Unconditionally Mine

by Nadine Gonzalez

  “Franco’s mother’s birthday.”

  “Should I send over champagne?”

  “Whatever you send over, I’ll send back.”

  “So touchy when it comes to your in-laws,” he said.

  “This is just for appearances, Jon,” Sofia said. “And they’re good people. I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”

  “But you’re okay hurting mine.”

  Sofia was speechless. The playfulness of his manner had turned, and she didn’t know how to respond. Another waiter walked past them, and she said the first thing that came to mind. “You left and never came back. We had dinner plans.”

  Jon took a step forward. When he moved like that, light and quick, she was all the more aware of his size. Now they were close enough to kiss. The creases at the corners of his eyes ran deep. He looked as drained as she felt.

  “Let’s get this straight,” he said. “You left because I was late for dinner?”

  “No,” Sofia said. “I left because you gave me an ultimatum. Remember?”

  “Technically, I didn’t,” he said. “You didn’t give me the chance. And even if I had, it would’ve been justified considering the circumstances.”

  “Circumstances that I tried to explain to you,” Sofia said. “If you really think I wanted to leave with him, then you don’t know me, Jon Gunther.”

  A woman came around the corner and stopped abruptly. She eyed Sofia and Jon blocking the way to the restrooms. Jon grabbed her hand and pulled her through the swinging doors into the kitchen. Then, unexpectedly, he kissed her, proving that he did know her a little bit. Anger turned to flaming passion. Sofia grabbed his jacket lapel and kissed him hard. When he pulled away, she pressed her swollen lips together, savoring the kiss.

  “What am I tasting?” he whispered.

  “What are you talking about?” she whispered back.

  “What are you drinking?” he asked.

  She crinkled her nose. “White Zinfandel.”

  “Didn’t the waiter tell you about the Cab from Spain?” he asked. “It’s amazing.”

  Was he questioning her taste in wine now? “The Cab would go to my head. Zinfandel is a safe bet for dinner with future in-laws.”

  “Future what?” he asked.

  “Former in-laws,” she corrected. “Kiss me again before I go back out there.”

  He shook his head no, all the while doing her the service of wiping her smudged lipstick with the pad of his thumb. “You go back out there and drink Zinfandel.”

  The chef approached. “As much as you two are making me swoon,” she said, wiping her hands on a white towel. “I need you to get out.”

  Sofia raised a hand and pleaded, “Just a minute!”

  She was determined to set him straight. The kiss didn’t mean capitulation. It meant he was a good kisser, that’s all.

  “Asking for a minute doesn’t work for everything, Sofia,” Jon said cuttingly. “Sometimes it makes things worse.”

  Okay—that was a low freaking blow! A minute ago, he’d had his tongue down her throat. He took her left hand in his and pointed out the diamond on her fourth finger.

  “It doesn’t mean anything,” she said.

  “You say that a lot,” he said.

  “Jon...”

  “Go. Your future in-laws are waiting.”

  “Former! Former in-laws!”

  “You tell them that.”

  The chef snapped her towel. “Both of you! Out!”

  * * *

  Sofia was in a mood when she got back to the table. Franco explained that they’d waited for her to start their meal, but the food was getting cold.

  “I had to take a call,” she said. “Sorry. It was rude of me.”

  Franco’s mother patted her hand and said she worked too hard. When Franco tried to hold that same hand, Sofia pulled it away and flagged the waiter. She exchanged her glass of Zinfandel for the Cabernet.

  The conversation picked up again. Franco was giving his father an update. He said his accountant had forgotten to report the money he’d inherited from his grandfather. “That’s all it is,” he said. “I may have to pay a fine and back taxes. But for sure I’ll fire the accountant.”

  Franco laughed at his own little joke. Sofia couldn’t laugh. Franco’s story had changed so many times it was hard to keep up. What was this about an inheritance? This was the first she’d heard of it. And here she’d thought he was cash poor.

  After dinner, her sorry quartet walked past Jon’s table. They looked as if they were having fun, laughing and chatting happily. Sofia couldn’t help stealing a glance at him. Jon winked. She turned away, her cheeks hot.

  They dropped Franco’s parents off at his cousin’s house in Pembroke Pines. Then they drove back to Miami in painful silence. Franco pulled up to Miguel’s building and parked in a visitor’s spot. Sofia reached for the door handle. He stopped her, trying once again to grab hold of her hand. This time, Sofia objected.

  “Stop doing that!” she cried.

  “I can’t even touch you?” Franco sounded hurt. “We can’t have dinner without your boyfriend showing up? Think I didn’t notice?”

  Sofia dug her nails into the palm of her hands, praying for restraint. How could she make him understand? He had shown up and disrupted their lives, not the other way around.

  “Sofia, I’m going through a lot right now. I could use a friend.”

  “We can’t be friends,” she said. “You lied to me. I’ve lied to everyone. All we’ve done is spread deception and I’m sick of it.”

  Those lies, like so many stones, were piling up, sealing the cave and trapping them both in the past. Sofia wanted out.

  “Since we’re talking about lying, I wasn’t totally honest with my folks at dinner today,” he said. “It’s not as simple as I made it sound.”

