing. I have a lot to do, and I still have people coming over to the house. I’m not sure I cooked enough.”
“You should have canceled this cookout.” She leaned closer to Jasmeka and lowered her voice. “How self-centered does Laredo have to be that he won’t call off the barbecue knowing good and well the Torres family is in mourning?”
“This isn’t the old days. People don’t have to stay in just because there was a death in the family.”
Jasmeka fiddled with the place settings. Her sister threw her arms around Jasmeka and kissed her cheek. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
Katrenda straightened and put her hands on her hips. “You don’t always have to act like our ray of sunshine.”
“Girl, please. You know I was crying my eyes out when it first happened. I can’t do that forever. I’m not going in public looking like a hot mess.”
Her sister’s eyebrow rose in disbelief. Katrenda started to answer but stopped when she spotted someone over Jasmeka’s shoulder. “Now there is a sexy drink of water I’d like to sip from. Who knew Miguel Torres would grow up to be such a yummy man?”
Jasmeka stiffened. She had managed to leave the house earlier so she could get to Laredo’s and prepare for the party, but she knew it was a matter of time before she and Miguel faced each other again. When he had come storming up accusing her of all kinds of wrong, he made her so mad she forgot what kind of woman she was. In the light of day, she didn’t feel any better. Her blood boiled so much she wanted to march over to him and punch him in his face. Too bad she wasn’t the violent type, but one word to Katrenda, and her sister would do it for her. Because of that, she kept her mouth shut.
“You didn’t know him when he was growing up,” Jasmeka said.
Katrenda was biting on a finger and still feasting her eyes on Miguel. “No, but he looks a lot like his little brothers, doesn’t he? He was probably a scrawny little nothing back in the day, and look at him now. Those muscles!”
Jasmeka threw a hand towel at her. “Jeez, Tren, wipe your mouth. You’re drooling.”
“I am not!” Her sister burst out laughing, and Jasmeka managed a smile.
The grin left her face when she felt him watching her. He took a step in her direction, but their host distracted him. She went back to finishing up the table layout.
Laredo’s voice boomed across the yard. “Miguel, I haven’t seen you in years. I was sorry to hear about David. Have a snack.”
; Jasmeka clenched her teeth, and Katrenda bumped her arm, whispering, “Sensitive, huh?”
Jasmeka shook her head. “Just leave it alone, Tren. He’ll stick his foot in his mouth at some point today. I really didn’t think the Torres family would come.”
“Probably ready to get out of the house and stop receiving guests talking about how sorry they are and not meaning it.”
“Tren!”
“You were thinking it.”
Rather than indulge her sister in running down the neighbors, Jasmeka scurried back to the kitchen. She told herself it had nothing to do with Miguel. Not that she was scared to face him but she didn’t want to explode when she was working a catering job.
The marinated ribs were ready to rock and roll. All that was needed was for Katrenda to pop them on the grill. Whenever Jasmeka ran a catering event that included grilling, her sister handled that part. She didn’t know why, but when it came to cooking, she loved the stove. The grill, not so much.
She tugged a serving cart toward her and began arranging a few of the side dishes onto it. Utensils, napkins, and some more serving spoons crowded the second row, along with a few other items for the third level. When she stooped down, a deep voice interrupted her concentration.
“I need to talk to you.”
She peered over her shoulder. “I’m working, Miguel.”
He reached down and removed a pair of ice tongs from of her hand. She frowned at him, but he took her other hand and tugged her to her feet. “You’re pushy and bossy and—”
“And sorry,” he grumbled, looking satisfyingly uncomfortable.
She wasn’t going to let him off so easily. “For?”
The man radiated annoyance, but she didn’t care. She waited for him to continue. He drove thick fingers through his hair, and Jasmeka noticed how silky it was. Today, he wore a white T-shirt that named his favorite team and blue jeans. When he raised his hand to his hair, she got a good look at his bicep as it flexed. It stood out solid as a rock beneath bronze tight skin. Her sis was right. He was ridiculously gorgeous.
“I shouldn’t have gotten mad,” he said. “What you do is your business, even if it was with my brother. You were under no obligation to tell me about it.”
She blinked at him.
“I assume…” He hesitated and then forged ahead. “I assume Thiago is paying you well. If not, let me know. I’ll make sure you and…the bab—”
“Hold it.” She held up her hand, unable to let the nonsense go on. “First, I appreciate your graciousness for overlooking my loose morals.”
He winced. “That’s not what I was saying.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“You don’t have to sound so sarcastic.”
She couldn’t help it. Her laugh burst out, but she pressed a hand to her mouth and glanced toward the kitchen door. Miguel had arrived so early, so he was the only guest at Laredo’s so far. The host stood outside by the grill talking Katrenda’s ears off. They didn’t have long before her sister would say something to Laredo that might get Jasmeka fired, so she had to hurry.
“I’m not pregnant. Neither have I ever been.”
Miguel’s eyes widened.
“For that matter, there’s no way I could have gotten pregnant by David because we were never together like that.”
Miguel didn’t seem to doubt her claim of not being pregnant, but she’d have to be terrible at reading people to think he believed her when it came to seeing his brother. His disbelief ticked her off, but she held it together.
“I admit I loved him.” The embarrassment threatened to choke her and make her run from the room. “I had a crush, a bad one. David seemed to like me, but he flat out refused to acknowledge me like that.”
