by Sabrina Sol
“Well, a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders…and yours. I’m so happy for all of you.” Daisy reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
“You know I couldn’t have gotten through this without you, right? I’ll never forget what you did for her, for my family. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome. I still think we need to celebrate.”
He nodded. “Definitely. How about we all go to dinner on Friday night?”
“But isn’t that your busiest night? What about the—”
He let go and waved his hands to stop her. “It’s a special occasion. I’ll make the arrangements and we can even go eat a little earlier just in case I end up having to head in later that night.”
Daisy took a sip of her wine. “Then let’s do Friday. I have a meeting in the morning with the florist and then a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon, but I should be done with everything by three or four.”
“Doctor’s appointment? Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah,” she said with a quick nod. “It’s just a regular physical. No biggie.”
“Good, I’m glad. Then Friday it is. I know my mamá will be happy that we’re all going out together.”
She smiled at him and he took a breath. It was now or never. “You know, when my mamá goes home, we can still have nights out like this together, just the two of us. Would you want to do that?”
She held his gaze, but he couldn’t decipher her emotions from her eyes alone. The longer she took to answer, the more anxious he became.
“What are you saying, Brandon?” she finally asked.
“I’m saying I like being with you, Daisy. And you know I love sleeping with you. So I propose another extension to our original agreement.”
“You still want to pretend to be engaged?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Um, because your mom isn’t going to be around.”
“Not here in L.A., but she’s not going to stop wanting to talk to you about the wedding. What do you want me to do? Tell her we broke up the minute she lands in Puerto Rico?”
“No, of course not. I figured we’d give it some time. I’ve grown to care for your mom. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt her or make her hate me.”
“Why would she hate you? If anything, she’s going to blame me for our breakup.”
Daisy laughed and he relaxed. “I can’t believe we’re actually talking about our fake breakup.”
“Well, you’re the one who agreed to go see that church for our fake wedding that’s going to happen in Puerto Rico.”
She sighed and shook her head. “This charade has kind of spiraled out of control, hasn’t it?”
“It’s become more than what I thought it would be,” he said and reached across the table to grab her hand again. “But it can still be even more, if you agree to my proposal.”
Daisy had proven to be his match both in and out of the bedroom. She challenged him in so many ways, and he liked to think that he’d had a positive effect on her life as well. So why did they have to put an end to a good thing? They’d spend their days taking over the world and spend their nights taking over each other’s bodies. He had been right that she’d been the perfect woman to be his fake fiancée. Their business deal had benefitted both of them. It made perfect sense to explore the option of continuing it.
Why didn’t she seem as convinced?
He sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “All I’m saying is that we keep things status quo for a while. Or are you in a rush to move out or something?”
“No. I guess not.”
“Then what’s the big deal? We’re consenting adults who like having sex but aren’t interested in a real romantic relationship because we’re both too focused on our careers right now. It’s the best of both worlds, isn’t it? So we keep up the charade for a little while longer for everyone’s benefit. Then we can reassess in a few weeks and decide if it’s been enough time to implement the next phase of our arrangement. We can call it Project Pretend Break-Up.”
The name had come to him on the drive over and he’d thought it was funny. He still did and chuckled. But he stopped when he saw the blank expression on her face.
“Wow. You’ve really given this some thought.”
Did he detect a hint of bitterness behind her words? Although he knew there was a possibility, he hadn’t really expected her to turn him down. Their relationship may have started off on shaky ground, but things between them lately were good. Very good. At least he thought so. Had he misread her?
“Look, this is just an idea. You’ve more than fulfilled your end of the original deal, so of course I’m not going to stop you from moving out of my house…or out of my bed if that’s what you want. What do you want, Daisy?”
Something flashed behind her eyes but she looked away before he could read anything into it. He took a gulp of his wine and then leaned back and waited for her response.
Seconds seemed like hours. Finally she looked at him again, and his heart quickened just like it did whenever he was about to close a big deal.
“I want to stay,” she said with a nod. “But just for a few more weeks, okay? I think it will be too sudden to tell Lorena anything earlier than that, and she needs to focus on her recovery, not on our supposed breakup. But I also don’t want to keep deceiving her any longer than we need to. So, yes, I agree to your proposal to extend our arrangement for a little bit longer.”
Brandon should’ve been thrilled. He’d gotten what he wanted. His adrenaline should’ve been pumping as if he’d just landed a huge contract. Sure, he was happy. But there was something holding him back from feeling totally satisfied.
Halfway through his Linguine Puttanesca, it finally came to him.
Daisy had agreed to keep pretending they were engaged because of Lorena. She hadn’t said one word about wanting to stay because of him.
Maybe he’d been wrong about her after all.
Chapter Seventeen
Daisy looked again at the fuzzy white blob on the paper. Through her tears, it only looked more distorted, almost like one of those black and white drawings psychiatrists showed their patients to diagnose their problems.
