Did she?
Well, that was easy. Yes, she did. Of course she did.
But that wasn’t the question. Should she?
Mamá and Tiburón were against it. They were convinced any relationship between Julieta and Ramón would implode.
But maybe they were wrong.
Rosa told her to go for it, but Rosa never thought about the consequences of her actions. She lived in the here and now and couldn’t possibly realize the potential aftermath of a torrid love affair between Ramón and Julieta.
Forty minutes later, Enrique headed away from the beach. He finally turned into a driveway off the side of the road. They parked, and Enrique led them to the main garden.
Julieta’s heart soared. There were rows and rows of crops. All the vegetables she created with were in front of her, fresh and vibrant. This farm alone was reason enough to take Ramón’s job offer.
Enrique pointed to some plants. “Here we have our lettuces, hybrid tomatoes, chiles.”
Julieta laughed, and then put her hand over her mouth.
Ramón touched her shoulder. “Is something funny?”
“Why do you grow chiles if you don’t use them?”
Ramón playfully grabbed her hand. “Aren’t you the comedian? We do use them in our test kitchen.”
Enrique led them to another area. “And in this plot, I’ve even been growing some specialty Mexican herbs.”
Julieta dropped Ramón’s hand. She bent down and inhaled the hoja santa. She loved that herb, but it was so hard to find. It smelled like root beer, and its leaves could be used to wrap food like a tortilla. She could plan the most amazing menu with access to these plants.
Then Ramón pointed to a bare garden with fresh soil.
Julieta crinkled her face. “What is that?”
“That, Julieta, is your garden.”
Her mouth flew open. She stood up to face him, her heart thumping in her chest. “Really? For me?”
“Yup. For the restaurant in Barrio. You can grow anything you like in here. And you can come here whenever you want.”
Julieta couldn’t believe his words. She had always wanted to grow some rare herbs and vegetable hybrids like other chefs did but had never dreamed that she would be in the position to do so.
She pressed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Ramón’s neck. She didn’t care that his brother was standing beside them. Before she could stop herself, she tilted her head and kissed Ramón.
Ramón hesitated at first, a look of shock gracing his face, butwhen Julieta pulled him toward her, his mouth enveloped hers. Their lips met. First slowly, then with more hunger. Julieta ran her fingers through his hair as his hands drifted toward her bottom.
Enrique chuckled, and Julieta broke away from Ramón’s mouth.
“Like I said, Ramón always gets what he wants.”
Heat burned in her cheeks. She looked up at Ramón, who had a smug smile on his face, like he had just struck the big prize in the piñata.
This kiss was more dangerous than their first one at the graveyard.
Because back then, she only lusted after Ramón.
And now, she actually liked him.
Ugh, she was so doomed.