  No kidding!

  “There’s a chance I can work out a deal with the prosecutors, but I’m leaving Pike high and dry.”

  “What does Steve Pike have to do with this?” Sofia asked.

  Franco only shook his head, which was fine with Sofia because, on second thought, she didn’t want to know.

  “If he got you into this, then he wasn’t looking out for you,” she said. “Save your business.”

  “The thing is, it was more his business than mine,” Franco said. “It always was.”

  “What are you saying now? You two are partners.”

  “I might’ve exaggerated my role in the company.”

  Sofia recoiled. Who was this man?

  “Why, Franco?” she asked.

  “To impress you.”

  Bullshit. He wasn’t going to pin this on her.

  “It’s true. You were a kickass business owner, and I was a car salesman.”

  “I’m sorry you felt that way,” Sofia said, unconvinced. Deep down she knew that he’d lied because it was easy for him. In comparison, Jon’s blunt honesty was refreshing.

  “If you can’t save the business, save your reputation. Free yourself and get on with your life.”

  “Is that what you’re doing?” he asked bitterly. “Getting on with your life.”

  “I’m trying to.”

  “Are you with him to get back at me?” he asked.

  “I’m not interested in getting back at you,” she said. “I only want to get back to him. You’ve taken up too much of my time already.”

  “What do you see in him? I get he’s a lawyer, and some women may like that type, but...you, Sofia?”

  Sofia was done. She pushed the door open and stepped out of the car. Whatever type Jon was, yes, absolutely, she liked it.

  “Don’t go,” Franco said. “Can’t you give me a minute?”

  “No.” Sometimes a minute only made things worse. But for the sake of their shared history, she l
eft him with some advice. “Do what you’ve got to do to get your life back on track. Then make some new friends.”

  * * *

  She left him in the parking lot, trusting that he knew his way out, and rode the elevator to Miguel’s place to freshen up. She had a plan. She figured Jon would head back to the office after dinner with his staff. She’d go there and demand they talk. His office was the perfect neutral setting. It was intimate enough for frank conversation. And, if they locked the door, it was perfect for anything else they might want to do.

  She figured she had time to change out of her beige dress and into something more colorful. Jon loved her in color. She might as well use every tactical advantage she had. Plus, she had to lose the ring.

  Sofia was rummaging through her cramped closet when Leila called.

  “Good news!” Leila exclaimed. “The Star Island open house was a hit. We’ve got a bidding war going on. Once we close, I’m buying a new car. A hot one.”

  “Can I double my fee, then?” Sofia yanked a hanger free, examined the blue-and-white striped dress and rejected it. “I could use the money. I need a bigger closet—and a place of my own.”

  Sofia bent down and carefully removed a Stuart Weitzman shoebox from a precarious shoebox tower, Jenga-style.

  “Now you’re talking,” Leila said. Her tone had changed from light and cheery to straight up serious. “Come by the office and we’ll go over your options.”

  “I will,” Sofia said. “Just not now. I’m on a mission.”

  “A Jon Gunther mission?” Leila asked. She was light and cheery again.

  Sofia sank to the floor and fastened the tiny buckles of a strappy sandal with a sharp heel. While she was at it, she got Leila up to speed.

  “Let’s recap,” Leila said. “He caught you having dinner with your ex and ex in-laws?”

  “He didn’t catch me,” Sofia said. “He tracked me down. It’s not the same.”

  “Why is Franco still in the picture?”

  “He’s not!”

  “Are we looking at the same picture?” Leila asked. “Because if I told Nick I had to go off with my ex for a cozy family reunion...I’d like to think he’d be understanding, but I think he’d lose his mind.”

  “This isn’t about Nick!” Sofia cried, but only because she didn’t know what else to say. Leila was right. What if Viv had shown up at their door? How would she have handled it? She’d put Jon in an untenable position. Up until Sunday, he’d handled it with grace. But everyone had a tipping point.

  Another call came through. It was Nick.

  “Hold on, Leila.”

  Sofia switched lines. Nick got straight to the point. “It’s going down next Friday. Renovations are done. The house will be furnished and ready.”

  “Oh, gosh...”

  Sofia lay flat on the carpeted floor. Did Nick and Leila exist solely to show her how good love could be? Maybe instead of arguing with Leila, she should listen to her. Obviously, she knew a thing or two.

  “You’ll help set up?” Nick asked.

  “Leave it to me.”

  “You have a blank check,” he said. “Only no fireworks. Keep it simple.”

  Was he worried she’d show up with a marching band? “It’ll be tasteful. I promise.”

  Leila was more subdued when Sofia got back on the line. “You’re going through a lot. I shouldn’t have piled it on.”

  “I needed to hear it.” Sofia sat cross-legged on the floor. “What do I do now, genius?”

  “You want my advice?”

  “Lay it on me.”

  “For starters,” Leila said. “There’s nothing a little bit of lingerie can’t fix.”

  * * *

  It turned out Leila knew nothing at all. When she opened her white trench coat to reveal a delicate blue lace bodysuit, Jon was not affected. He got up from behind his desk in what looked to be a promising move, but then adjusted the lapel of her coat and fastened the buttons.

