by J. E. Parker
Maybe I should pepper spray him for her...
“You’re perfect just the way you are.” Tracing his thumb along her jaw, just like Guapo always did mine, Chris made a strangled sound as he continued to stare at Wendy, his face contorting with want. “If you were mine, none of the bullshit you’re forced to endure day in and day out where he’s concerned would be happening.”
Tears filled Wendy’s eyes. “I know.”
Dropping his hand, Chris took a step back, the pain that swirled in his deep blue eyes unmistakable. “Eat, Wendy.” He paused. “If not for yourself, then for the kids.”
With that, he walked away and, judging by the look that crossed Wendy’s face as he did, shattering her heart, leaving broken pieces in his wake.
Ones I was sure only he could fix.
By the end of my shift, I was beat.
Between my aching feet, pounding head, and weeping heart, the latter thanks to the gut-wrenching push and pull I’d been forced to witness between Chris and Wendy all afternoon, I just wanted to go home and take a hot bath, maybe even a nap.
Only, neither things were options.
Not after I’d promised Guapo a date.
Despite the weariness plaguing me, a smile curved my chapstick-covered lips when I thought of the night to come. James wanted to take me to eat, then out dancing. I wasn’t sure what I’d done in my life to deserve a man as amazing as he, but I planned to spend the rest of my life thanking whatever deity had gifted him to me.
“Carmen!”
I’d almost made it to the shelter’s side exit when Charlotte called out my name, causing my feet to stop and me to whirl around, the simple white skirt I wore twirling around my thighs.
“Si, boss lady?”
Hands on her hips, she stood by Shelby and Hope, an expression I couldn’t quite read on each of their beautiful faces. “I heard you’ve got a hot date tonight.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Come Monday morning, I want all the details, girl!”
Shelby mumbled something incoherent, and Hope smacked her arm as I laughed and shook my head. “We’ll see,” I replied, turning to the side. “Now, if you ladies don’t mind, Guapo is waiting for me outside and—”
Charlotte smirked. “You better go then, babydoll.”
“Yeah, go,” Hope added, excitedly—why is she so excited over me leaving?—“because we wouldn’t want you to keep James waiting.”
When I didn’t move quick enough, Shelby spoke up. “Seriously, head on out. You’ve got a big—” Snapping her mouth closed, she exhaled before waving in my direction and then turning, giving me her back. “Bye, Ma! See you tonight!”
Wait. What? Tonight?
Why would she be seeing me tonight?
And why hadn’t she finished her sentence?
Cristo, I was so confused!
“Ignore her.” Hope chuckled awkwardly. “She’s overworked and overstressed. You know how it goes. Obviously, she meant tomorrow.” Grabbing her madre’s hand, she blew me a kiss. “Bye, Carmen! Have a good time with James!”
Then, like Shelby had done seconds before, she and Charlotte both whirled around and headed down the hall, their short strides moving double-time to catch Shelby.
And people say I’m loca.
After turning to face the door once more, I pushed it open without wasting another second and stepped into the humid Georgia air. Blinded by the sun, I lifted my hand, blocking its harsh rays.
That’s when I saw James.
Standing beside his parked truck, next to the open passenger door, and wearing a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged his muscular thighs, along with a faded black t-shirt that was stretched across his massive chest and broad shoulders, he was mouthwatering.
Not to mention, irresistible.
Feeling the weariness melt from each of my limbs as I stared at him, my exhausted body came back to life, and I stood a little taller, the excitement that continuously erupted inside me when he was near beginning to simmer.
“Baby,” James said, hands sliding free of his pockets where he’d had them tucked. “I’ve been without your lips for eight hours. I am done at this point.” He crooked a finger, beckoning me closer. “Come here.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
Without delay, I ran straight for him.
Reaching him in record time, I jumped into his waiting arms, slamming my body into his. With my legs surrounding his waist and my hands finding their way into his short, mussed hair, I took a single breath and dipped my lips to meet his, taking the kiss that he’d desired and I’d craved.
And like all the other times he’d held me in his arms, our pulses hammering in sync as we devoured one another, my heart soared.
Because in him, I’d found everything.
32
James
I couldn’t stop pacing.
On the verge of losing my mind while waiting for Carmen to finish getting ready and step out of our bedroom—which she’d banned me from while she dressed, I might add—and onto the upstairs landing, where I could see her and drink my fill, I was wearing a hole in the foyer floor.
Not that it mattered.
If my feet destroyed the hardwood, I’d tear it all up and lay down new planks. My nerves, though, couldn’t be replaced like the stained oak, and unfortunately for me, they were shot to shit.
And all because of the ring in my pocket.
After weeks of planning and me walking around more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, to borrow a term from the Crazy Old Biddy, the time had come for me to ask Carmen to spend the rest of her life with me in a proposal that had been seven years in the making.
I just hoped she’d say yes.
Hell, she had to, because I damn well wouldn’t—
My feet ceased all movement when the bedroom door creaked, signaling its opening, and the telltale click of heels against the wood planks comprising the landing echoed through the otherwise empty house.
