“Have you seen the video?” Javi asked.
His father nodded. “Your sisters showed it me.” His face didn’t betray anything. Always a hard fucker, his father was.
“She dropped the petition.” Javi dropped into the comfy leather chair.
His father nodded again and leaned across the desk. Javi lifted his chin despite the urge to sink back like he would have as a teenager. “Why did she do that to your car? What did you say to her? I thought you were good with women.”
“I thought so, too. But I made a mistake by marrying her, and I was honest about that.” Javi shrugged. “And it worked out. I’m free. According to her lawyer, she’s moving out of town.”
“Back to New York?”
Javi shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t much care.”
One side of his father’s mouth quirked up. “I’m not going to say that I’m not disappointed that you’re divorced. The first of our family on either side in generations. But I’m proud of you for being honest.”
Javi clenched his fists. He was frustrated that his father saw his divorce as a failure. If he was ever going to have a chance to get him to accept Maya as part of Javi’s life, he was going to have to get past that.
“What did you want me to do? Stay married and miserable forever? Besides you and Mom, I don’t think many of the marriages in our family have been happy. It’s so fucking Catholic of you.” Javi stood up and paced in front of his dad’s desk. “Karrie and I never had what you and Mom had. I got married to please you, but it was never going to work. And now that I’ve found someone that I can be happy with, you want to shit all over it. I’m not going to let you.”
“Are you done?” His father looked almost pleased at Javi’s harsh words, but he had more to say. And, this time, his father was going to listen.
“No. Mom’s parents hated you. I didn’t meet them until I was five years old. What good did that do?” Javi barely paused before answering his own question. “None.
He threw back his head because he was crawling out of his skin with things he needed to say. “Maya is everything. She’s gorgeous and smart, and so talented that I can’t even stand it. I’m lucky to have her. I could be a billionaire, and she would still be the catch out of the two of us.”
When he looked at his father, Hector was smiling. “You’re right. I misjudged her.” His father stopped to clear his throat. “I just didn’t want to see you as unhappy as you were after Karrie left you. I thought dating someone so different was a reaction—what you kids call a rebound.”
Javi shook his head. “It’s not that. It was never that.”
“And I like the changes I’ve seen in you since she came around.” His father wrapped on his desk twice. “You’re more engaged in the business, and you seem satisfied with your life.”
“I am. I love her, Dad.” Saying the words made him need to see her again.
“I understand that, but why are you telling me how much you care about this woman? Why are you telling a bored, meddling old man?”
The pain in Javi’s chest returned; he rubbed his sternum with his right hand. “She won’t talk to me. She’s holed up at her brother’s house because she thought I was going back to Karrie.”
“And you’re sitting here llorando a tu padre?” His father sighed and picked up his paper. Then he slapped his hands on the desk. “Do you know that your mother refused to talk to me for a whole month once?”
Javi had never heard this story. He sat back down. “What did you do?”
“She saw me talking to a classmate—a female classmate—and thought I was cheating on her. I was pretty good looking back then.” His father was still pretty good looking, but Javi wasn’t about to say that. The man had enough ego. “This was still early in our relationship. I hadn’t told her that I loved her or that I’d decided that she was pretty much the only woman for me the minute I saw her. She didn’t know that I would never cheat on her because I hadn’t made myself clear.”
“This is not the same. You hadn’t failed Mom. You’d never told her that she wasn’t the one for you.”
“But I did. In my actions. I might have been completely taken with your mother, but I was still flirting with my classmate.” His father trailed off for a second, then said, “And she was feeling pretty vulnerable when she saw me that day because she was pregnant with you.”
Fuck. Maya had been kind of right that time she’d called him a bastard. For all the traditional, Catholic shit his parents had pushed with them, they had played pretty fast and loose with the rules. He sat back hard in his chair. “Wow. Shit. What did you do to get her back?”
“Well, I proposed.” Javi wasn’t sure that would work with Maya. He wasn’t even sure she wanted to get married to anyone, much less him. “But I don’t think that will work with your Maya. If she still thinks that you’d go back to Karrie, you haven’t done a good job in showing her how you feel about her. Think monumental.”
“She’s my family, Dad. She’s always felt like she belonged to me. Even when we were just friends. I don’t know how to show her.” He rubbed his chest again. The hurt was still there, but his father’s story had given him a bit of hope. He’d always assumed that his parents had always had a perfect relationship; hearing that it hadn’t always been that way was sort of a relief.
Javi had thought that he didn’t have to work to earn Maya once he had her. Because he hadn’t shown her from the beginning, he would have to do something huge.
Monumental. That word formed the germ of an idea in his head. Throwing money at a problem wouldn’t fix things with Maya, but maybe throwing money at a wall would.
“I’m going to need help from you and Mom.”
His father was full-on smiling at him now. “Whatever you need. I think I have some making up to do with your woman myself.”