What did it mean then that she could only see a white, alien-looking blob on that paper instead of a baby? Her baby.
Brandon’s baby.
She wiped her eyes just as Amara sat down across the table from her. They were meeting at a coffee house just down the street from Amara’s bakery. No way were they going to have this conversation where there was a chance Amara’s parents could show up unexpectedly. “Okay. I’m here now. Oh, honey. Are you crying again?”
Daisy attempted to smile. “Again? I don’t think I’ve stopped since I found out.”
Her cousin grabbed her hand. “So tell me everything that happened.”
Despite the tears on the outside, Daisy’s insides were full of love and gratitude that Amara had dropped what she was doing to meet her.
“It was supposed to be my regular annual exam. The nurse came in to take all of my vitals. She asks me about the last time I had my period and I can’t remember. But that’s not unusual because, you know, I’ve never been regular while taking the birth control shot. So I kind of laugh it off and she asks if there’s a chance I could be pregnant.” Her voice broke, and she looked out the window. People walked by, going about their normal and simple lives. She envied them.
Her life was going to be anything but.
She cleared her throat and looked back at Amara. “Anyway, they took a pregnancy test and it came back positive and then I demanded they do a blood test, too. And about an hour later, the doctor called me back into her office and told me the first test was right. Of course she sees my engagement ring and tells me congratulations, and I just lost it right there in front of her.”
Her cousin shook her head. “This doesn’t have to mean the end of the world. You’re not alone. I’m going to help you through thi
s. No matter what you decide.”
“Thank you, prima. I don’t know what I’d do without you. And now I’m going to start crying again,” she squeaked before reaching for more napkins.
“Stop. You’re going to make me cry and I’m not even pregnant,” Amara said.
Daisy handed her a napkin and they both sat there for a few seconds blowing their noses and dabbing their eyes. She knew people in the coffee house were staring at them. And why wouldn’t they? They were a pair of blubbering women crying over a plate of uneaten scones.
She looked again at the sonogram image and shook her head. “How did this happen?”
Amara raised her eyebrow.
“Yes, I know how it happened. I guess I just can’t believe that it did.”
They’d been so careful, so purposeful in using condoms even though she’d been on birth control. She’d even told the doctor that as if she needed to somehow prove she wasn’t some naive teenager. The doctor had only shrugged and repeated statistics about condoms failing, and the fact that Daisy had been a few weeks late in getting her next shot. The ridiculousness of it all should’ve made her laugh. Instead, it made her cry more.
“Do you know what you’re going to do yet?” her cousin asked.
She did. As soon as the first test came back, she knew. “I’m going to keep it.”
Amara grabbed her hand again. “Are you sure?”
“I am. In fact, it’s the only thing I’m sure of.”
“And Brandon?”
She exhaled, as her chest seemed to compress on its own. “I have to tell him. As soon as possible. And then I guess we’ll go our separate ways.”
“Maybe not?”
Daisy couldn’t help but snort. “Have you even met Brandon? Can you honestly tell me you can see him trading in his Jaguar for a mini-van, or holding PTA meetings in the dining room of L.A. Cuchara? He loves being a bachelor—he’s told us that a million times. The last thing I want is for him to feel forced or tricked into being a dad. So I’m going to tell him that he doesn’t have to be involved.”
She cringed at the thought of having to have such a conversation. If Brandon hadn’t wanted a relationship with her a few days ago, he definitely wasn’t going to want one now. He still saw what they were doing as nothing more than a business deal. Sex with no strings attached was his calling card. She shouldn’t have been surprised when he’d offered it to her.
At the time she’d been offended and a little pissed off. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized he was right. They enjoyed having sex and hanging out, so why couldn’t she stay with him after his mother left for Puerto Rico? Hell, she wasn’t ready to walk away just yet either. Agreeing to extend their arrangement bought her some time to think about what she really wanted from Brandon, time to try to figure out what he wanted from her.
But she was pretty damn sure it wasn’t a baby.
She blew her nose into her napkin.
Amara handed her a fresh one and waited until she was done cleaning herself up.
“Look, I get why you think Brandon isn’t going to be around. But you need to make sure you don’t push him away just because it will be harder for you if he decides he wants to be part of the baby’s life. You really need to think carefully about this. And you know why.”
Daisy didn’t answer her. The lump in her throat wouldn’t let her. She did know why, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Amara sighed and then squeezed her hand. “You of all people know what it’s like to grow up believing that one of your parents didn’t want you. And I know you’d never want to do that to your own child.”
Amara was right. She would never do that to her own kid, especially if it wasn’t true. She had to give Brandon the opportunity to be a part of this baby’s life. If he chose not to, at least that would be on him and not her.
Her face crumpled, and this time she didn’t bother hiding the tears.
