eyond Desire Collection

by JS Scott, M Malone, Marie Hall, et al

Luis emerged from the shadows just outside the patio area and came toward her. Graci gave Tara a finger waggle, then went through the door into the café.

  Tara blinked, stunned at the bizarre sibling setup, as Luis took the seat Graci had vacated.

  “Seriously? You were just lurking there, waiting? That’s really weird even for you, Luis.”

  “I know.” He folded his arms on the tabletop and leaned against them, regarding her with a look that could start bacon sizzling. “I was trying for a grand gesture, but this is all I could come up with.”

  “Well, it’s weird.” She paused. “But kind of nice too.”

  “Guess it’s my turn for an apology. Outing us as a couple in front of Hugo and Graci like that wasn’t cool. I’m sorry.”

  “You already apologized,” she reminded him. “And that’s not really the issue.”

  “What is?” He dropped his gaze from hers and started scraping his thumbnail over the grated surface of the table, making a ringing noise. “Is it because I’m fucked-up? ’Cause I’d get that. Hell, I was the one who said we shouldn’t get involved to begin with because of it.”

  “No. It’s not that either.” She shot her hand out to cover his. “It’s because I’m fucked-up. Graci’s right. I’m incapable of sustaining a relationship. They almost always end badly. Plus I’m considering moving anyway, so what would be the point of starting something?”

  He regarded her from beneath his brows, a quizzical, sad, sexy, amused expression. “Because it’d be fun while it lasted.”

  She couldn’t stop the slow smile that curved her mouth. “It would be fun,” she admitted.

  He turned his hand palm up and grasped hers. The warm, sure grip of his fingers started her heart rabbiting in her chest as she recalled all the clever things he could do with those hands.

  “So be with me now, Tara,” he said. “And we’ll let the future take care of itself.”

  She studied his blunt-tipped fingers, the cuticles stained with grease, little nicks and cuts here and there from handling metal car parts. Capable, strong hands she would love to give her body over to—but what about entrusting them with her heart?

  She took a breath and nodded. “All right. For as long as it lasts.”

  And then, as quickly as Graci has flown around the table to give her a hug, Luis had Tara up out of her seat and in his arms. He held her tight enough to hurt her ribs and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe. Bittersweet happiness bubbled up inside her.

  For as long as it lasts, she thought. It was the second time they’d made this pact, but she was beginning to have the sneaking feeling that a temporary dose of Luis wasn’t going to be enough for her, and when the time came for them to separate, it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Chapter Ten

  Arriving home tomorrow. Adya coming with me.

  Corinne’s cryptic text to Tara, Graci, and Bree was unnerving, but not nearly as unsettling as going to Ella Ramirez’s birthday fiesta as Luis’s official “date.” He’d promised Tara that he’d given his parents advance warning, but she was still nervous. It was one thing for her to be their daughter’s best friend, but dating Luis was something else entirely.

  Both of Graci’s parents had taken a few beats to adjust to the idea of Graci dating Neal, a Caucasian tattooed musician and a non-Catholic. Ella and Ricardo Ramirez weren’t prejudiced, merely devout Catholics who’d hoped to see their daughter marry within their faith and to a member of their community. Still, they’d been flexible enough to recalibrate their thinking to accept that Neal was going to eventually become a part of the family. Could they do the same for Tara?

  Not that she was ever likely to marry Luis. Of course not. But just seeing her with Luis might cast a cloud over Ella’s big day. Tara didn’t want to detract from her celebration.

  Luis parked his car down the block from his parents’ house and turned toward Tara. He reached out and smoothed a thumb over the furrow between her eyebrows. “Stop worrying. It’s just our family, same as always, except you’re coming as my guest instead of Graci’s. No big deal.”

  Tara arched an eyebrow at him. “Except we all know you’re Mama’s favorite. I just don’t know how she’s going to feel about this.”

  “I told you I talked to her and Dad already. They were a little surprised, but cool with it. Actually, my dad wasn’t even surprised.”

  “But your mom was. I’m telling you she doesn’t like the idea, but you’re too much of a guy to catch the subtext.”