Chapter 22
Maya could barely believe that she was standing in a gallery full of people here to look at her art. It was strange to see people jostling for spots in front of canvases that she’d put her heart and soul into.
Felix was glued to her side, exactly as she’d instructed him to be on pain of death. He squeezed her arm so hard that she was sure she’d have bruises the next day. “Chica, this is so bomb. You’re going to sell the fuck out.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, people are probably here for the free food.” She still had to do that thing where she tempered her hope with sarcasm so she wouldn’t be disappointed. She still half expected to wake up from a dream and find herself back in her bedroom in Harlem.
Her time with Javi seemed so far away right now, even though it had only been a week since she’d last seen him. His touch felt so remote that she could barely call it up in her memory. Everything had changed, and her insides felt like they had been emptied out and reconfigured into something only half as full.
She hated feeling like that. It reminded her too much of the way her mother had depended on a man to feel good. She shook her head to empty it of her depressed fucking thoughts. And she would not spoil the night by thinking about her dumbass parents and her stupid childhood.
Her mother never followed her dreams and went to culinary school; Maya had chased down what she wanted in her career and held it in both hands. Even though she didn’t have the guy, she had done something to make her life better. And, for a few weeks, she’d seen what life could be like with the guy and the career.
“I need more champagne before I start crying about Javi.”
“Coming right up.” Her brother moved to find one of the cater waiters he’d hired for the event. They’d made an agreement that he would keep her intoxicated enough to make small talk with gallery patrons and forget Javi for a few minutes at a time, but sober enough not to fall all over Javi if he did show up.
Felix returned with her drink as she saw the Hernandezes walk into the gallery. She wondered why they were there, and she couldn’t help the bite of disappointment that speared through
her when Javi didn’t follow them in.
Javi’s mom smiled and hugged her before she could step out of the way. Since she was probably staying in Miami for a while, she decided to be polite. Maybe his father wasn’t here only because his wife made him come. Maybe Javi’s mother was really interested in her art. She didn’t know, but she decided to play it safe. “Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez.”
“Call me Molly.” Molly motioned at the painting Maya stood next to. “Shit. This is the one I wanted for the family room. And it’s sold.” She turned to her husband. “I told you we needed to get here right when it started.”
Hearing Javi’s mother curse surprised her, and then Hector Hernandez shocked the shit out of Maya by leaning down and kissing her on each cheek. She didn’t have the presence of mind to push him away and tell him to go fuck himself. Perhaps she really had grown from her relationship with Javi.
“I’m sorry.” The resemblance between Javi and his father was stronger when the older man smiled.
“I’m sorry?” Maya didn’t understand what he was apologizing for. He was a dick sometimes, but that was his personality, according to his kids. Nothing really to apologize for there.
“No, I’m sorry that I wasn’t more welcoming towards you.” He put an arm around Molly. “My children keep reminding me that I’m an old man, a traditional man. I took my disappointment in Javi’s recent behavior out on you. That was unfair.”
Maya’s mouth hung open. That was the last thing she ever expected out of Mr. Hernandez. Only the fact that Felix was holding her arm kept her from walking away—this was too weird. Why were her ex-boyfriend’s parents at her gallery opening? Apologizing to her?
“Thank you?” She shook her head. “I guess I’m not clear on why you’re here. Javi and I broke up.” Hector held up one finger and reached into his jacket. He handed her an envelope with her name on it in Javi’s handwriting. “What’s this?”
Hector shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. Javier asked me to give it to you and tell you not to open it until the end of the night. He didn’t come tonight because he didn’t want to draw attention from your talent. He did tell me to tell you that he’s proud of you, for what that’s worth.”
Disappointment and curiosity warred inside Maya’s head. The Hernandezes wandered off, leaving her with Felix and the envelope.
Her brother snatched it out of her hands after she played with the flap for a few seconds. “I know you won’t be able to help yourself.”
“You’re right. The dick is that good. I’m powerless in the face of more of that dick.”
“I thought we couldn’t talk about dicks around fancy people?” Felix laughed. “More champagne?”
She looked down at her empty glass. “No. I think I’ll need to be sober for whatever’s in that envelope.”
Felix nodded. “Let’s go get some rich people drunk and drive some prices up.”
Chapter 23
Javi hated that he was sitting in abandoned warehouse waiting for Maya instead of by her side. He’d thought about showing up at the gallery opening and buying everything, but he knew that would embarrass her. He ached with the need to be next to her on her big night, and it seemed like a stupid decision to stay away now that he was alone.
He wasn’t even sure that she’d show up. His mother had texted him to let him know that the show was sold out. He’d asked her to make sure there was nothing left unsold. But, not surprisingly, his mother had actually spilled champagne on a woman’s dress to distract her long enough to get one of the pieces she wanted. Javi’s heart hurt with how proud he was of Maya. He’d always known she was talented, but he loved that other people could see the same thing.
