“That would be nice, but I still need to return my rental car. They’ll charge me a fee if they have to send an agent to pick it up.”
“I can pay the fee if you’re that worried about it. I just want to spend a little extra time with you.”
“I just don’t want you to be inconvenienced on my behalf.”
Diego chose not to respond to that statement. Instead, he gathered his courage and asked her the question that had been on his mind for most of the week. “Delilah, I hate to ask you this in a church, but will you come to my house after the wedding reception? I’d like for us to spend tomorrow night together. We’ve only spent one night together, and I want to make up for my mom barging in on us.”
“Of course,” she answered with a shuttered expression that gave him pause.
“What’s going on in your head right now?” he whispered. “If you don’t want to spend the night with me, don’t feel like you have to, querida.”
She released a little sigh and replied, “I want to stay the night. I’m just thinking that I might not be able to make myself leave Sunday morning.”
“Then stay.”
“You know I can’t.”
Diego nodded and said, “We’ll have to make tomorrow count then.” They then turned to follow the rest of the wedding party out of the church. Heather was hosting a large rehearsal dinner at her house that evening, and Diego knew she wouldn’t like it if he and Lilah lingered behind everyone else.
CHAPTER TEN
The morning of Cheryl and Hugo’s wedding came upon them like a sultry, languorous wave. Before nine o’clock that morning, the temperature had reached ninety-five degrees, and the workers setting up the reception tent were already drenched with sweat. As soon as Lilah stepped out onto the back terrace, the wedding planner came at her with a look of pure determination.
“You missed the still-life photo op for the wedding party’s gowns!” she said as she grabbed Lilah and dragged her back into the country club. “You are the maid of honor, so you should have been here first! We need to photograph your dress next to the bridal gown before we can get the bride ready!”
“You mean I have to take this dress back off?” Lilah asked. “I thought we were supposed to arrive ready to help Cheryl dress.”
“Didn’t you get the email that Heather sent out last night about the still-life photos being added to the itinerary?”
“No. I. Did. Not,” Lilah enunciated each word with a sinking feeling. Of course, she just had to be the only one who didn’t get the crucial email.
She barely had time to breathe after walking into the dressing room before a gaggle of women were on her, removing her dress, steaming out wrinkles, and hanging it carefully next to Cheryl’s gown. The photographer took several shots, and her dress was flung back in her general direction as the women whisked Cheryl away to the make-up artist. The flurry of talking, smiles, and laughter took any sting out of the frenzied rush to make the bride perfect.
Lilah stood by in silence, content to watch from the sidelines as multiple generations of female relatives fussed over Cheryl. Heather glanced directly at Lilah several times during the process, sending little chills up and down her spine. Thirty minutes before the ceremony, all of the other women filed out of the dressing room. Lilah was about to follow suit when Heather’s voice halted her.
“Delilah, you should stay,” she said in a quietly commanding voice.
“Don’t you two need some alone time before the ceremony?” Lilah asked.
“We need to talk,” Cheryl answered as Heather reached out and took Lilah’s hand.
Panic erupted in Lilah’s chest for an instant. Heather was never nice to her. “Is something wrong? Are you having another flare-up?” she demanded.
“No. It’s nothing like that, Honey” Heather said.
Lilah started at the unexpected endearment.
“We have something to tell you,” Cheryl said with a smile. “You and I are not cousins…Lilah, you are my sister.”
“Your sister?” Lilah whispered “How is that possible?”
“It’s complicated… Mom didn’t explain it to me until last night. We are half-sisters. We have the same father,” Cheryl said.
“But your parents have been married for thirty-five years, and we are only thirty-two,” Lilah said.
“Cyrus cheated on me with your mother, Delilah. That’s the reason I never talked to my cousin. Cyrus doesn’t know yet that you are his daughter, but I’ve known since before you were born,” Heather cut in with bitterness, regret, and tears in her voice. “He doesn’t know he has two daughters, but I think it’s about time I tell him.”
Lilah sat down hard on the nearest chair as her mind raced with questions.
“I felt the same way when she told me last night,” Cheryl said as she placed one of her delicate hands on Lilah’s shoulder. “I’ve always wanted a sister, and I’ve always felt close to you, Lilah. I’m excited that you are my little sister. I hope you are too.”
“You’re only five months older than I am,” Lilah replied. Not knowing what else to say, she looked to Heather for her next cue.
“I found out about the affair while he was in the hospital after the accident. Your mother came to see me, and confessed the whole thing, and told me she was pregnant. We both thought he was going to die, so I promised to help her out with expenses as long as she never told anyone who your father was. I didn’t want to be humiliated on top of everything else. That was the worst two months of my life, not knowing whether I would lose my husband while I was carrying our first child…finding out he had broken our wedding vows…” Heather’s voice broke, and she stared off into the distance before she went on.
