“I have to go by the grocery store to get some ice for tonight. I’ll be back in a few hours,” Lilah said as she rushed out the door.
She pretended not to hear Heather say, “I have ice!” as she leapt off the porch and dashed to her car. She was about to pull out of the driveway when she received a text from Diego.
“Do you have time for lunch today?” it read.
“I’d love to do lunch, but I have to hide from Heather for at least a couple of hours,” Lilah texted back.
“Meet me at my house, and we can hide out there,” he texted back almost immediately.
Lilah smiled and texted, “Sounds good. I’m on my way.”
She’d much rather spend a pleasant couple of hours with Diego than her disapproving cousin Heather. Lilah realized she would never be as refined as someone who grew up on the right side of town, but she could live without the constant reminders of her inferiority.
By the time she arrived at his house, Diego was already pulling into his garage. She parked her car next to his and followed him inside. His garage door was still going down when he approached her with a lazy smile.
“Why do you have to hide from Heather?” he inquired.
“I told her I was going to get ice. If someone sees me having lunch with you and reports back to her, she may give me one more stare than I can handle,” Lilah admitted with a shrug. “She has high standards, and I’m not exactly David Tutera.”
“You’re way better looking,” Diego said as he gave her a little squeeze.
Lilah tipped her head back and nipped at his chin. “Thank you, Mr. Handsome,” she said in a playful whisper.
“If you keep looking at me like that, you might not get any lunch,” Diego whispered back.
“I’m not very hungry for food.”
“Neither am I.”
In the blink of an eye, they found their way to Diego’s bedroom and shed their clothes onto the floor. They pressed their naked bodies together and engaged in a flurry of kissing and touching. Lilah was just about to beg Diego to make love to her when she heard his front door slam shut. Suddenly, the romantic fog surrounding them dissipated. They both tensed, and Diego slowly took his hands off of her breasts.
Raised, angry voices floated through his bedroom door as they listened.
“I think it’s my brother and your cousin,” Diego said with a long suffering sigh. “They’re fighting. Why would they choose to come to my house to fight in the middle of the day?”
“Why does everyone have a key to your house?” Lilah asked with a frown.
“After today, I’m wondering the same thing,” he whispered with a sheepish look.
“Let’s put our clothes back on before they come in here,” Lilah said as she scooted away from him. She picked up the entire pile of clothes and carried them into his walk-in closet. He followed her, and she shook her head at her lascivious thoughts. The last thing she wanted him to do was put his clothes back on.
As they dressed, the shouting outside his bedroom grew louder. Diego placed a finger over her mouth when she started to speak. “Maybe if we stay in here and be quiet, they’ll leave and we can get back to what we were doing,” he said.
Lilah chuckled and asked, “How can you still be in the mood after all their shouting?”
“You’re kidding, right?” he said as he pulled her close for a kiss that made everything inside her light up for a blissful instant.
“You’re right. We should be quiet so they’ll leave,” she agreed in a throaty little pant. A moment later, she chastised herself for allowing him to affect her so much.
They broke apart and ducked deeper into the closet when Diego’s bedroom door suddenly opened. Cheryl and Hugo stood just inside the room and continued to argue.
“I still don’t see why you can’t have lunch with me. I think you’re just giving me a hard time,” Cheryl said.
“No, you are the one giving me the hard time!” Hugo gritted. “You are the one who demanded this distance between us. If you want me to start hanging around you like one of your girlfriends, you know what to do about it.”
“So this is all about sex!” Cheryl shouted. “You’ve been avoiding me just because I want to wait until our wedding night to start doing it again!”
Diego allowed his hand to casually slide over Lilah’s breast as he whispered, “I told you the abstinence thing was a stupid idea.”
Lilah ignored his comment, but not his hand, as she listened to the rest of the argument.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been doing!” Hugo returned. “It would be a little easier on me if you weren’t so much like a vicious little cat. You string me along with your tight outfits and your wanting to make out and cuddle all the time. Cheryl, my body can’t take it anymore. I have to stay away from you, because if I don’t, I may have a lifelong case of blue balls!”
Lilah and Diego both stifled a chuckle at that statement.
“Why can’t you just stop thinking about having sex?” Cheryl asked. “Sometimes I really hate being the girl that everyone thinks is so fucking hot!”
“Yes, poor you, poor popular beautiful woman who leads her fiancé around by his dick. It must really be terrible to marry a man who just loves to make love to you so much that it’s physically painful when you deprive him because of some stupid article you read in some stupid magazine. Poor you!” Hugo said bitterly.
A moment of silence went by before Cheryl said, “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
More silence went by before Cheryl broke it with another complaint. “Is that all you ever think about? All I did was hug you that time!” she said.
“You know what, Cheryl, most women would be happy to have a man who loves them so much. As my future wife, you should stop chastising me every time my dick gets hard for you. You might want do something about it while you can, because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get it up multiple times every day when I’m ninety!”