  He cupped the back of her neck, leaned over, and kissed the spot he’d rubbed with his thumb. Then he kissed her mouth until she was whimpering instead of whining.

  Luis pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Okay now?”

  “I guess so.”

  Outside of the car, Tara could already hear the music from the backyard party down the street. She clutched Luis’s fingers with one hand and her gift bag in the other, a little white-knuckled as she walked toward the familiar home where she’d spent so much of her childhood.

  “By the way, how’s your mom?” Luis asked. “Doing okay?”

  “Oh yeah. She loves Tampa and her new job. I think she’s actually dating someone, but I haven’t talked to her in a while.”

  Luis nodded. He understood that she and her mom had never been close. As a girl, Tara had spent more time with babysitters, in day care, or at the Ramirezes than with her mom, who worked sixty-plus hours a week at her law firm. Neglectful in all but financial ways, Tara’s mom had viewed her more as a problem to be dealt with than a daughter.

  “Maybe you should call her some time,” Luis suggested.

  “Maybe she should call me,” Tara replied tersely. “There are some relationships that simply aren’t salvageable. You have no idea what my mom is like. How could you? You have Ella Ramirez for a mother.”

  He gave her hand a little press. “Okay. I’m sorry. What goes on between you and your mom is none of my business, but if you ever want to talk about it, I want to listen. You’ve heard all my crap. I want to share yours too.”

  Tara squeezed his hand back. “Thanks.” She took a breath as they went through the gate and around the side of the house to the party in back.

  She hadn’t been able to help Graci with the decorating after all, but Neal had. Together they’d hung colored paper lanterns, garlands of paper flowers, and twinkle lights that edged every bush and shrub. All of Mrs. Ramirez’s chimes tinkled or gonged almost louder than the salsa music playing on the stereo system. Her birdbath fountain splashed in the center of the garden, and tables full of guests clustered around the various flower beds and ornamental trees. Tara knew many of the faces, having spent enough time at Ramirez family events in her life. The ones she didn’t know, she assumed were Ella’s coworkers or church friends.

  Luis took the heavy gift bag from her and slipped an arm around her back. “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Tara smiled brightly and plunged into the meet-and-greet as Luis introduced her to a few strangers. She caught sight of Graci and Neal placing dishes on a buffet table and went over to see them, leaving Luis talking to an elderly couple.

  Neal gave a little wave to Tara before going back into the kitchen for another pan of food.

  Graci hugged her. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Good. A little weird. Has your mom said anything to you?”

  “About what?”

  Tara rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”

  “About you and Luis? No. She wouldn’t gossip to us kids about each other like that. Anyway, she loves you, Tara. You know that. I’m sure she’s happy Luis is dating someone we all know and like.”

  Like you were, Tara thought but didn’t say. Then there was no more time to discuss it as Ella came out of the house and Tara went over to wish her happy birthday.

  She grasped Mrs. Ramirez’s small hand and looked down into her brown eyes, always so sympathetic and caring when Tara had come to her with problems. Now Tar
a searched for condemnation or disapproval, but she found neither there.

  “Happy Birthday, Mrs. R. Great party.”

  “Thanks to the kids.” Ella looked around her lovely garden, her carefully styled black hair so shellacked that not a lock fell out of place. She wore a sunshine-yellow dress and heels that still didn’t bring her height above five feet three. “I’m so glad you made it, hija. But what’s this hand-shaking nonsense? I’ve never known you not to give me a hug.”

  Tara was drawn into a familiar, warm, strong embrace. Ella always hugged long and hard, as if she was sending positive energy into the person in her arms. Mama Ramirez, who’d slapped bandages on scrapes and offered ice cream with sprinkles to salve heartaches. Tara’s throat ached. Everything was all right. Nothing had changed. She was still loved here.

  Ella pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I hear you’re seeing Luis now. I just wanted to tell you that’s jake with me. You two always got each other. My boy’s in some pain. Maybe you can bring some laughter and smiles back into his life.”

