by Amber Heart
“Okay,” Thomas said. “Everyone settle down! We want it to be a surprise, remember?”
Quiet fell and Ara hoped it would last long enough. It did.
“There he is!” Silvia said, grabbing Araceli’s arm and just barely holding back from jumping up and down. Her voice was trembling with excitement.
A cheer went through the crowd as Francisco walked into the room. He looked around and Ara and Silvia beamed when he realized that much more than his immediate family filled the room. His brother Saul threw his arms around him and thumped him on the back, getting laughing reproofs from some of the younger family members closest.
“Happy Birthday!” Everyone in the room called out just before music began to play and people began to gather around.
Araceli knew that it would be awhile before she could make her way to her grandfather, so she danced with some of her younger cousins, untangled a few arguments, and held various new babies to give their parents a chance to dance or mingle unencumbered.
A few hours later the music stopped and her sister stepped up. “May I have your attention for just a few moments?” she called, her voice clear and sweet. “Thank you.” She smiled around at the room. “Now, I know that a Vasquez doesn’t need an excuse for a party...” Silvia paused while everyone shouted their agreement. “But we’ve gathered here for more than just a good time. We’re celebrating our Abuelo Francisco who turns ninety years old today!”
Araceli joined in the cheers and whistles, clapping until her hands hurt.
“A few of us wanted to say a few things. Which is not a surprise.” Silvia winked at the crowd. “But I get to start because I’m the one who’s been organizing this thing for the better part of a year. And I couldn’t have done it without all of you. You all pitched in, whether you brought food, or drinks, or cups.” Here she paused and smiled at Araceli.
“Blue. Plastic. Twenty ounces.” Araceli called back to her and the crowd laughed.
“Exactly,” Silvia said, deadpan. “Anyway, I just wanted to say that you’ve all helped so much and this is exactly the celebration I wanted it to be. A celebration worthy of our Abuelo. A man who always knows the right thing to say and the right time to say it. A man who gave me some of the best advice of my life when he told me that my high school sweetheart was a sure thing. A man who dried my tears, gave me ice cream, and took me to buy my graduation dress even though he hates shopping. To you, Abuelo Francisco!”
She stepped to the side and others stepped up to make their speeches. As they did, Araceli inched closer and closer until she was standing beside her grandfather’s chair. She reached out and linked her fingers with his, resting her head on his shoulder as they listened to the speeches.
“I don’t have one,” she whispered as the last speaker stepped away.
Francisco turned to her and smiled. His eyes were bright, but he’d managed not to shed a tear. “Mija, you brought the cups. Who could manage to do both?”
Araceli laughed and fell into her grandfather’s arms. “I love you, abuelo.”
“I love you too,” he said gruffly. “Now, tell me this. Why do you look so sad?”
“Now isn’t the time,” she said, annoyed that she hadn’t managed to hide her emotions better.
“It’s my party. I decide that. I’ve heard that someone is trying to buy Arturo’s firm. Is that the problem?”
“No. Yes.” Araceli shook her head. “He’s not trying anymore.”
“And you wish he would?”
“No! I was never going to let that happen. It’s just...” She looked down at her shoes. After she’d walked out on Donovan, she’d cried the whole way home. To be fair, half of it was rage. But the other half was pure loss. She’d really thought that they might have had something. “I liked him. A lot. And I thought that he was beginning to understand me. But before he left he made me an offer that proved that he never had. I guess...I guess I was just hurt that what I thought we had wasn’t what we had.”
“Is it possible that he didn’t know what he had?”
Araceli blinked, remembering what Donovan had told her about his family. And about the way he’d felt about Oliver Ingram.
“Maybe not,” she said slowly. “We’re pretty different.”
“Then, no matter what comes of it, you have the knowledge that it wasn’t you he didn’t understand. It was himself.”
She put her head back on her grandfather’s shoulder. It didn’t remove the ache in her heart from missing Donovan, but it helped.
Chapter 9
Donovan couldn’t believe that he’d had been back home for two weeks before Gail managed to get him on the phone with Eric Clark. The man had clearly been annoyed at being rescheduled twice and Donovan was more than ready to smooth his ruffled feathers by adding to the offer.
“Hello, Mr. Sutton,” the CEO of San Ramon Accounting said. “I’m afraid that I don’t have long to give you today, but since you’ve been so insistent.” He let the sentence trail, letting Donovan understand clearly that he was still annoyed with him.
He decided to get straight to the point. “I’d like to speak with you about rescheduling our talk, Mr. Clark. We only have a few details left to wrap up.”