Heart jammed high in my tightening throat, I turned to face the stairs as my head swam, my mind racing a hundred miles a minute, making it impossible to differentiate one thought from the next.
Holding my breath, I trekked my gaze up each step until my eyes landed on my Pixie. And just like that, in the space of a lone second, every ounce of oxygen I’d been refusing to exhale rushed out of me, emptying my lungs.
Knocked damn near stupid, not to mention speechless at the sight of the angel standing above me, I rubbed my sweat-covered palm across my jaw.
Damn, she was beautiful.
More beautiful than anyone I’d ever seen.
And she was mine.
How the fuck was that even possible?
The question looped around my mind as I stood there like a brainless neanderthal, taking in her silky tan skin and the little black dress that clung to each of her curves, along with the nude-colored stilettos that added a good four inches to her five-foot-three height, extending the length of her smooth legs.
When my eyes landed on her breathtaking face, I wondered if I needed to sit down because just looking at her was enough to knock me on my culo, as she would say.
“Jesus Christ, Carmen,” I mumbled, voice barely choosing to work as my stare bounced between her glossed lips, coal-rimmed, seductive eyes, and curled waist-length tawny hair. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?”
Descending the stairs, each of her elegant steps a reminder of the beauty queen she’d once been crowned, she smiled. “I’ve been told that a time or two.” Stopping on the bottom step, she wrapped a hand around the stained banister to her left, holding it tight. “But you’re the only one who has ever truly made me feel that way.”
Lifting her free hand, she trailed her soft fingers down the side of my face, making my muscles tense. One simple touch and my body craved more. I need her...
“Do you like my dress?” she asked, interrupting my thoughts and temporarily halting the temptation to pull her into my arms and haul her up
against the nearest wall, where I could convince her to marry me using my tongue, hands, and cock, instead of my words. “I was worried about my scars showing, so I almost wore something with longer sleeves, but I decided against concealing them.”
Wrapping my fingers around her small wrist, I pulled her hand from my face and kissed the inside of her arm, where evidence of her past would always remain, allowing my lips to linger on the largest mark.
“Never hide them,” I whispered, needing to nullify any second thoughts she may still be harboring. “Like you, they’re beautiful.”
My words may have sounded like bullshit to some, but Carmen’s addiction wasn’t something I ever wanted her to be ashamed of.
I wanted her to be proud.
Proud because she was a warrior, a damn conqueror, and with the help of NA, our family’s unwavering encouragement, and my undying love and support, her addiction would always remain a war she’d long since claimed victory over.
“I won’t hide them.” Pulling her arm from my gentle hold, she released the railing, then leaned forward and curled her fingers in the bottom of my shirt. Ghosting her trembling lips over my cheek, she sighed against me, her sweet breaths warming my skin. “Now, answer me, Guapo. Do you like my dress?”
If my rock-hard cock, which was close to bursting through the confines of my zipper, was anything to go by, then the answer was yes, I liked her dress.
A whole hell of a lot.
Pressing my lips to hers for a fraction of a second before somehow finding the strength to pull back without deepening the kiss and taking what I wanted, I cleared my throat. “I do, beautiful.” My fingers trailed up her side, then around to her lower back. “But I’ll like it even better after I tear it off, along with your panties, later.”
I didn’t miss the way her breath hitched.
“Si, me too.” Her reply surprised me. “But first”—she pulled back, meeting my gaze—“I require food and dancing.” Releasing my shirt, she slid her small hand into my bigger one, her warmth working overtime to calm my lingering anxiety. “Take me out, James. It’s been a long time coming.”
She was right.
“Come on, baby.”
Turning, I guided her toward the front door, one hand still holding hers, then led her outside, where half the family was in their yards or sitting on their porches, watching and waiting for us to leave.
Hell...
Please don’t let them blow the surprise.
Quickening my steps, we rounded the truck.
My free hand was inches from popping open the passenger’s side door when the Crazy Old Biddy, of all damn people, hollered at us from her front porch. “You two have a good time tonight, ya hear?” She started to whistle a Christmas carol, making herself appear even more batshit than usual since it was ninety degrees out as she watered the knockout rose bushes that hugged her wraparound front porch. “Drive safe, and we’ll see y’all later.”
I didn’t reply as I popped open the door.
Focused only on me, Carmen didn’t either.
After dropping her hand that I still held, I lifted my woman, the laugh that spilled from her lips when I did so striking me in the heart. Depositing her on the front seat, I sent up a silent prayer that she wouldn’t read too much into what the Crazy Old Biddy’s nutty self had just said.
Thankfully, she didn’t.
I wasn’t even sure she’d heard her.
Done securing her seatbelt and ensuring that she was safe, I pressed one last kiss to her sweet lips, ones I would damn-well devour later tonight, and stepped back, shutting her door.
Once I’d jogged around the front end of the truck, my eyes never deviating from hers through the front windshield, I jumped in the driver’s seat, started the engine with shaking hands, and did as my Pixie, the love of my life, had asked me to.
I took her out.
An hour later, we pulled into Mi Tierra.
Where to pop the question had been something I’d contemplated and agonized over ever since realizing it was past time I proposed, and one that, after glimpsing Carmen’s surprised face as I pulled into the familiar gravel-covered lot, I knew I’d nailed it.