Suddenly Cheryl laughed and said, “I wish I had never read that stupid article.”
Her statement was quickly followed up by a series of intense moans and grunts. Once it became obvious what they were doing, Lilah felt her face heat up with the intensity of a thousand suns. She couldn’t bring herself to look back at Diego. It seemed to go on forever until Cheryl finally let out a loud yell as Hugo panted her name.
“You’ll have lunch with me now, won’t you?” Cheryl asked softly.
“I would’ve had lunch with you either way,” Hugo replied.
Moments later, they were gone.
Diego slowly released a pent up breath as he opened the closet door. Lilah followed him out of the closet and looked around the bedroom. Nothing looked out of place, causing her to question what she had heard. Maybe Cheryl and Hugo had only kissed. “Do you think they…?”
Diego laughed and said, “It sure sounded like they did. I’m going to wash my comforter just in case. I almost don’t even want to know.”
“Me neither,” Lilah agreed.
“Any chance we could pick up where we left off?” Diego asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Maybe tomorrow. I should get back to Heather’s house. I kind of ran off when she was in the middle of telling me something,” Lilah admitted.
“Whoa, nobody runs away from Heather and lives to tell about it,” Diego chuckled. “That took nerve.”
“And, now I have to go back and answer to her. I won’t be able to see you again until the rehearsal dinner. She has my evenings scheduled down to the minute until the day after the wedding,” Lilah said with a sigh.
“I’ll still see you when you brief me on your progress at the office,” Diego reminded her.
“I know, but it’s not the same as spending quality time together,” she replied.
“We’ll have plenty of time together after the wedding,” Diego said quietly.
“Actually, we won’t. I can’t stay the extra two weeks like I thought. My publisher called me today to tell me she
has added a few more cities to my book tour. I have to go the day after the wedding. She has already booked my flight out of Houston,” Lilah informed him.
Was that a sad look flitting across his face as he cleared his throat? “What cities were added?” he asked with a little smile.
“Burbank, Seattle, Portland, and Toronto,” she answered.
***
Lilah looked down at the council meeting agenda and scanned over the two pages of proposed new ordinances for the city. Diego had only discussed two of the items on the agenda with her, but there was a lot going on at tonight’s meeting. She glanced over the audience seated and smiled at the few familiar faces in the crowd. Diego’s proposed ordinance to raise the minimum wage in incremental increases over the next four years was the hottest item on the agenda. Many people in the community had come to debate and listen to multiple perspectives on the issue. Everyone from local business owners to unemployed citizens were seated tonight.
By the time Diego and the council members took their seats in the front of the room, there was standing room only. Lilah had not arrived early enough to snag a seat, so she stood far in the back. She doubted that Diego would notice her, but he knew she was here.
She was trying not to tune out of the discussion about the city downsizing one of the positions for animal control officers. Multiple people in the audience stood up and asked about the enforcement of leash laws and other issues regarding animal control. The discussion was important, but not what Lilah had come to hear tonight. She looked down at her cell phone to check the time, and when she looked up again, Oscar Molina was waving at her.
Lilah waved back, and Oscar started making his way toward her.
“Hi, Miss Johnson,” Oscar said in a loud whisper when he got to her side.
“Hi, Mr. Molina; it’s good to see you again,” Lilah said quietly. “Have you had any luck contacting the young woman I recommended from AmeriCorps?”
“Sí. She has been very helpful so far. She said she would try to get me into the next grant writing class that her company is hosting in the area. It may be a few months, unless I can find the time to drive up to Houston. She said that my program falls under the category of intergenerational opportunity. She also said that you would be able to explain better about what exactly that means when it comes to getting grant funding.”
Lilah smiled and said, “Yes, I can explain it all in better detail to you another time. Basically, it means that you are combining youth and young adult volunteers with elderly clients. Believe it or not, yours is one of very few intergenerational programs in the entire region. Once we get you set up with your 501c3 status, a lot more funding opportunities will be available to you,” she replied with a smile.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile. Just when it seemed that he was out of things to talk about, he noticed someone else he knew and beckoned them over. “You probably already know Carlos Gonzales,” he said as an older gentleman approached from the side of the room.
“He looks familiar, but I’ve never met him,” Lilah said as she tried to remember where and when she may have seen him before. The last thing she wanted to do was offend anyone in town. “Does he run a program in town?” she asked.
Oscar gave her a puzzled look as he said, “He’s the mayor’s father. He was on the city council for more than ten years. I thought you and the mayor were close.”
Lilah wasn’t sure how that rumor got started, but she didn’t dispel it. She did think of Diego as a good friend. She covertly watched as his father snaked his way through the people standing in the back. Eventually he got to them and greeted Oscar with a huge smile. Lilah felt like she was getting a glimpse into the future, because he looked so much like Diego.
“Hey, Carlos! This is the young woman I was telling you about. She’s going around town helping every program that doesn’t have grant funding yet. You remember years ago when you told me my idea was crazy? Well, she likes it. She calls it an intergenerational service opportunity,” Oscar said.
