by Mia Madison
If.
“No, no,” He said, smiling. “I just, uh, was surprised…” His words trailed off and he cleared his throat as he stood up abruptly. “I’ll make some calls as soon as I get back to the office, and then I could email you after? Or maybe… call?”
“Absolutely.” I held out my hand. “Phone.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Let me see your phone.”
He quirked an eyebrow but didn’t argue, and handed over his phone without another word. A few seconds later, and I’d saved my name, number, and email to his contacts.
“Okay, you have all of my info now.” I handed his phone back to him. “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
It was quite flirtatious and forward of me, but I didn’t care. And I was rewarded with the cute but sexy blush of his cheeks when he’d realized what I’d done.
“Oh, I’ll definitely be calling. Soon.”
He turned to leave, but I reached out and put my hand on his arm. “Miguel, thank you. Seriously, you don’t even know what this means to me.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he grinned. “But I’m happy to help. I’ll be in touch.”
“I hope so,” I said, quietly, but he’d already started to walk away.
And suddenly, the sun was a little brighter, the grass a little greener. Even my food tasted better. Miguel had come along and turned my whole day around — and possibly, my whole world, upside down— within just a few minutes.
It felt too good to be true, but I wasn’t about to jinx it with my doubts and second guesses. If this was a sign from the universe, I was going to let the magic happen.
After all, I didn’t have anything to lose.
Miguel
As I drove back to my office, I felt like I was on top of the world. But at the same time, I wondered if I’d just made a big mistake.
Not about the investors, of course. Even after only a few minutes, I could tell how passionate Bianca was about her studio, and I’d seen her dance — babygirl knew her shit.
Was I making a mistake by getting involved, though? By thinking that maybe a guy like me could ever have a chance with a woman like her? The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like she owed me a date in return for what I was offering to do. And that complicated things, because if I asked, that would probably be exactly what she’d think.
I picked up my phone and dialed Maria’s number, smiling as I remembered the way Bianca had taken charge and put her number in my phone. And that look she’d given me…
“What’s up, big brother? Make it quick, I’m almost at Mom’s house now.”
“That’s what I was calling about, actually. Can you tell Mama I might be a little late for dinner this week?”
Maria sighed, and I braced for what I knew was coming.
“You were late last week, Miguel. You know how she gets when family dinner gets pushed back.”
I did know. And it’s why Maria and I were both unhappy about the prospect of it happening a second week in a row. Our mother liked to have us over once a week, to spend at least a couple of hours together as a family. It was a tradition that we all enjoyed, but our mother’s rigid, military-like scheduling could sometimes be problematic.
Like now, for instance.
“Something came up and I’ve got some calls to make. I might be able to get there on time, but I’m just giving you a heads-up.”
“You know what would make Mama feel better about you being late?”
“What? Flowers? Candy? Should I bring dessert?”
“You should bring a date, Miguel. Rona told me how you couldn’t take your eyes off Bianca the other night. Maybe you should call her. I could probably get her number if—”
“She is the reason I’m running late, as a matter of fact.”
I frowned. I hadn’t meant to say anything about my deal with Bianca to anyone, especially not my sister. I’d just wanted to get her off my back about the dating thing. Unfortunately, it was probably going to be counter-productive, since now she’d want even more details.
“Oh? Are you bringing her? What’s going on? You should bring her over, Miguel.” The excitement in her voice was all too palpable.
“Calm down. It’s not like that. Just business. But I’m making some calls on her behalf, and it’s probably going to take me a while.”
Maria sighed again, and again, I knew what she was thinking, even before she said it.
“Oh, Miguel. You should be careful with your heart, you know.”
I rolled my eyes. This wasn’t the conversation I’d planned on having. It wasn’t the conversation I was going to have. My day had been going really, really well up until that point, and I wasn’t going to ruin it by discussing my love life. Or my lack of a love life.
“Yeah,” I said, not so much agreeing with her as just looking for an excuse to get off the phone. “Look, I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
I hung up the phone as quickly as I could, not ready to spend any more time or energy debating what I should or shouldn’t do with Bianca.
Not that I would mind going out with her, of course. She was beautiful, athletic, intelligent, and sensual. And it was sort of comforting to know that Maria apparently thought we’d be a good match. She’d never hesitated to be critical of the few women I’d dated in the past, so for her to actively try and set me up with Bianca spoke volumes. Her friend Rona must have spoken very highly of Bianca.
But it all came back to the fact that we had a business relationship now, and that’s what complicated things. Even if that wasn’t the case, though, what would she even see in me? I might not be the fat kid who would have fallen all over himself to do her homework in school anymore, but that fat kid was still very much alive inside of me. He’s still who I saw when I looked into the mirror, and even though maybe, just maybe other people saw the older, wiser, marginally-more-in-shape version, I wasn’t totally convinced.