  “You said you’re here to talk,” he said.

  “I am.” She assumed they’d talk after he shoved all the files off his desk and took her on the glossy wood surface—like in every movie!

  He tied the belt in a solid knot. “Then I’ll need a clear head.”

  “I’m trying to make amends,” Sofia said. “I shouldn’t have left the way I did, without a word of explanation. That was wrong. But you shouldn’t have—”

  “No,” he said. “You don’t get to do that.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Tell me what my position ought to be.”

  He leaned back onto the desktop and folded his arms across his chest. His blazer had been tossed onto the couch with neglect. His gunmetal gray tie was loose. He looked devilishly undone and, to her mind, had every advantage she might have had in lingerie.

  “Okay. I’ll speak for myself,” Sofia said. “Franco’s parents were freaking out about his legal troubles. He asked me to help reassure them. I wore the ring. I did my part.”

  “Why is it your job to reassure them?” Jon asked.

  “It’s not,” she admitted. “I owed Franco a favor.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “He kept our breakup secret when it was convenient for me.”

  “So, what?” Jon asked. “On Sunday he came to collect?”

  “You could say that,” Sofia replied.

  “What do you say?” Jon asked.

  “I didn’t want him thinking he could show up whenever he liked, asking for favors,” Sofia said. “I wanted to settle the score.”

  “I’d believe you if I hadn’t seen you with his parents,” Jon said. “You care for them.”

  “What if I do, Jon?” Sofia asked. “I’ve known them for years. Would that be so wrong?”

  “Yes, if he can use them to get to you.”

  “Maybe you don’t understand because you don’t know how families work,” she said. “Or what it feels like to be tied to one. How your failures can let everybody down.”

  She didn’t know if she was talking about Franco’s family or her own. Everything was one big mess in her mind.

  “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t believe for a minute you’re doing any of this for his family or yours.”

  “You think I still have feelings for him?” Sofia asked, incredulous.

  “You left me because of him.”

  “I left you because of you!”

  Sofia was so in love with him, she was drowning in it. She needed to know if he felt the same. The last woman who’d assumed she had a future with Jon had had a rude awakening.

  “Jon, I can’t play house with you forever.”

  “Is that what you think we were doing? Playing?”

  “I have no clue,” she said. “So, now would be a good time to tell me how you feel.”

  “How I feel is not the issue.”

  “What’s the issue?”

  “Your secrets.”

  “Don’t exaggerate,” she said. “I chose not to go public with a very private matter until the time was right. That’s all.”

  “When will the time be right?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Why Saturday?”

  Sofia explained that her parents were back at work after their European vacation and physically exhausted. “I’ll stop by their house on Saturday and we’ll talk.”

  Even as she said this, Sofia knew how it sounded. She was making excuses, postponing something that should have been handled months ago.

  “Then we’ll table this discussion until Sunday.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked. There was no need to draw a line in the sand.

  “Sofia,” he said. “I want you free and clear of encumbrances.”

  Free and clear of what?

  “Is this th
e only way you can talk? With a bunch of legal jargon?”

  Suddenly, the legal talk wasn’t sexy anymore. She’d hate to be up against Jon in a legal matter, if this was how he handled matters of the heart.

  “It is when I’m dead serious.”

  “Jon, you have me.”

  “Do you still have his ring?”

  Sofia flushed with embarrassment. “Forget the ring. At this point, it’s just a prop.”

  “A prop you never hesitated to use against me.”

  Sofia lowered her eyes, silenced. For Jon, the little diamond was a boulder blocking the way forward. It truly was kryptonite.

  Jon walked around her and opened his office door. “And you remembered enough to take it off before coming here.”

  “Wait. Are you kicking me out?” she asked. “I’d think twice before you do.”

  If Jon was bothered, panicked or worried in any way, it didn’t show. “I’m ending this before it goes too far,” he said. “You know my conditions.”

  “Conditions?” she said. “Do you hear yourself? Real love is unconditional.”

  He wasn’t moved. “For better men, maybe. Not me.”

  Sofia wanted to slap that smug look off his face.

  “And what do I get out of this?” she asked. “A man who doesn’t know what it means to belong to anything except this stupid law firm?”

  The smug look was replaced with something darker. She could feel him retreating and locking doors so she could never get to him.

  This had officially gone too far.

  Jon was so proud of his work. His professional accomplishments had made him the man that he was: successful, confident and independent. He was free and able to deal with his family on his own terms. She, on the other hand, was taking her cues not only from her parents but her former in-laws, as well.

  “Jon, I didn’t mean that.”

  He didn’t answer. And when the silence became unbearable, Sofia walked out the open door. She marched past the empty cubicles, heading toward the elevators, her pride keeping her upright.

  “Sofia,” he called out.

  She turned around, hopeful. “Yes?”

  “You know damn well what you get when you get me, and it’s worth the work.”

  Chapter 23

  Leila stirred artificial sweetener into her green tea. “You’re young and single—more or less. You want to be in a cool building. Up your chance to meet someone interesting at the pool or the gym.”