Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One

by Reeni Austin

  Cara took a hesitant breath. “Not as much. But yes.”

  He nodded. “I understand. I know it must be hard. My mother was the same way. She always said me and my brothers were the reason she didn’t date. Didn’t want us getting attached.” He grinned as he watched Isaac playing on the swing. “So…uh…you ever think about having more?”

  “More?”

  “Yes.” Victor cleared his throat and added, “More children.”

  Cara was startled by his question. Occasionally, Victor sneaked a question into their casual conversations that indicated he already saw a future with her, even though they had only known each other a matter of weeks. This was definitely one of those questions, and once again, she was caught off guard. “Um…maybe. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “If you met the right person, perhaps?” His arm tightened, pulling her a bit closer.

  Her heart pounded a fierce beat. She looked at Victor’s face, but his eyes were fixed on Isaac. For the first time, she felt her fear slowly begin to slip away in response to his sincerity. She momentarily thought of exploring the idea and asking how many children he wanted, and how soon. Instead, her logic took over, and she decided against it. That was a conversation for later. Much later. For now, she closed her eyes and relaxed against Victor’s chest with the knowledge that if she wasn’t watching Isaac on the playground, Victor was.

  An hour later they walked the three blocks back to Cara’s house. Isaac babbled excitedly with Victor, continuing as they walked through the front door.

  Cara bent down to pick up the letters that had been shoved inside their mail slot while they were gone.

  Along with a utility bill and some junk mail was a greeting card for Cara. It came in a bright yellow envelope with no return address, no stamp, no postmark.

  Since her birthday was three months away, Cara opened it with a strange curiosity as she listened to Isaac tell Victor about his favorite fast food restaurant, where he was absolutely dying to eat tonight.

  The card was pretty on the outside, with bright yellow roses and the word, “Greetings.”

  But the message written inside made Cara’s skin crawl.

  “I know what you’re hiding about his father. Will you tell V before I do?”

  That witch! Cara knew this had to be the work of Alexis, who had most likely been waiting for just the right time to drop off a message like this. The restraining order had been in effect for two weeks now, and Cara thought Alexis had given up. She took a deep breath to calm down. Not only had Alexis not given up, but she seemed to be back with ammunition.

  Briefly, Cara wanted to get Victor’s attention and show him the message. Get Alexis in trouble. Even though she didn’t sign it, any reasonable person would know who wrote it.

  But right then, she saw Victor get on his knees on the living room floor. He was engrossed in Isaac’s story of how he obtained his latest toy—a large red plastic race car—by behaving good all of Saturday afternoon. Cara almost teared up. Isaac was the kind of toddler who made friends everywhere he went, and yet he had never taken to anyone as quickly as he had taken to Victor. Maybe it was good for Isaac to have a good male role model in his life. Would Victor someday be Isaac’s stepfather? She had no clue. And, in spite of her fear and logic, she had started to like the idea.

  Cara slipped the greeting card into her purse, unnoticed. Tonight was not the night for a conversation about the man who had gotten her pregnant. Isaac was certainly too young to understand. And if Victor heard Cara’s side, she assumed he would see why she kept Isaac a secret from his father.

  Or would he? Cara’s stomach twisted as she thought about it.

  Alexis had gone too far this time, and Cara refused to be bullied. She took a seat on the couch, thinking about her own form of retaliation. How dare she stalk me and threaten me over my own son?

  * * *

  The next morning, Cara and Victor shared their usual “see you later” kiss in his office before he went off to attend the first of many meetings.

  As soon as she saw him turn the corner to take the elevator, she walked up to Gary’s desk.

  “Yes?” Gary smiled.

  “Do you have a number on file for Alexis Whitt? Cell phone, preferably.”

  His lips formed a scowl. He pushed his mouthpiece away and leaned forward. “Why?”

  “I just need to speak with her. It’s important.”

  “Does Mr. Barboza know about this?”

  “No. Does he have to?”