  “I, uh, hope so.” Tara brushed away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “Did you actually just say ‘jake,’ Mrs. R?”

  Ella waved a hand that flashed with rings. “I’ve been reading too many noir novels recently. I’m on a kick. When it was Westerns, I was starting to drawl and say things like sidewinder and pardner.”

  Tara laughed hard, maybe more than the comment warranted, but she was so relieved to have everything between her and Mama Ramirez just like always that she couldn’t restrain her joy.

  “Happy birthday,” she said again, giving the petite woman another hug, then she went to see if Neal and Graci could use some help in the kitchen.

  Graci wasn’t there, but Neal stood at the counter, slicing pies. He greeted her with a wave of his knife. “Hey. How’s it going?”

  “Okay. You?”

  He looked at her and grinned. It was easy to see how Graci had gotten “caught,” as she put it, in those vivid blue eyes. Neal wasn’t conventionally handsome, but he was sexy and so personable that like one of Ella’s hugs, he reached out and drew a person to him.

  “Never better,” he said. “I’ve got Graci.”

  Tara returned his smile, glad to have this man in her friend’s life, someone trustworthy who was there to nurture and love Graci in the way she deserved—unlike certain ex-fiancés.

  “And I hear you’ve got Luis.” Neal’s voice grew teasing. “How’s that working out?”

  “Too soon to tell. We’re taking it a day at a time.” Tara changed the subject. “I’m surprised your band isn’t playing tonight.”

  He snorted. “Oh yeah, I’m sure Ella would appreciate funk fusion at her party. How’s your play going?”

  “It’s, ah, well-rehearsed,” Tara said, because she wouldn’t lie and say it was the best thing to ever hit a Cincinnati stage.

  “So, are you really thinking of moving to California?” Neal asked. “Graci will be lost without you. And how would things work with Luis?”

  I can’t go. We’re just getting started. I don’t want to leave him behind. I don’t want to be without him. The knowledge she’d barely kept at bay during the past days crashed over her. Doubt, worry, longing, and sticky emotions made a battlefield of her brain, but she repeated calmly, “Like I said, we’re taking it a day at a time.”

  She and Neal chatted a little bit about mutual acquaintances and the Ramirez family, then Tara carried a platter with several pies out to the overloaded buffet table. People were starting to swarm it like flies, filling heaping plates with food from every dish.

  Others were dancing in the tiny cleared space at the far end of the yard. Ella and Ricardo Ramirez swept around the floor, her saffron skirt swirling, his polished shoes leading them in intricate steps. His slicked black hair was salted with gray, but Ricardo was still a very handsome man, a vintage version of Luis.

  Together for almost thirty years, the Ramirezes were Tara’s ideal of what a marriage should be, proof that it was possible to sustain a relationship. Whether Tara was capable of attaining such longevity herself was another question.

  She scanned the crowd, searching for Luis, and spotted him weaving through the throng to get to her. When their eyes met, his began to twinkle. The smile she’d known for years crept slowly across his face, and for just a moment, she was transported back to another party long ago and the heart-stopping moment when she’d dragged him to a private spot and dared to kiss him.

  This time, Luis strode up to her, slipped his arms around her, and kissed her full on the mouth in front of anyone who happened to see them. No hidden girlish crush, no furtive rendezvous, but a man and a woman coming together naturally. And, oh, it did come naturally.

  She slid her hands up his solid chest and cupped the back of his strong neck. The clipped ends of his hair tickled her skin, and his lips tickled her mouth as he nuzzled and played for a moment before kissing her more deeply.

  He drew away to look at her. “Told you my mom would be cool about this.”

  She shot out her tongue at him. “Told you so,” she sing-songed, mocking him. “No wonder you and Hugo fight all the time. You’re so smug.”

  It was almost as good as the kissing—this banter, the easy back-and-forth rhythm that she’d always shared with Luis. All of a sudden, she could see why so many of her relationships had failed. Some deep part of her had always held them up to compare with her easy friendship with Luis and had found other men lacking.