“I’m afraid that I’m no longer interested,” the man said coolly.
“I understand that my having to reschedule was inconvenient--” Donovan began.
“Yes, frankly it was. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Given the extra time, I decided that I’d prefer to keep my business in spite of the high payout you’ve offered.”
“May I ask why?” Donovan asked, his jaw going tight.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment and then the other man said simply, “It’s the difference between working for myself and working for someone else, Mr. Sutton. Thank you for your interest, and have a good day.”
The call disconnected. Donovan replaced the receiver in the cradle and rubbed his jaw. The man’s words had reminded him of Araceli. Hell, everything reminded him of Araceli.
He’d missed her since he landed. He thought about her when he was working, when he was eating, and especially when he was sleeping. He wanted her underneath him again, wanted her taste in his mouth and his fingers in her hair.
He pushed his hands back through his hair and leaned back. He had to stop. She’d made it more than clear that she didn’t want to speak to him. He wasn’t even really sure that the two of them could ever manage to get along. What was the big deal about working for herself, anyway?
Donovan turned their final fight over in his mind for what felt like the hundredth time. She’d said that he hadn’t been listening, but he had. He’d listened to everything she’d said that she wanted over the two weeks they’d spent together. He’d be an idiot if he claimed to know everything she wanted in such a short amount of time, but he’d known some things.
How to make her smile. How to make cry out his name with the sheets clenched in her fists. How to make her debate with him. How to infuriate her beyond all repair. He wasn’t proud of the last one.
Damn it, he wanted to understand! In his frustration, Donovan gave in and did something that he’d never done with any woman he’d been interested in before. He pulled out his phone, opened up his Facebook app, and typed in her name. Relief filled him when he saw that her profile was set to public.
Pictures filled her newsfeed. All of them were hashtagged Vasquez Family Reunion and Abuelo Francisco. So this was the reunion. He scrolled through the pictures eagerly. There were selfies with various family members and plenty of candid shots of Araceli dancing. In one, she was standing guard over a huge bowl of guacamole. In the next her sister Silvia was forcibly removing her from the food table.
Donovan couldn’t hold back a smile. He’d never been with a woman like her. He had a feeling that he never would be again.
A status appeared above the pictures and he read it eagerly.
“I’m not much of a public speaker
so I didn’t make a speech today. But I wanted to thank my abuelo for taking time out from his party to say exactly what I needed to hear. It’s a talent of his to notice everything. To him, and to everyone who turned up today, thank you. Thank you for being there. For being my past, present, and future. We’re all tangled up with each other and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You all mean everything to me.”
There were already likes and comments. He recognized some of the relatives names from her “introductions” a few weeks ago.
“We need to do this more often!”
“You owe me a dance, party girl!”
“You’re still going to do my taxes in a few months, right?”
“Thanks for the cups!”
That one was from Silvia. Araceli’s response was underneath it.
“They were perfect and you know it.”
He realized that he was smiling. There had to be a way for them to move forward. He’d spent his professional life closing deals, figuring out ways around problems, getting what he wanted. He wanted her. So that made it simple.
Donovan thought back over what he knew about her. She loved her job. She loved her family. He still didn’t see why she couldn’t do the job under his company though.
There were more comments now.
“Tell your grandfather happy birthday from all of us!” That one was from Miguel’s Deli’s Facebook page.
“Looks like an amazing celebration!” From Jones Plumbing.
“Invite some clients to the next one, it looks fantastic!” From King’s Hair Salon.
“It’s the difference between working for myself and working for you, Mr. Sutton.”
The CEO’s voice came back to him. So was that it? He went to the Vasquez Accounting Services site and clicked through the tabs. History.
Vasquez Accounting Services has been family owned and operated for over one hundred years. We specialize in helping Spanish language clients and have made it our mission to make our community a better place through charitable donations of both time and funds. At Vasquez, we consider the community our extended family.
From anywhere else, it might have sounded cheesy. For Araceli, he knew it was the simple truth. And there it was. He’d essentially tried to tell her that he could manage her family better than she could. And that money was more important anyway. No wonder she’d been so angry with him.
Donovan stood up. It was the weekend. He didn’t have anything pressing going on. It would be worth a shot. He was a man who liked to know.
Chapter 10
Araceli sighed and refocused her eyes on the page once more. Her mind kept wandering and she couldn’t pay the mystery the attention it deserved. She was halfway tempted to go to bed, but it was barely 8 in the evening and she wasn’t prepared to admit defeat.
When there was a knock at the door, she practically ran to it. The last thing she expected to see when she flung it open was Donovan Sutton. Her heart suddenly beat too quickly and she felt her skin heat up.
