“Then don’t,” she whispered.
“You sure, querida?” he rasped.
“I love the way you taste. Just let me please you,” she reassured him.
She felt a shudder go through his body, and his muscles clenched again as he climaxed into her mouth. She then looked into his eyes and swallowed.
He pulled her close against his side and whispered, “Mi encantadora esposa. Te amo mucho. Gracias.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that, querido. I love you too,” she replied.
After another kiss, Diego turned to her and asked, “Why did you decided to move back to Bay City?”
Now that they were married, she saw no reason to hide her feelings. “I wanted to be closer to you. The baby was just a reason to make the move quickly,” she confessed.
“Why would you want to be closer to me? You weren’t even talking to me,” he replied with a soft chuckle.
“I don’t know. I guess I figured we’d find a way to talk again—maybe even get back to being nice to each other before it was too late. It didn’t feel right to leave, but I didn’t really have the choice to stay another day.”
“You still could have stayed the night with me and let me drive you to the airport in the morning,” he reminded her.
“No, I couldn’t have. Neither one of us wanted to see each other that night.”
“Speak for yourself, Lilah. When you walked off, I thought you just needed a little time to cool down. I knew what I said hurt you, and I was trying to respect your space, but I still wanted to spend the night with you. When I went to pick you up the next morning, Heather told me you had already left. You know, you’re not allowed to do that anymore now that we’re married,” he said with a little gleam of humor in his eyes.
“You know, I was going to tell you I love you that night,” she said.
“And I was going to tell you that I wanted a serious relationship with you and hope that didn’t scare you away. It’s too bad we ended up arguing and saying mean things to each other. I wanted to spend the night loving you.”
“Well, now we can spend every night loving each other,” Lilah said before kissing him.
“You can’t imagine how many times I’ve dreamed of this,” he said with another smile after their kiss ended.
“Dreamed of what?” she asked.
“Being married to you. Loving you. Running my hands all over your body while we fall asleep together. Waking up to you in my arms. Kissing your beautiful lips every time you smile at me.”
Lilah giggled with delight. “I know exactly how you feel. While I was on my tour, you were all I thought about. Before I found out I was pregnant, I already knew I was going to come back and see you at least one more time. I felt like a piece of me was missing when I first left. At my first book signing in Burbank, I kept expecting to look up and see you standing there, or maybe a better way to put it is that I was hoping to look up and see you. When I finished for the night, I went back to my hotel and cried all night,” she confessed.
Diego hugged her closer and gave her a little kiss on the forehead. “I was there that day; I waited in line for three hours just to get a glimpse of you. I wanted to talk to you, but you looked so happy and unapproachable. I stood there and watched you sign books and pose for pictures for about fifteen minutes before I finally left. You looked like such a little star, and I figured there was nothing I could say that would make you want to come back here,” he said quietly.
“And I was sitting there wishing I was back here!” she exclaimed. “Diego, those public events are a small part of my job, and I only do those because I absolutely have to. No matter where I live, I will have to travel when my next book is published. I can write from anywhere, as long as I have a quiet space to concentrate. You should have come over and talked to me. I would have been ecstatic to see you.”
He smiled and hugged her close again. “I’ll keep that in mind next time you’re all dressed up like Alexa Blackstone. You looked super sexy, by the way.”
“What would you have said to me if I had noticed you?”
“I don’t know. My brain wasn’t functioning at its best that day; I was pretty nervous. I looked at you and thought that you were so beautiful, guys who love you probably come a dime a dozen now. I just hoped you remembered that I loved you back when even you thought you were a nobody, back when I hurt you with my thoughtless words. I’ve found my redemption in the fact that you love the person I am now. Never forget that, preciosa.”
“I couldn’t forget that even if I tried. And don’t you forget that I have never respected a man as much as I respect you. When I think of everything you’ve accomplished in your life, especially in the last three years, I can’t help but love and admire you more. I love that you are making so many positive changes. I love that you are such an intelligent businessman who loves his family and his hometown. I love the way you stood by Mrs. Horta, even when it was difficult for you. I love how you don’t just do what’s easiest, but you do what’s right. I love everything about you, Diego,” Lilah said.
“So, this isn’t too fast for you?” Diego asked.
“It feels too right for me to think it happened too fast,” Lilah said with a smile for her new husband.
EPILOGUE
“Whose turn is it to babysit, querida?” Diego called out to Lilah.