“Once he stabilized and his recovery got underway, he found out that he would never father another child. We couldn’t even speak of it for years. I kept you from him, and I never told him that I knew all about his affair with your mother. I was just so hurt over what he did to me, and your mother asked me not to tell him after she found out just how much he had changed. She wouldn’t have given him the time of day if he hadn’t been so fine before the accident. If she had been his wife, she would have left him after the accident, but I loved him. I stayed with him, knowing that I would have to put my needs aside for the foreseeable future. I was good to that man for the last thirty-three years, knowing what a scoundrel he was in the beginning of our marriage, so he damn well better understand when I tell him about you.” Heather’s words seemed to be a desperate plea for Lilah’s understanding, and, even more so, a plea to the universe for her husband’s forgiveness. Her plight seemed to beg the question of which was worse—Cyrus’s infidelity, or her deception.
“Why tell him now?” Lilah asked. “I’ve already grown up without a father. Why upset your life? You don’t even like me…”
Heather dipped her head down and sobbed, “I’m so sorry for all this deception. This is not who I am. You are so much like him. It was easy for me to rationalize keeping secrets when you were never around, but after watching you two together for the past two weeks, I realized that you both deserve to know the truth. Even if you hate me, you can still get to know your father. You act just like him—look just like him too.”
The word father washed over her, and Lilah went completely still. After years of imagining the worst about who her father was, imagining everything from a drug dealer to someone abusive, it was a relief to learn that he was merely a cheater. She looked at Cheryl and Heather again. They had almost identical features, delicate bone structure, luscious lips, and wide eyes that set them apart from the rest of the mere mortals with normal looks. In that moment, they had never looked more vulnerable, more human.
“Can you forgive me for keeping you from your father for all these years?” Heather asked in a tearful whisper. “Your life would have been so much better if he had known about you. There is no way he would have been okay with letting you live in the projects. He would have demanded that your mother take better car
e of you, or we would have taken you into our home… I am so ashamed of what I’ve done.”
Lilah didn’t know how to respond, so she remained silent. Eventually, the wedding planner came to collect them for the ceremony. As they followed Cheryl from the room, Lilah offered Heather a hug and whispered in her ear, “Let’s just enjoy the wedding. Today is Cheryl and Hugo’s day.”
When Hugo and Cheryl took the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple, Diego felt unexpected moisture accumulate behind his eyes. He knew it didn’t matter if he cried a little, because he was the last thing on anyone’s mind right now. His older brother looked radiant and happy as he gazed down at Cheryl, and Diego wondered, not for the first time today, if he would ever find the same happiness. He took a sip from his water glass and glanced up to find Lilah’s eyes on him. A little jolt of happiness went through him, and he smiled at her. She had promised to spend her last night in town with him, so he was avoiding alcohol. He wanted to enjoy and remember every minute she was willing to give him tonight. She had to leave first thing in the morning, but they would see each other again. He would make sure of it.
He abandoned his assigned seat, and pulled up a chair beside her.
“Were you just giving me the naughty eyes?” he whispered in her ear.
“Maybe,” she answered with a husky little laugh. “Heather’s going to come beat you if you don’t get back to where she put you.”
“The lights are low, and everyone is staring at my brother and your cousin right now,” he countered. “Will you dance with me?”
“Yes,” she smiled as she placed a gentle hand against his cheek.
He put his hand over hers and gave her a little kiss on the wrist. “I wish you didn’t have to go so soon,” he said.
“I’ve been here for a month.” A little shutter came down over her face as she spoke.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you going to miss me?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” she replied with a sigh.
“Maybe we should sneak out of here early. As soon as I finish the toast, let’s dance a little and then slip out the back.”
“Okay,” she agreed quickly.
“Come on Lilah, just one more dance,” Diego said after they had been sitting for a few minutes.
“Don’t you ever get tired?” she asked with a breathless giggle.
“Not when you’re around.”
“Well, my feet are starting to hurt. You don’t have the luxury of wearing three inch heels like I do,” she retorted.
Diego reached down and plopped her feet into his lap. “I’ll never understand why you women torture yourselves with these things. You look sexiest with nothing on anyway,” he said as he slipped her feet out of the heels and started rubbing them for her.
“I hardly ever wear heels, but no one says no to Heather,” Lilah said as she allowed her eyes to drift shut. “That feels so good,” she murmured.
“You know what it does to me when you say that,” Diego said.
Her eyes popped open, and she gave him a sultry smile as she asked, “What does it do?”
He pulled her chair forward until his hand was on her upper thigh and she was practically straddling his lap. “It inspires me to want to spend an eternity making sure you never forget me.”
After a sharp inhale, and a kiss that was sort of wild and sort of sweet, and incredibly arousing, she pulled back and said, “One more dance.”
He helped her back into her heels and pulled her out onto the dancefloor one last time. They slow danced to a fast song, ignoring all of the gyrating couples and singles around them. His hands didn’t stray from their place on her hips, and she held onto him like she had no intention of letting him go. He rejoiced in her attention, even as his body silently begged him to get her alone so they could both find physical relief from the constant longing they felt.
Diego twirled them into a quiet corner of the tent and tilted her face up for a kiss. Her lips readily parted and clung to him like warm, dewy flower petals.
“Have I told you how much I’m going to miss you?” he rasped. “I wish my schedule was more flexible. Heck, I’d settle for being an hour closer to the airport.”