The catch in her breath was proof of that.
“James...” Irises gleaming with unshed tears, my woman looked over at me as I shifted the truck into park and switched off the ignition. “You brought me back.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, she closed her eyes, letting the cumbia music that floated through her half-open window, along with what I would’ve bet were memories of our first date, wash over her. “You brought me back to the place where I first confessed that I loved you.”
It was a moment I’d never forgotten.
I opened my mouth to tell her just that but stopped short when a tear slipped down her cheek, leaving a streak of wetness in its wake. “You don’t know how many times…” She paused, clenching the skirt of her dress in her hands. “You don’t know how many times I revisited that memory in the years that we were apart.”
I had a pretty good clue. “Carmen—”
“You don’t understand what this means to me, so listen while I tell you, si?” I nodded, knowing she needed me to hear what she wanted to say. “When things got really bad, especially in the beginning of our separation, and I was sure I’d shatter from the pain of missing you, along with the agony of facing a future that you wouldn’t be a part of, that night is all I would think about.”
My chest wrenched tight. “Pixie…”
I could hear the hurt in my voice.
“Now we’re back, and I’m so thankful for that.” She chuckled as she continued, wiping away the tear tracks that marred her cheeks. “Yet, here I am, ruining the moment by crying”—she forced a half-assed smile—“again.”
Needing to put an end to the guilt she felt, which was a normal reaction to such an agonizing situation, I unbuckled my seatbelt and cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to remain on mine. “Listen to me.” She swallowed and nodded once. “You haven’t ruined a single thing, so I don’t want to hear that shit anymore. Got it?”
Another nod. “Si, I’ve got it.”
I wasn’t convinced. “Baby, our past, parts of it are real ugly, and the time we lost with one another is always going to hurt.” My thumb caressed her cheek. “But it’s over, and as for you and me? We’re never going to be separated again because I’ll be damned if I lose another second with you.”
“Guapo—”
“Want to know something else, beautiful?” I didn’t wait for her to answer. “When Hendrix was sixteen, I overheard him tell Tuck that he’d never be able to survive without Maddie because she was his heart, and a man couldn’t live without that.”
I nearly choked up.
“I thought he was just a dumb shit because I never believed a love that strong could exist between a man and a woman.” Pausing, I watched as a tear rolled down her cheek. “But then I met you, and I realized I’d been wrong.”
A hell of a lot wrong.
“You are my heart, Carmen.” Sliding my hand from her face and down her neck, I pressed my thumb to the place where her heart pounded, letting the steady rhythm bleed into me. “And I refuse to live without you ever again.”
I’d tear the world apart to keep her first.
“So dry your tears because the past is over. The pain it caused may linger, but only happiness exists ahead of us, yeah?”
Doing as I’d said, she took a deep shuddering breath and wiped away her tears with a napkin she pulled from the console between us, a genuine smile, one of the prettiest I’d ever glimpsed, lighting up her face.
“So much for my makeup.”
“Fuck the makeup.” My words were harsh, holding more bite than I’d intended, but my expression was anything but. “You’re a knockout without it.”
She rolled her eyes and turned, hand going to the door. “Such a charmer.” Exhaling, she cleared her throat and glanced to the front of the yellow, blue, and red-painted building that was Mi Tierra befo
re focusing back on me. “Take me inside, Guapo. I’m starving.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Climbing out of the truck, I walked around to her side and opened her door. Taking her hand in mine, I helped her out, then waited as she brushed her hands down the front of her dress, stretching the fabric, the scent of her flowery perfume filling the sticky air.
When she was done, I palmed her lower back and nodded toward the restaurant without ever pulling my eyes, a near-impossible task, from her.
Then, together, we headed inside.
To where our future awaited.
I held my breath the entire way.
33
Carmen
I’d eaten way too much food.
Between the salsa criolla, bandeja paisa, and pandebonos I’d practically inhaled, along with the two glasses of ice-cold passion fruit juice I’d drunk, I was close to slipping into a food coma, where the ten pounds I’d likely gained would go straight to my culo.
And it was all Guapo’s fault.
Si, I’d been the one to devour each bite until I felt almost sick, but why he insisted on ordering half the menu and tempting me into eating it all, I’d never know.
Cristo, with the way I felt after consuming so much, he’d have to carry me out of the restaurant once our date concluded.
Not that he would’ve minded.
“You ready for dessert?”
The fork I still held in my hand clattered to my plate as I jerked my head up, eyes crashing into James’ at the sound of his ludicrous question. “Do you not see how much I’ve already eaten?” I gestured to the empty plates and salsa bowl before me. “Mierda, if I take another bite, my culo won’t be able to fit through the front door when we get home.”
Chuckling, he lifted his half-filled glass of lemonade to his kissable lips. “Your butt is fine, baby.”
I quirked a lone brow. “It’s grande, Guapo.” Not that I cared. I honestly didn’t. I was forty-one years old, for heaven’s sake. If my rear end required its own zip code or my thighs jigged when I walked, then so be it. “Just call it like you see it.”