  He lifted one brow. “Yes.”

  Cara let out a groan. “Why?”

  “He made it very clear after the incident a few weeks ago that she was not welcome here under any circumstances. That includes phone calls.”

  “Well, yeah. She’s not supposed to call here. But did he say anything about one of us calling her?”

  His eyes rolled. “He didn’t really have to, did he? He will certainly want to know if you contact her and I won’t feel comfortable keeping it a secret.”

  “Come on, Gary. Please. I just need to talk to her this one time. That’s all. It’s really important. I have to get a few things off my chest.”

  Gary’s eyebrows momentarily shot up at the thought of what Cara might say to her. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you promise to tell Mr. Barboza about it as soon as possible.”

  Cara nodded. “I will.”

  “Okay. If you don’t, I’ll tell him myself when he comes back to his office. Got it?”

  With a cynical chuckle, she said, “Does he have any idea how loyal you are?”

  “Actually, I think he does.” His eyes narrowed at her. “And I can’t afford to damage my reputation.” He turned to his computer and clicked a few times, then scrawled a number on a memo pad and handed it to Cara. “Here. Use it wisely. And by that I mean, put her in her place.”

  Cara smiled and said, “I will,” over her shoulder as she rushed to her office. She immediately shut the door behind her.

  * * *

  Alexis hummed a tune to herself as she waved goodbye to some friends at the country club. She was fresh out of the shower after an early morning tennis match.

  As she trotted through the parking lot, her phone vibrated in her purse.

  “Holy crap!” Alexis let out a tiny squeal when she saw the name “Chubby Green” on her caller ID. She programmed this mean nickname for Cara in her phone weeks earlier with no intention of actually calling her. Seeing it today made her giddy. I finally got under her skin.

  Alexis stood still, smiling ear to ear, and answered the phone in her cheeriest voice. “Alexis Whitt speaking.”

  Cara’s tone was cold. “You can do whatever you want to me but leave my son out of it.”

  Alexis waited a few moments then let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, please. You’re lucky I haven’t reported you for violating the restraining order. I know you were spying on us yesterday. I’m trying to be nice to you.”

  She produced a single laugh. “That’s unlikely. You have something to hide and you know it. That’s why you called me yourself instead of getting Victor involved.”

  “No. I’m trying to have mercy on you. Take the high road. I feel very sorry for you.”

  “There’s no reason anyone should feel sorry for me. Especially you. I know you’re hiding your son’s paternity because you don’t know how Victor will react. He never knew his own father.”

  “Exactly what do you think I’m hiding?”

  “If you have nothing to hide, then why are you asking?”

  “Because it involves my son. What is it you think you know about me?”

  Alexis had no hard evidence, and her private investigator, Lindy, had found this a difficult task. She chose to bluff, using Lindy’s reasoning. “You tell everyone his father was a fling and you never knew him, but you did. You knew him very well. And you chose not to tell the man about his own son.”

  Cara was silent.
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br />   Alexis continued. “Victor told me so many times he wished he could remember more about his father. How do you think he would react to the news that he’s involved with a woman who is cruel enough to withhold that kind of love from her own flesh and blood?”

  Alexis heard silence, then what sounded like muffled sniffling. Is she crying? This went way better than I could’ve hoped for.

  When Cara finally spoke again, her voice was shaky. “You’re a terrible person. No matter what happens to me and Victor, he’s never gonna want you back.” And then she hung up.

  “Woo-hoo!” Alexis shouted as she dropped her phone in her purse and dug out her keys. I have her right where I want her. Hopefully Lindy would be able to dig up some reliable information on the father, soon. Whatever it took to get Cara Green’s big, fat claws out of Victor…

  She hopped into her car and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, applying a fresh layer of lipstick. She was just about to put her car in reverse when her purse vibrated.

  She giggled. I hope it’s her again.

  Her giggling stopped when she saw her mother’s name and picture.