“Don’t mention the airport,” she murmured against his neck.
Diego was just about to suggest they make their escape, when a shrill, but familiar sounding, female voice broke through the fog in his head.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispered.
Diego exited the tent to investigate the noise and almost stepped on his mother.
“Qué pasa?” he asked.
The alcohol on her breath blasted him as she snarled, “I ran into that old pendeja in el baño.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” he asked as he reached out to steady her.
“Your new best friend,” she slurred in a nasty tone.
Just then, Mrs. Horta marched out of the restroom and demanded, “Who do you think you’re calling a pendeja? Pinché panzona!”
“That’s it!” his mom shrieked as she lunged at Mrs. Horta and grabbed handfuls of her hair. “Who do you think you are? Stealing my son and convincing him that he should run for mayor?” she screeched.
“Get this crazy culo off of me!” Mrs. Horta exclaimed as she swatted wildly at his mother’s hands.
The two of them danced in several ungraceful circles before falling to the ground in a heap of pantyhose, taffeta, Spanx, and high heels. Diego reached into the fray and somehow managed to pluck his mother off of Mrs. Horta. She was kicking and screaming and had lost both heels by the time he managed to disengage her.
Mrs. Horta sat up and yanked her dress down. She then glared up at his mother and huffed, “Maybe if you hadn’t spoiled him rotten, he wouldn’t have needed me to teach him some manners!”
His mother released a string of expletives fit for a dive bar as Diego restrained her from attacking again. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Horta,” he said as he picked up his intoxicated mother and carted her off to privacy. He met Delilah’s shocked gaze as she bent down to assist Mrs. Horta off of the ground.
“I’ll find you after you take care of your mother,” she said quietly.
“I’ll try not to be long,” he promised as he walked into the country club.
He carted his mother to a deserted billiards room, and gently set her back on her feet. “Okay, Mom, what is this all about?” he asked quietly.
She glared up at him, breathing hard for a few minutes before she broke down into tears. “I just want to have some grandkids while I’m young enough to have fun with them,” she sniffed against his chest. “Hugo and Cheryl are probably going to adopt because of her kidneys, and you and I both know that Javier is gay. That leaves you, Diego, and all you ever do is work!”
“Mom, I am only thirty-two years old. What is the rush? Is there something wrong with your health?” he asked.
“No!” she answered quickly.
“Are you really just that selfish?” he asked.
“This isn’t me being selfish,” she insisted.
“What is it then? All you care about is how you feel about having a grandchild. Did you ever stop to think about how Hugo and Cheryl feel about you putting pressure on them and guilting them for doing what’s best for them? Mom, Cheryl could die if she gets pregnant, yet here you are acting like they made the decision casually. I think you need to go home and sleep it off. Hugo and Cheryl deserve to be happy today. This is their wedding reception, and, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you were trying to ruin it for them.”
“You never would have talked to me this way before you started spending so much time with Mrs. Horta,” she mumbled.
“I’ll find Dad and make sure you get home alright,” Diego insisted. He chose not to engage her attempts to talk about his relationship with Mrs. Horta. He loved his mother with all his heart, but he had come to love Mrs. Horta too. He didn’t want to wrap his mind around having similar feelings for two women at
the same time.
Fifteen minutes after the ruckus, he was on his way back out to the reception tent to search for Delilah when he came across a group of his friends.
“Diego!” Ricky exclaimed as he clapped a hand down on his shoulder. Despite being unsteady on his feet, Ricky miraculously managed not to spill his beverage. “Why don’t you have a drink with us, bro?”
“I can’t,” Diego said as he tried to move on.
“Oh, I see. Now that you’re the mayor, you have to be careful. One drink won’t hurt, your honor,” Ricky slurred with a cackle.
“You know, I just don’t feel like drinking tonight, man,” Diego said with a smile. “I’m actually looking for someone. Have you seen Delilah Johnson around?” he asked.
“I can’t believe you’ve been spending so much time around that bitch, bro,” Ricky said. He then took another swig of his drink and continued. “She’s not even hot.”
Diego knew that Ricky’s primary definition of a hot woman was one who dressed and acted with a great deal more bravado than Lilah exhibited, so he didn’t argue the point. Ricky was drunk anyway, and everyone knew that Ricky could be a hothead if you dared to disagree with him while he was under the influence.
“You screwing her, bro?”
Diego answered with a noncommittal shrug and hoped that Ricky would forget the subject and move on. There had already been enough commotion for one night.
“So it’s like that…” Ricky said with a knowing smile. “You bagged the most uptight little slut that ever came out of the projects. Good job, man.”
Diego gritted his teeth and wondered for the umpteenth time what he had ever liked about the man standing in front of him. Ricky and he had partied and spent a lot of leisure time together, but had there ever been more to the relationship? Diego searched his mind, and came to the sad conclusion that he may have outgrown this particular friend. They hadn’t been drinking buddies for years, not since Diego had sold his bar, and it was now plain to see that their relationship had never evolved past high school. “Yeah,” Diego said as he carefully removed Ricky’s hand from his shoulder.
Redemption (Reunion Book 1) Page 15