“What...what are you doing here?”
“I came to tell you that I understand,” Donovan said simply.
“You said that before and then you tried to hire me.”
“Fair enough.” Donovan sighed. “I was wrong, Araceli.”
She wanted to soften, she really did. But if softening meant being hurt again, she was out. “Wrong about what?” she demanded.
“Can’t I come in and talk to you?” he asked, glancing down the hallway.
She leaned on the doorframe and crossed her arms. “No. If you can’t tell me out here then it must not be that important.”
He sighed, pushing his hand back through that thick, dark hair that she loved so much. “I was wrong about...” He sighed again, hating to admit it. “Pretty much everything.”
Araceli scoffed. “You know what, Donovan? I’m not interested in your clichés, okay? I don’t want you trying to soothe my ego by pretending to be broken hearted and I don’t want any bullshit half assed apologies!”
“It’s not bullshit!” he said when she started to close the door. He caught it with one hand. “And I don’t have to pretend to be broken hearted, Araceli. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day you left!”
Her eyes were bright with tears when she looked up at him again. “Then tell me something that makes me believe you actually gave a damn about me, Donovan. That you weren’t just using me to get the firm.”
He stepped toward her, but she stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest, drawing into herself. For the first time, he realized exactly how much he’d hurt her.
“I saw the pictures of the family reunion,” he said.
Ara wiped tears off of her cheeks and shook her head. “What?”
“Your customers were commenting on it,” Donovan went on.
“Yeah, they do that.” She was still staring at him in complete confusion.
“Not at Ingram Norman. I went to our Facebook page to compare. Our customers like us, but we’re not family. You and your community are.” He made a slightly helpless gesture. “I don’t know how to say it, okay? I just know that Vasquez gives the community something that Ingram Norman couldn’t and working for me would be a complete waste of your skills.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, her voice cool.
Had he lost her? If he had, he knew there’d be nothing more that he could do. And he’d have to face the future without her, which he really didn’t want.
“Yes,” Donovan said. “I am. Araceli, I--”
She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face against his neck. “I’m so glad you finally got it!”
Donovan laughed and swung her around in the middle of the hallway. He didn’t give a fuck if her neighbors saw, or what they thought.
“Me too,” he admitted.
Epilogue
Araceli squealed and threw herself into Donovan’s arms the minute his key turned in the lock. “You’re on time!”
He didn’t reply. He’d missed the taste of her too much. Donovan cupped the back of her neck and took her mouth eagerly. They’d been apart for nearly a month this time and it was too long. A week was too long.
Araceli twined her fingers into his hair and returned the kiss, giving as good as she got. “I missed you,” she whispered against his lips.
“Do we have to go out?” Donovan asked, pressing her back to the wall and rocking against her when she wrapped her legs around him.
His lips moved down her neck and her head fell back. “Oh...” She bit her lip when he nipped at her earlobe. “Yes.”
Donovan groaned. “Can’t be reschedule?”
“Everyone’s waiting for us.”
He reluctantly let her go, setting her gently on her feet. “It’s a damn good thing I’m in love with you,” he informed her.
Araceli smoothed her hair, more than a little sad that they’d had to stop. “Whatever, you love them too.”
Donovan smiled and escorted her out to his car. “What’s the occasion this time?”
Ara shrugged. “I don’t know,” she answered. “They just said to be there.”
“Maybe Ava finally got her acceptance letter to Cal Tech,” Donovan suggested.
“Oh, I hope so!” Araceli said eagerly. “Arturo is about to pull his hair out worrying about it. It’s the only school she wants.”
They got to the restaurant and hurried to the table. Donovan recognized all the faces this time. He’d been dating Araceli for a year now and this was the first time that had happened. He felt briefly proud of himself and then realized that the gathering was actually pretty small for the Vasquez family. Silvia and Thomas were there, along with Araceli’s parents, Oscar and Paula. Francisco sat at the head of the table and he gave Donovan a nod and a smile as Donovan pulled a chair out for Ara.
“How’s big business?” he asked.
“Holding steady,” Donovan answered. He’d decided several months ago to stop purchasing other com
panies and to focus on maintaining and training the firm's he’d already bought. “We’ve got bilingual employees in nearly every branch now. Customer satisfaction is through the roof.”
Araceli squeezed his hand under the table and smiled up at him. He smiled back.
“Oh, and all branches now close for lunch at noon,” he said.
“Why does Silvia look like she’s going to burst if she doesn’t start talking?” Ara asked, giving her sister a grin.