His nerves jangled, so he got up and lit some of the candles he’d set up. She should be opening up the envelope now. He could picture her face as she did it. She’d furrow her brow and bite her lower lip. She’d run her fingertips up and down the paper. There would be an uncertain look in her eyes before—he hoped—that she would come to him.
When all the candles were lit, he sat down in a chair. He’d spent the whole day outside, setting up the big surprise. He just hoped that it wouldn’t piss her off.
* * * *
Maya’s Uber pulled up to the entrance to the Wynwood Walls, and she got out. But she stood outside gathering herself. She hadn’t hesitated too much when she read his note, asking her to meet him here after her show. It was a public place, so he wasn’t inviting her somewhere for sex. Although, up against a wall was one of her favorite ways for him to fuck her.
She thought the space closed when it got dark, but the gates opened when she pulled. Someone—she would guess Javi—had painted arrows on the sidewalk. Hopefully, he’d cleared that with the owners. The arrows lead to a mostly blank wall that someone—again, she would guess Javi—had painted, in huge letters:
Javier Hernandez Loves Maya Pascual
When she read the note, she’d expected that he wanted a private place to talk that held good memories. He would think that, by bringing her to a place that they had enjoyed, she would be open to what he had to stay. He was a businessman, strategic like that.
She had not expected this. She stopped about fifteen feet from the door to the warehouse, just to stare at the giant letters.
Javi came to the door, and she pressed her lips together. She wanted to take him in, take what he’d done in before she said anything. She didn’t want to say the insane, impulsive things that flew through her mind, like I love you or I need you or if you don’t fuck me right now on the grass, I’m going to kill you.
He looked amazing in a bespoke, three-piece suit without a tie. He had his hands in his pockets and his hair back. His head was down, as if he was embarrassed or worried she wouldn’t respond well. She re-memorized the lines of his face, the high cheekbones and the brow. She wanted to paint him, but that would have to wait.
She met his gaze. “Did you paint this?”
“Yeah.” He licked his lips and smiled. “Did you think I hired someone to do this?”
“If you had, I was going to tell you to get your money back.” Maybe keeping this sarcastic would prevent her flying off the ground.
He walked towards her. As soon as he was next to her, when she felt the heat of his body, something settled down inside her. A part of her that hadn’t felt right since before the bachelor auction clicked back into place, and she felt like she could breathe again.
“What is this?”
“Javier Hernandez loves Maya Pascual.” He didn’t touch her, but he faced her side and was so close that their hands could brush each other if she reached out a little bit. “I wanted to make sure that you knew without any question in your mind, how I feel about you.”
“Why this?” She had an inkling, but she wanted to hear him say it.
“You would have thought a billboard was dumb, so I didn’t want to do that. I thought about a sky writer, but how could I have made sure that you came out of Felix’s garage long enough to see it?”
“You couldn’t, and I would have thought that was stupid, too.” She reached out her pinky finger and wrapped part of the way around his thumb. He stopped breathing, but he didn’t move closer.
“I wanted to tell you how I feel about you in a place I knew you’d appreciate. And, it’s not pretty, but I wanted to do it myself.”
“Yeah, you jacked up a bunch of the letters.” She looked at him and smiled. “But I don’t care. I love it.”
He grabbed her by the neck and kissed her. She wanted to attack him and climb him like a tree, all at the same time, but she let him pour out his tenderness into her with his soft lips. He filled her completely and swamped her senses. She stroked his tongue with hers, and he groaned and pulled back.
“We should talk.”
She didn’t want to talk, she wanted more of the kissing. “About what?”
“About why you ran away for one.”
She really didn
’t want to answer that question, because the logical thing to do would have been to have a conversation about what Karrie had said to her. Work it out instead of running away. But his ex’s words had hit such a primal fear inside her, that she was like her mother and would become a victim to the thrall of a powerful man that the lizard part of brain had told her to run.
“I thought you were back with her. She showed me some text messages.” It sounded so stupid when she said it out loud.
“And you believed her because I didn’t tell you how I felt about you.”
“We just kind of fell in together. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you do all the things instead of say the love things?”
Javi kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her. She wanted to believe all the things he was saying, but it was hard. “The last time we had a serious conversation, I didn’t see you for four years. I didn’t want to rock the boat. You said you’d give me one night. Then you gave me more, and I was afraid that you’d wise up and cut me off if I asked you for what I really wanted.”
“What did you really want?” Maya needed all the words now.
“I want to be with you. I want to be with only you. For good.” He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “It kills me that I didn’t see if before now. You were always the only one for me. Always.”
“When did you know it?” She licked at his thumb, and he pulled her closer.
“I knew it when you made me beg to take you out to dinner. It was fire.” He paused. “But I think I knew it back in Philly. I was afraid of it then. And I hurt a lot of people out of fear back then.”
“You’re not afraid anymore?”
“I’m only afraid of losing you.”
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