I had to admit though, that for the few brief moments it happened, Bianca’s body had felt really good pressed up against mine. It was something I would definitely be able to get used to really easily, if given half a chance. And she was definitely nice and sweet, with a good head on her shoulders — someone I’d be proud to take home to my mom.
I could fantasize about it all day, though. That didn’t mean it was really like that between us. She and I had a business relationship, and that was all.
That was all it was ever going to be, no matter how much I might wish it could be different.
Bianca
It had been a week since I had seen Rona and Miguel backstage at my show, and it had taken every bit of my patience and self-control not to call her and pump her for information about Miguel. Especially after our impromptu meeting by the food truck.
But I didn’t want to seem desperate, or weird, so I waited — and waited — until our next yoga class together.
The day had finally come, and then I had to wait some more, while we went through the entire class. Every time we made eye contact, I wondered if she could tell what I was thinking. I wondered if she could see just how much I needed to know more about that man. And I wondered if she felt the same way about him.
For all I knew, the two of them might already have something going on. But… the way he had looked at me was definitely at odds with that idea. Although that didn’t mean that she wasn’t looking for something more.
So many questions, and if I was being honest, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to know all the answers.
When the class was finally over and everyone started filing out the door, I was half-tempted to just let it go, to keep my questions and my feelings in check, to not even bother asking Rona for anything.
But no. Fuck that. I’d drive myself crazy thinking about it and wondering what might have been.
“Hey, Rona, do you have a minute?”
She looked up from gathering her things and smiled. Shit, did she know?
“Of course. What’s up?”
I waited as the last few stragglers from class left the building before crossing the room to stand next to her.
“I just… wanted to thank you again for going to my show last week. It was so good to see you there.”
“Yeah, it was great,” she said. “I really enjoyed it…”
I nibbled my lip as her voice trailed off and she gave me a curious look.
“Was there something else?”
“No,” I said, a little too quickly. “I mean… yeah. Sort of.”
She raised an eyebrow as she waited for me to continue. She was clearly prepared to let me struggle through this on my own. Fine. I’d just come right out and ask.
“How well do you know Miguel?”
She blinked, then cocked her head to the side. “Miguel?”
“The guy you were with at the show…”
“Oh, right. Miguel. I don’t know him at all.”
Now it was my turn to look confused. I might have had some strange feelings, and it had been a whirlwind of a week, but I knew damn well I didn’t just imagine that whole encounter backstage.
“I thought…” I shook my head. I didn’t know what I thought. “I guess it seemed like the two of you knew each other.”
“No. I’m sort of friends with his sister, but his birthday was the first time I’d met him. But… why?” Her eyes widened. “Unless you’re asking because — oh my God, are you interested in Miguel?”
“I mean…” I swallowed hard. I hadn’t expected her to just come right out and ask so directly. “I don’t know what I am. Sort of interested, I guess.”
Rona laughed. “Sort of interested? I honestly can’t even picture the two of you together.”
I frowned. That wasn’t what I’d asked, and it certainly wasn’t what I’d wanted to hear. It wasn’t really for her to understand — shit, I didn’t even understand it.
“There’s something about him. He’s a nice guy, and he’s charming, and this look that he gets, it’s—” sexy as hell. I cleared my throat. “It’s sweet.”
This conversation was not going the way I’d anticipated. Rona was looking at me like I was speaking a different language, and I was getting more frustrated with each passing second. I mean, fine. Maybe the question had been a little bit out of the blue, but all I had wanted were some facts to back up my gut feeling. Instead, I was getting a little too much commentary.
I wasn’t sure if she had picked up on my agitation, but her next question was a little more relaxed, even though it still wasn’t very helpful.
“I didn’t mean to come off rudely. It’s just you’re so beautiful. I could see you dating a celebrity or something.” She blushed and turned red, apologizing for her assumptions.
If only she knew how over celebrities I was.
“It’s okay, Rona. I know you didn’t mean it like that.” I smiled.
“Thanks.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what are you going to do? He’s so shy, I can’t really imagine that he’s going to ask you out anytime soon.”
“Yeah, no.” I shook my head. “I think you’re right about that. But it doesn’t matter, because he’s helping me with a business deal. I don’t want to make it weird, I just thought maybe you knew a little bit about him.”
She smiled regretfully. “I wish I could help, but I really don’t know much.”
Yeah. Not helpful. But it had been worth a shot. One less awkward conversation to worry about, at least.
“What about drinks?” Rona asked, suddenly looking excited.
“I could use one, but…”
“No, no. I mean you should ask Miguel out. For drinks. Not a date. Just like… business drinks. Between two business people.” Her eyebrows wiggled in suggestion.
I smiled as the idea gathered steam in my mind. Drinks. It was the perfect excuse to get together, really. We could legitimately talk business, and there would be alcohol involved to ease the nerves for both of us. It was so simple. It would almost be like a… practice date.