When she thought back about how she’d confessed her feelings to him and how he had gently shot her down, she wanted to scrub the memory from her head with a wire brush. The worst part about it was that David continued to treat her kindly. He didn’t share her secret with anybody as far as she knew and didn’t bring it up again. Even when she kept trying to get his attention, he stayed the same while keeping her at arm’s length. That was one of the reasons why she felt like he was an amazing person. Nobody could tell her different. She decided not to share any of these details with Miguel.
“The last time I talked to my brother that’s not the kind of man he was.”
“Did it ever occur to you he might have changed? Maybe he even changed because of you.”
He stared. “There’s no way I’m going to accept that.”
She shrugged and started around him. He touched her arm, and she stopped. He was so close, her body responded. For a minute, she considered if he made her feel this way because she was thinking of David. When she looked up into Miguel’s eyes, all she was aware of was him, not his brother.
He leaned down, and his mouth brushed the spot next to her mouth. A thrill and a longing ran through her.
“You’re still mad at me,” he whispered.
“I’m working.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“I am.”
“Let me make it up to you.”
“You couldn’t.”
He tilted his head around, blocking her view of the French doors with the lace white curtains over them. It probably wasn’t easy to see inside the house, what with the sun so bright, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Miguel.”
“I don’t give up easily.” He kissed her lips. A shock of desire shot to her core. “In fact, I never give up.”
“In other words, you get what you want, and if there’s resistance you ignore it?”
“Of course not.” His words were firm, but he didn’t sound angry.
“Look, don’t take it out on the boys. They were probably the ones to tell you that nonsense about David and me. It was just their way of trying to protect me. They’ve got a lot of growing up to do, but I love them.”
He straightened. “It seems to me that no one makes them responsible for their actions, so they’re immature.”
She didn’t respond, and he sighed.
“It’s not my place to correct my brothers. I’ll leave them to Aunt Rosa.”
Disappointment rose in her. That wasn’t what she wanted either, but she couldn’t tell him. Miguel would have to want to influence his brothers for the better. She saw such potential in them—and him—if he stayed. He could be free from the resentments of the past, and the twins she loved so much could grow to be strong responsible men. No one knew what the future held, so she held onto hope.
She left his side and tried to go out the door again. He blocked her path, and she glared at him. A word or two could make him back off, but the truth was she didn’t want that. Something told her Miguel could sense it too, so he wasn’t about to let her off the hook.
It was true, she was still mad at his arrogant reaction to thinking she had slept with his brother. She got that it was because of how his dad had been, and apparently how David used to be. It didn’t change the fact that he had judged her based on them. She didn’t forget the fact that before he knew the truth, he’d tried to make up with her.
You just want him to kiss you again.
It was true. She liked the taste of his lips and the strength radiating from his being. She didn’t love him, and Miguel didn’t give her the impression that if she gave in to him they could move toward something that powerful. This was just some serious attraction to explore. Nothing else. So didn’t that make it safe?
“Go out with me again,” he suggested.
“No.”
He had the nerve to look surprised, and she laughed. He was about to speak, but she touched his lips. Even just that much turned her on. The memory of his kiss did things to her insides. She wanted to forget about ribs and salad and cake and just jump his bones.
“I don’t want to date.” Her scalp prickled. She had never spoken like this to a man. “I don’t want to hurt or be in love. I still have feelings for your brother I’m t
rying to get over. Do you understand?”
A flash of anger surfaced in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant. “You’re telling me to back off and leave you alone.”
“No.”
That surprised him too. She clenched her fingers around the cart’s handle. For some reason, she felt more vulnerable than she’d felt confessing her heart to David.
“I’m saying if you can accept my unresolved emotions and the fact that I did care about him, then we can be lovers. It can last a day or two or whatever. A part of me just wants to see if I can bury those feelings faster.”
“In other words, you want to use me?” He seemed amused.
She shrugged. “Sure.”
His amazing eyes glittered brightly, and his eyelids lowered over them as if to hide her seeing what he was thinking. “I don’t mind being used by a beautiful woman for my body.”
“Good. Now if you’ll let me by…” She maneuvered the cart around him, but he kept her from opening the door and drew her into his arms. His mouth claimed hers in a kiss that was far less gentle than the one he had planted earlier. All of her senses scrambled, and every drop of energy drained from her body. She sagged against his chest, defenseless and weak. He held her up with ease.
When he raised his head, she struggled to open her eyes. Amusement reflected in his, and desire too. She felt the extent of it in the movement of his hands over her hips and his unyielding hard body.
“I’ll give you what you want,” he said. “But it won’t be all sex.”
She looked at him in surprise.
“You say you don’t want to date, but a woman needs more than just the physical.”
Her mouth dropped open. Gently, he shut it with a finger to her chin. She could have told him a thing or two about his arrogance. He released her and guided the cart outside himself. She had no choice but to stumble behind him, completely unnerved.
Chapter 7
Jasmeka handed Laredo a mixed drink and turned away. She hadn’t gone more than three steps before he caught up to her and grasped her hand.
“Laredo, I’m working. Let me go.” She tugged to no avail. Half his guests must be looking their way by now, but she didn’t want to scan the crowd to see.
Love Untrusted Page 5