“I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have said it that way,” Amara rushed.
“No, you’re right,” she managed to squeak out.
“I hate that you’re hurting so much right now. But I do think you’re making the right decision.”
Daisy blew her nose on the last of the napkins. “I’ll tell him tonight.”
Amara’s eyes widened. “Tonight? As in today’s tonight?”
“Yeah, we’re supposed to meet at Alexa’s in a couple of hours to go out for one last dinner with Lorena before she leaves tomorrow. I’ll tell him once we’re home and—why do you have that strange look on our face.”
Amara’s eyes were shut and her nose was scrunched up as if she’d just taken a whiff of some bad cheese. She took a deep breath and then looked at Daisy.
“Let me just start by saying I had absolutely nothing to do with this.”
Chapter Eighteen
I’m fine.
Brandon stared at the text Daisy had sent him an hour ago. He may not be an expert when it came to women, but he did know that “I’m fine” meant the exact opposite. So why wasn’t Daisy fine?
Despite her initial hesitation to his proposal, she’d agreed to stay with him for another month. He had hoped she would’ve kept their arrangement more open-ended, but it seemed important to her to set a stop date.
She’d seemed back to normal the past few days. He replayed their morning in his head to see if he’d missed something. As usual, they’d reached for each other as soon as they were awake and they’d shared a long kiss good-bye before he left for the restaurant.
He’d texted her earlier in the day to ask how her appointment went and also if she wanted him to pick her up from the condo instead of taking separate cars to Alex’s for their dinner. She’d only responded hours later that she’d meet him there.
So he’d asked if she was okay. The two-word text back gnawed at him.
Maybe he should call her.
“For someone who’s about to open a third restaurant, you could try to look a little happier.”
Brandon looked up from his phone to see Dante walking into his office. He stood up from his chair. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I am. It’s all done. Everything has been approved. You, my friend, have just been given the official green light to start construction on Miami Cuchara.”
Relief and excitement raced through his body. He went over and gave Dante a big bear hug. “Gracias, amigo.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Raphael. He had to do some major ass-kissing to get the planning commissioner back to the site in order to do a walkthrough before the city council vote last night. But you got the votes you needed and the project is a go. Speaking of, Raphael is ready to pull the trigger but he says he needs you over there as soon as possible before he can move forward with a few things. I told him you could probably fly out there this week. What do you say? Or do you have something else going on here that you need to wrap up before leaving for Miami?”
He let go of Dante. He knew his friend meant if there was anything holding him up this week. But it still made him think about what embarking on a new restaurant hundreds of miles away would mean to his life in the long term.
There were things that he’d have to put aside.
People he’d have to stop seeing so often.
Dante immediately noticed the change in his emotion. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happier than this.”
Brandon walked back to his desk and sat down. “I am happy. I guess I’m shocked is all. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. I even had Pilar call and tell the realtor over there to stop looking for condos.”
“Well, tell her to start looking again. You have some time, Brandon. You could always move there later. Until then, you just do the back and forth like usual.”
Usual meant living in hotels and eating in restaurants and not having ties to any city or anyone. Why did it suddenly seem so depressing?
“I guess. It’s just that I was starting to get used to the ide
a of staying in L.A. for a little longer.”
His friend took a seat. “And maybe you were also getting used to having someone around?”
Brandon rubbed his forehead. “My mom’s leaving for Puerto Rico tomorrow and I told Daisy that I wanted to keep things going between us. So, yeah, I got used to the idea of having her around.”
“Then stay in L.A.,” Dante said as if it were really an option.
“What do you mean? This is my business. My livelihood. My brand. I have to move to Miami and make this restaurant a success.”
“You just said it. The Cuchara restaurants are your business. They aren’t you. And businesses are run every single day by people who don’t own them. I’m not saying hand it over completely. I’m just saying that maybe it’s time to start delegating some of that responsibility.”
The thought of not being involved in every single decision from here until opening night never occurred to him. L.A. Cuchara had already been operational for nearly two years and he still was there every single day. The only reason he wasn’t in New York as often was because it had been open for two years longer than L.A. Cuchara. That meant, eventually, L.A. Cuchara would get to the point where he could leave it totally to Alex. She’d already told him she was planning to stay put and had no desire to run the Miami kitchen once the restaurant opened.
Brandon saw no other choice. He hadn’t worked this hard to fail. How could he risk the future of the Miami project on something that was never supposed to be forever?
“Running restaurants is who I am, Dante. And honestly, I don’t know how to be anything else. Like you said last time, us Montoyas are no good at relationships. I’m good at making deals, and that’s exactly what this thing with Daisy was. And now the deal is done. Simple as that.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Believe me, it’s better this way,” he said and stood up. “I’ll tell her tonight.”
Dante, who had been slumped in his chair, straightened his back. “Tonight? Uh, don’t you have a dinner or something to go to?”