  “Come on.” A fast number started, and Luis grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the couples jostling and bumping into each other as they danced. He swung her into action, leading her through the steps of a rumba. In, out, moving and spinning at his direction. There was something very hot about giving over control to his expert guidance. Tara knew exactly how that played out in the bedroom too, which made her tingle in anticipation of the later evening’s entertainment.

  By the time the song ended, she was breathless and sweating. Luis left her at a table to save them a spot, then went to get a couple of cups of beer. Tara watched him move, ridiculously captivated by the simple act of his walking, as if it were something she’d never seen before.

  Although, it sort of was. Post-army Luis walked more stiffly with an erect posture that was new to him. She thought again of all he’d been through and how it had changed him, and wondered once more if she was the right person to see him through any nightmares or dark moods he might suffer. Was Graci right? Was Tara too flighty or dramatic or weak to be the rock Luis needed right now?

  Hugo joined his brother near the keg. The older Ramirez was taller and fatter and persistently expressed irritation in his very stance. The younger was shorter, compact, and coiled tight like a spring. Tense and energized and… Whoa! Luis’s face darkened as he abruptly drew back his fist and popped Hugo in the nose.

  Hugo cried out and clapped his hands to his face.

  As Hugo returned the blow with a solid punch to Luis’s gut, Tara bolted up from her seat. Soon the brothers were pummeling each other and rolling on the ground like they used to when they were teenagers.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” Tara cried out.

  “Stop it! Cut it out, you guys!” Graci rushed toward the tusseling pair, and Tara hurried after her.

  Luis flipped them so he was on top. He pinned Hugo using a wrestling move and hit him in the kidney. Given Luis’s greater athletic ability and Hugo’s extra pounds, which weren’t muscle, Luis quickly had his brother immobilized, face planted in the grass.

  “What the hell is the matter with you? This is Mom’s party!” Graci yelled as a pair of beefy cousins pulled Luis off Hugo and helped both men to their feet.

  “Calmese, primo.” The cousin with the goatee put an arm around Hugo and started to lead him away toward the side yard.

  Hugo stumbled a little. When he called out to Luis, his voice slurred. “I didn’t mean anything. I was just joking.”

  The other cousin still hel
d Luis’s arm to keep him from lunging after Hugo again. “You cool, man?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Luis shook him off and straightened his rumpled shirt.

  The beefy cousin stepped back, and the other guests stopped staring and resumed their conversations, although probably most of them were now about the brothers’ fight. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez were indoors at the time, entirely missing the altercation.

  Graci planted herself in front of Luis, arms folded. “You’re crazy. I don’t care how much Hugo pisses you off. You don’t start a fistfight at Mom’s party.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” He wiped at a streak of blood by the corner of his mouth. Hugo had landed at least one punch.

  “What did he say anyway?” she asked.

  Luis looked at Tara, and her stomach lurched. It had had something to do with her. “Graci, can I talk to Luis alone, please?”

  Graci glanced back and forth between them, and light dawned in her eyes as she came to the same realization. “Oh! Yeah. Sure.”

  “Let’s take a walk.” Tara put her hand on Luis’s arm, feeling the tight bunch of muscle in his forearm. She guided him along the path toward the opposite side of the house from where Hugo was. When they were out of sight of the guests, she stopped beside a bush. “So, what was it?”

  He shook his head. “Something stupid.”

  “Go ahead. Tell me.”

  Luis shifted from one foot to the other and gazed past her shoulder at the fat leaves of the rhododendron. “He joked about whether it’s true that the blacker the berry…”

  Tara snorted and shook her head. Having feared that Hugo told Luis point-blank he didn’t approve of her, she was actually relieved. This was typical Hugo crude teasing. He’d put no more thought into that casually racist comment than she would into what breakfast cereal she chose. He was an idiot.

  “Well, honey, we are better. There’ve been studies. It’s a proven fact,” she teased.

  Despite himself, Luis cracked a smile. She could always get him to smile. His gaze met hers, and he reached out to touch her arm, slid his hand from shoulder to wrist, leaving a trail of heat behind. “It’s not funny.”