She didn’t think he’d believe that her name was Julieta, after the wholeRomeo and Julietthing. And she didn’t want to tell him abouther restaurant. She was afraid she would just start crying. No more tears tonight.
“I create things. And I already told you my name. It’s Juliet.”
He winked. “Sure it is, babe.”
The car hugged the road, and then he turned off the main street and snaked around the corner, driving along the beach.
She tugged on her hair. “I assume you like the beach since you live out here?”
He smiled, revealing his dimples, and she melted. “Yeah. I surf every chance I get. How about you?”
“Nope. I’ve never surfed. And I never go to the beach.” She considered diving into a long diatribe about how her community in Barrio Logan used to have access to the beach until the Navy expanded their bases and moved the community inland. But it wasn’t time for a San Diego history lesson.
“That’s too bad. I’d love to teach you.”
Julieta smirked. His words didn’t seem like a line, but Julieta’s guard was up. Even so, the thought of this handsome stranger in board shorts teaching her how to ride the waves drove chills up her spine. But tonight, all she wanted to ride was him.
He finally pulled up to a stunning modern mansion. It was sleek and massive, with an oceanfront balcony, and a rooftop deck with a hot tub.
Who was this guy?
The garage opened. It had more cars in it than an auto lot, including a Tesla SUV, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, a classic lowrider Mustang, and a pimped-out Ford Raptor. She stared at the Mustang. She was certain she hadn’t seen it at La Vuelta, the car cruise in Barrio Logan. He parked, exited the car, and opened her door. His thoughtfulness was refreshing.
It didn’t matter. This was a one-night stand—it was obvious toJulieta that this Romeo, whoever he was, was completely out of her league.
And that was fine. This was one night. One night of shiny McLarens and beachfront mansions in her beater-cars-and-dilapidated-casas world.
He helped her out of the car, closed the door, and then pressed her up against the vehicle. Julieta loved the way he took control, and she melted in his arms.
His mouth covered hers, and she tasted the desire on his lips. He bit her bottom lip, and Julieta bit his back. A hungry look spread across his face.
She could feel every hard inch of him pressed up against her thigh. His tight charro pants left little to the imagination, and Julieta was excited that if the night went as she planned, she wouldn’t have to wait much longer.
He pulled away with a devilish grin on his face. Then he retrieved his guitarrón case from the sports car.
He motioned for her to follow him to the door leading into the house and pressed his index finger to the screen on the side of the door, which caused it to magically open. Julieta had only seen locks like that in the movies.
But the keyless entry was not remotely impressive compared to this house.
The living room was literally overlooking the ocean.
Julieta sometimes scrolled real estate websites for fun. This house had to be worth at least six million dollars, probably more.
Was Julieta on some type of hidden-camera show? This night was completely insane. It was one of those fantasy dates fromThe Bachelor.
He placed his arm around her shoulders as she marveled at his casa. She clasped her hands in front of her face and scanned theroom, every piece of art, every piece of artisan furniture causing her jaw to drop further and further. “Nice bachelor pad.”
“Thanks. My brothers and I bought it together.”
Ah, that was so sweet. Many people would find it odd for a man to live with his brothers, but not Julieta. Many Latinos lived with their families until they were married. She loved that he was close to his siblings. “Oh, are they here now?” This place was so big, they could probably be in another wing and Julieta wouldn’t know.
“No. They are still partying in Old Town. We could’ve each bought places by ourselves, but we’d rather live together. After our parents’ divorce, we were all each other had.”
“Wow. That’s cool you are so close.” Julieta swooned. As tragic as his statement was, she was thrilled he was opening up to her. Maybe this had potential of being more than a one-night stand.
“How about you? Do you have any siblings?”
“Nope, I’m an only child.” Julieta wished she had a brother or a sister. All she had were her cousins. Granted, she had nine of them on Mamá’s side alone, but she was closest to Tiburón and Rosa.