Several people in the area shushed him, so he lowered his voice before speaking again.
“She’s a friend of Diego’s, from high school,” Oscar said in a loud whisper.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gonzales,” Lilah said as she stuck out her hand in greeting.
Carlos’s warm hand enveloped hers as he smiled down at her. “I’ve already heard so much about you from other people, I feel like I know you. Did you come back to town just to make my son look good?” he quipped.
“I’m actually here for a wedding. Your other son Hugo is marrying my cousin Cheryl,” she replied.
“Oh, I thought I had met all of Cheryl’s cousins. She knows so many people, it’s hard to keep track.”
“I’m the maid of honor, but you haven’t met me. I live in Illinois, and I don’t travel back to Texas very often.”
“Well, I’m glad you found some time to consult with Diego. I hear you are an expert on community relations.”
“I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have helped bridge gaps between city governments and non-profit organizations seeking partnerships. I’ve always found it to be rewarding work.”
Carlos looked to the front as Diego stepped up to talk to everyone about raising the minimum wage. “Let’s see what my son has to say about this new ordinance,” he said with a quick glance back at her. “What was your name again?” he asked as an afterthought.
“Delilah. Delilah Johnson,” she answered with a smile.
He did a quick double take and then looked at her again as if he was seeing her for the first time. Lilah tried not to overthink the seriousness that entered his expression, but it was impossible for her not to wonder about it as she watched Diego give a well-rounded, informative, and emotional appeal for raising the minimum wage in town. He faced some tough questions from the many small business owners in the audience, but he answered them all with a great deal of charisma mixed in with his honesty. As she watched people’s reaction to his proposal, Lilah began to wonder just how far he wanted to take his political career. Would he stop at small town politics, or could he see himself moving up to state level, or even national level politics someday?
***
Heather and Cheryl were busy lining up all the attendants for the processional practice when Lilah rushed into the building with a panicked look on her face.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said to Cheryl.
Heather frowned at her, but Cheryl just smiled and said, “It’s okay. Diego mentioned that you were busy working today.”
Diego watched as Lilah nodded and said, “I was helping get a new city employee set up in her office and registered for accounts on several different funding platforms.”
“Yes, well, that’s all very good, but now it’s time to line up so we can practice the processional,” Heather said as she steered Lilah into position.
Diego held back a chuckle as Lilah’s eyes widened. She looked rushed, distracted, and slightly disheveled. Her hair was piled atop her head in some sort of inelegant looking little frizz that he hadn’t seen before. As she waited for her turn to walk down the aisle, he noticed how she constantly fidgeted with her hair. Thoughts of running his hands all over her naked body invaded his head as he watched her. Last time he had seen her hair tousled, his hands had been responsible. She looked up and caught his eyes on her, and he smiled at her. His heart lifted when she smiled back.
At the conclusion of the rehearsal, Diego approached Lilah and asked, “How did everything go with Jannetta today?”
“Very well,” she answered quickly. “I think Jannetta will settle in very nicely. Today, we developed a few spreadsheets with general information on all of the programs in town. We pretty much covered all the basic things necessary for her to start tracking the city’s involvement in non-profits. We also created a closed document sharing group that all of the directors can be a part of. She came up with a general format for partnership letters, and those will be emailed to all
the directors sometime next week, after I’ve left. I think she’s gotten off to a great start, but I’ve also put her in contact with multiple people I’ve worked with in the past who can give her any additional guidance she needs. I’m not sure how available I’ll be once I start the rest of my book tour.”
“You always give such thorough answers,” he said when she finished her statement. “Maybe I should have asked, how are you doing?”
“Oh,” she chuckled. “It didn’t occur to me that your question wasn’t work related. My mind is still churning with all of the things that Jannetta is going to have to do next week. I wish I could stay and help out a little longer.”
“I wish you could too, but not because I want you to keep working with me. Actually, I feel like I owe you a huge debt. You spent almost your entire vacation helping me out. I really appreciate everything you’ve done,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m happy I got the chance to do this kind of work again. Ever since my book was published, my life has been all about author events and book sales. This month was refreshing. I feel more like myself right now than I did before I came down here,” she said.
Diego thought he detected a sad look in her eyes, but he couldn’t be sure. The underlying message in her words caused his blood to thrum wildly through his veins as he looked at her. Was she just being nice, or did she really feel more at home while she was here with him? Even as his mind fired up with questions, he knew he could never ask her to give up the life she had established for herself to move back to Bay City.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked with a little frown of worry.
“I didn’t realize I was looking at you in any certain way,” he replied as he softened his expression. “Is this better?” he asked with a silly grin.
“Yes,” she laughed. “I guess I had a long day.”
“And it’s all my fault. Thanks again for doing so much for me this month. What time does your flight leave on Sunday?” he asked.
“Noon,” she answered.
“Would you like for me to drive you to the airport?” he offered.
Redemption (Reunion Book 1) Page 14