She looked up from the small vanity where she sat styling her hair. Diego entered their bedroom with their nine month old daughter, Maria Elisa Gonzales, in his arms.
“Da!” she squealed as she grabbed at his cheeks and smiled.
“I’m pretty sure it’s Mrs. Horta’s turn,” Lilah answered.
“Didn’t Mrs. Horta have her last weekend when we went out?” he asked.
“Yes, but she made a deal with your parents. She gets the next three date nights since your parents kept her when we spent the week away on our honeymoon trip.”
“Right. I forgot about that. Mom just texted me that she is on her way over.”
“Great,” Lilah groused as she stood up. “I’ll remind her that it’s Mrs. Horta’s turn.”
“Gracias, preciosa,” he grinned as he carried Elisa into the living room.
Lilah picked up her phone to make the call, but a knock sounded at the door before she could. She opened the front door to find both Maria Gonzales and Elise Horta standing on the porch.
“Come in and have a seat,” she said to them. “We weren’t expecting you both since tonight is Mrs. Horta’s turn to keep her, but it’s always nice to see you, Maria.”
Instead of the frown she was expecting, Maria smiled at her and took a seat next to Diego. “Come to abuela, Preciosa,” she said as she reached for the baby.
Diego handed her over as he shot an uncomfortable look in Mrs. Horta’s direction. “It’s Mrs. Horta’s turn to stay with her, and Lilah and I have to be going soon,” he gently reminded his mother.
“I’m staying, mijo. Elise invited me to babysit with her tonight,” she replied.
“Oh!” Lilah and Diego exclaimed at the same time.
“Yeah. If we babysit together, we get to see the baby twice as much. We should have thought of this sooner,” Mrs. Horta chimed in with a big grin.
“You two go have fun. Stay out all night if you want,” Maria added.
“Will you please tell me where we are going?” Diego asked as they drove away from the house.
“I love it when you get impatient. It’s so cute,” Lilah replied with a little grin.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you, rizada?” he asked as he reached for one of her bouncy curls, or rizos, as he liked to called them.
“We’re going to Houston to see a lecture by your favorite author,” she said.
“No way!” he exclaimed. “You got us tickets to see Dr. Kaku’s Future of the Mind talk?”
“Yes,” Lilah replied with a grin. “I also managed to get us included in the special Q & A dinner session with him before the big lecture
.”
“How on earth did you do that?” he asked.
“Are you forgetting who your father is? He may be retired from nuclear engineering, but he still has connections with a lot of people in the science community. The new manager at the nuclear plant was invited to the dinner, and your dad helped me score an invite after I told him I wanted to do something special for you. I also mentioned it to Josephine. Turns out she used to be good pals with his agent. He agreed to speak at a special assembly at the high school next Wednesday,” Lilah explained.
“You mean he’s coming to Bay City?” Diego asked in disbelief.
“Yes, and it’s not going to cost the school district or the city a thing.”
“You are the best. Simply the best,” he said as he leaned toward her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. “You do realize there’s no way I can lose the election now that I’m married to you. Everyone in town loves you.”
“Mrs. Horta says you are most popular with female voters, Señor Guapo. I really don’t think it’s me they love,” she replied with a chuckle.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
My name is Adrienne D'nelle Ruvalcaba. I was born and raised in Southeast Texas. After high school, I joined the U.S. Army and served four years at Fort Campbell, KY. During my time there, I married a fellow soldier and had two children. Following my years in the service, I ended up as a single parent. After setting out on my own with my two children, I enrolled in the Engineering program at Southern Illinois University.
While at SIU, I completed my bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in structural analysis. Also while at SIU, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. This diagnosis significantly changed my life. Since the onset of this disease, I have learned a lot about those around me and even more about myself. Due to some serious and sobering complications, my health has declined in recent years. I am no longer able to spend time outside with my children, or do many of the things that I used to take for granted. I'm in my early 30's, but most of the time I feel much older. After a few years of struggling to accept this illness as a part of my life, I've finally come to a more peaceful place. The most important thing I've learned while dealing with this disease is that it does not define who I am.
I've been writing since grade school, and I often take solace in the world I create in my imagination. Most of what I write is romantic fiction, meant purely for emotional fulfillment, enjoyment, and sweet escapism. Real life is difficult enough, and I believe we all need a little break from it sometimes.
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