  “Good morning, Mother.”

  Alexis was greeted by loud sobs.

  “Mother?” She turned off the ignition. “Mother! What’s wrong?”

  “Darling…your father…”

  “What?” Alexis was instantly frantic. Her mother was not the type of woman who cried easily. This meant there was something desperately wrong. “What happened to Daddy? Mother!”

  “Come to the hospital. Now.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Victor arrived on the sixth floor of the hospital to find Colleen Whitt crying as she paced the hall outside her husband’s room. A few people he knew in passing sat in plastic chairs against the wall. They each gave Victor a solemn look.

  “Victor!” Colleen reached out for him. “Thank you. I’m sorry I had to bother you.”

  “It’s no bother.” He put his arms around her, letting her shake as she sobbed against him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

  Colleen stayed in his embrace until she could speak without crying. Then she pulled away and said, “It’s not good. He had a massive stroke.”

  “Oh no. I’m so sorry.”

  “Well…” Her face crumbled in tears, which she quickly wiped away with a tissue before taking a deep breath, steeling herself. Her voice was quiet. “He’s asking for you. There’s been some memory loss. He thinks you and Alexis are still together. She’s in there with him right now.”

  Victor winced as a thin layer of tears covered his eyes. Instantly, he was racked with guilt over doing such a poor job of staying in touch with Douglas. “So I should talk to him?”

  Colleen nodded. “If you don’t mind. He thinks of you as the son he never had.” She sniffled. “I’m so sorry for the way it all turned out.”

  He shook his head and put his arms around her, but she pushed him away.

  “No,” she said. “Hurry. Please.” She motioned toward the closed door behind her.

  Victor was about to open it when a nurse bustled through from inside as she scribbled notes on a chart and hurried down the hall. Alexis stood at the side of the bed with genuine tears flowing across her cheeks. Victor had never seen her so frightened, and his heart filled with sympathy for her. He rushed to her side, placing a gentle hand on her back as he saw Douglas lying in bed. There were tubes all over him. Machines all around the room beeped and made noises. And Douglas looked small and shriveled; a shadow of the husky, jolly man everyone knew him to be.

  Alexis held his hand as her fingers stroked his gray hair. “It’ll be okay, Daddy. It’ll be okay.”

  Douglas could barely open his mouth to speak. “Daughter…sweet daughter…sweet girl.” His eyes, barely focusing, drifted to Victor. “Son. Come here…son.”

  Alexis stepped back to give Victor space, gesturing at him to take her place beside her father.

  Victor moved forward and took Douglas’s hand. “I’m here.”

  “Good.” Douglas spoke just above a whisper. “Victor…take good care…of my girl…”

  Victor’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of losing his dear friend. He didn’t dare correct him. Instead, he squeezed his hand tightly and said, “I will, sir.”

  Douglas inhaled deeply, wheezing until he had enough air to speak. “A legacy…children…many children…”

  Victor took several tissues from the box at the side of the bed and pressed them against his closed eyes. They had this conversation many times while he was still engaged to Alexis. Douglas confided in Victor that one of his biggest regrets was not having more children; Alexis was an only child. But Douglas seemed satisfied that Victor and Alexis could go on to have a large family. Douglas always called it a legacy. But now, there was no hope of that. At least, not for Victor and Alexis. Douglas’s memory loss made this tragic situation much sadder for Victor, who forced a grin and said, “We will, sir.”

  Victor was startled by the door opening and two doctors rushing into the room.

  “Excuse me,” one of the doctors said as he pushed past Victor, who saw Alexis leaving and followed her.

  Colleen was on her phone, talking and crying. Alexis walked to a row of empty chairs.

  Victor sat beside her, his hand on her knee. “I’m so sorry about your father.”

  Alexis shook her head and pushed his hand away. “Don’t.” She reached for tissues from a box that sat in the unoccupied chair beside her.