“Oh, that’s perfect. It’s perfect, Rona.”
I threw my arms around her and squeezed a startled squeak out of her.
“Glad I could help,” she said. “You’ll have to let me know how it goes.”
“Well, it’s not a date,” I said, winking. “But yeah, I’ll let you know.”
I didn’t stop smiling until after she had left the building. It really was the perfect solution.
Now, I just had to gather up the nerve to call Miguel.
I took the key from the ignition and drummed my fingernails against the steering wheel before checking my lipstick a-fucking-gain in the mirror. Was the red too much? Did it look like I was trying too hard?
I nibbled my lip and nearly burst out laughing. Of course I was trying too hard. Too hard for just drinks, anyway. And it didn’t help that I was the one who had insisted on keeping it sort of light and casual. Simple.
But simple and casual flew out the window when I spent nearly two hours on my makeup and tried on seven different black dresses before settling on one that was low-cut but not too low-cut, and short but not too short.
A little clingy, but not too clingy.
Maybe.
I stood up and smoothed the fabric against my hips. Nope. It was definitely too clingy. But I didn’t think Miguel would mind too much.
It didn’t take long to spot him sitting near a window as I walked in. And judging from the look on his face, he didn’t mind the clingy black dress at all.
“Bianca,” he said, standing up and pulling out a chair for me. “You look… amazing.”
I smiled. It was nice to have a man look at me like I was the only woman in the room. Desmond had always been more concerned with who might be looking at him, but Miguel was the complete opposite. He’d taken one look at me and his eyes had nearly popped out of his head.
“You do, too,” I said, meaning it.
He’d definitely decided against simple and casual, too, opting for a crisp navy suit that made his shoulders look broad enough to carry the weight of the world. And the pale pink button-down shirt was a cute touch. I always liked a man who knew how to pull off pink – and did so with confidence.
“Good evening.” The waiter’s voice behind me made me jump a little in my seat. “Are we celebrating anything in particular tonight?”
Miguel looked at me like a deer caught in headlights and I could barely suppress a laugh. We did look like a couple that was celebrating something, or maybe out on a blind date. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. We were celebrating our potential business deal, after all. Sort of.
“I think we are,” I answered, smiling up at the waiter. “Perhaps you could recommend some wine to start with?”
“Of course. I’ll be back with a selection.”
The waiter left us alone again and Miguel leaned across the table, a wide grin spreading across his lips. “Did I miss something? What are we celebrating? Aside from quite a bit of interest in your future studio, of course.”
“That’s exactly what we’re celebrating,” I said, mirroring his grin. “I’ve definitely had drinks for less compelling reasons.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
The waiter returned with some well-timed wine, and we both raised our glasses.
“To business,” he said.
“And maybe a little pleasure.”
I winked as I took a sip. Five minutes in and I was already flirting, but I couldn’t help it. Just being near him brought out that side of me.
It only took a couple of glasses of wine to get us both loosened up enough to be honest. I hadn’t intended on revealing too much information — or asking too many questions — but when he’d offered up the fact that he was single, I couldn’t stop myself.
“Have you ever been married?” I asked.
He immediately shook his head. “No, but I’m not opposed to the idea. I just haven’t found—”
“The right woman,” I finished for him, unable to r
esist a tiny smirk at the cliché.
“I know how it sounds.” As he spoke, his cheeks flushed a light pink that matched his shirt. Seriously? Adorable. “It’s true, though.”
“And I guess I should say that I haven’t found the right man. I thought I had, a couple of times, but…”
I shrugged.
He nodded.
Over the rim of my wine glass, I could tell that he knew the feeling that he really, truly got where I was coming from. It was a nice feeling.
“And are you looking for the right guy now?”
I quirked an eyebrow, more than a little surprised that he’d even asked that question. “I’m not opposed,” I responded slowly, repeating his earlier phrase. “But I wouldn’t say I was actively looking.”
“Fair enough,” he said. Then, he surprised me again with a follow-up question. “You’ve probably noticed that I tend to get a little tongue-tied around…” He paused and cleared his throat as the color in his cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. “… Around beautiful women — like you, for example. But I was hoping that maybe you’d consider…”
I leaned in as his voice trailed off, feeling hopeful, and willing him to make eye contact with me, to ask me out on a date I’d invariably say yes to. Si, Miguel, si! When he finally did, there was such a vulnerability in his eyes that I just wanted to pull him close and reassure him.
He seemed to be encouraged a little by my anticipation, and his voice had almost returned to its normal deep pitch when he continued. “I was hoping that you’d help me. Teach me to be more confident, tell me what women like, what they want from a man.”
Wait, what?
I slowly exhaled the breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding in and nodded, even though I hadn’t been anticipating that question at all. And I wasn’t entirely sure I could give him all of the information he was looking for, but… I could try.