  “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to—”

  “Quit saying you’re sorry, Victor.” She blotted her eyes. “That’s all I’ve heard for the past hour. Everyone’s sorry. The nurses are sorry. Mother’s sorry. You’re sorry. Sorry won’t change anything.” Her mouth formed a deep frown. She gasped for air. “He’s not gonna make it. Doesn’t matter how sorry anyone is.”

  “Don’t say that. This is a great hospital. He’s getting the best care. Besides, he was healthy until this. He—”

  “No, he wasn’t.” She shook her head as tears fell to her cheeks. “He’s not healthy at all. His doctors have warned him for years to take better care of himself.”

  Victor searched for the right words to say until he realized there probably weren’t any. This situation was nothing he could fix. All he could do was hope and pray that his friend would get better, and come out of it stronger and healthier than ever. He was about to go look for the hospital chapel when Alexis spoke up.

  “I did this,” Alexis said in a grave tone.

  Stunned, Victor asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “I did this. I’m the reason he’s in there.”

  “How?”

  “Karma.” Alexis sniffled as she wiped her cheeks. “Fate. God.”

  Victor had never heard her speak of such things. Alexis’s topics of discussion were usually more superficial. It was as if she had aged thirty years in a matter of minutes. “No. It doesn’t work that way,” he said. He thought about the havoc she had wreaked in his life lately. From the moment he walked onto this floor and saw Colleen, he had pushed it all to the back of his mind. But it all came roaring to the forefront now. And still, he knew no matter what Alexis did, what heinous acts she committed, she was not to blame for her father’s crisis. “You didn’t do this, Alexis.”

  “How else do you explain it then?” She stared straight ahead. “I don’t believe in coincidence. I never have. Daddy taught me that. We make our own way in this world.” She turned to Victor. “Please tell Cara I’m sorry. I’ll never bother either of you again.” She stood and walked numbly down the hall.

  * * *

  It was almost time to leave work after a boring day at the office. Cara looked at the clock for the hundredth time. She hadn’t seen Victor since early this morning. Her only communication with him was a short, cryptic email sent from his phone that said he was at the hospital with a sick friend and would explain later.

  After her conversation with Alexis, C
ara had been too nervous to eat or focus on work. What if she was right? What if Victor doesn’t understand?

  She planned to tell him the entire story about Isaac’s father over dinner tonight. Victor made reservations for two at a cozy Italian restaurant a few blocks from the office. As the hour drew closer, she worried he had forgotten. Just as well, she thought. I’m in no mood to eat.

  Gary poked his head into her office and said, “Have a good night, Cara,” just as she heard her phone ring.

  “You too!” Her heart thumped with excitement, hoping to soon hear that Victor was on his way. But when she saw the name of her former manager in Chicago, she groaned her disappointment and clicked the button to ignore the call, assuming she would soon hear from Victor.

  Seconds later, Justine called again.

  Cara grimaced at the phone as if it were a real person. “Not now!” As she listened to it ring a few more times, she rolled her eyes and decided to answer, only to have a distraction from her worries about Victor. “Hi Justine. How ya doin’?”

  “I’m fine but I’d be doing much better if I could get one of my most talented employees back. How are you?”

  Not this again. Cara ignored the two emails Justine had sent her since their talk a few weeks earlier. “I’m all right. My new job keeps me very busy.”

  “I’m sure it does. But Cara, I really need you. I wish I’d never had to let you go in the first place but it wasn’t my decision to make.”

  “I know, but I’m sure you’ll find someone soon. There are so many people looking for jobs right now and—”

  “Yes, but not many with your experience. I need someone who can hit the ground running, and I need them now. I’ve interviewed fifteen people and in the back of my mind I keep thinking, if only I could get another Cara…”

  “I’m sorry. I feel your pain but I just can’t. My new boss needs me, too.”

  “No, he can’t need you as badly as I do.”

  Cara laughed. She hadn’t told Justine about her romantic involvement with Victor. “I’m not so sure about that.”