Mamá saw them and waggled a finger at Julieta. Julieta felt like she was a teenager again, hiding boys from her mom.
They walked out to the front of the restaurant. Ramón took Julieta’s hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you in there.”
“Don’t be sorry. I liked it.”
“I did, too.” He grinned, showing off his dimples.
Breathe, Julieta.She fanned herself with a napkin.
He sat at an empty table, reached into his briefcase, took out his computer, and opened a bunch of software and graphs and reports. All of it looked as foreign as Mayan symbols looked to her.
Though Julieta had been worried about her restaurant, she’d always operated with one key philosophy in mind: build it and they will come. Food was her focus—and if it was good, surely the customers would follow.
But Julieta was oddly intrigued about the potential of this new venture. With Julieta’s cooking skills and Ramón’s business acumen, the possibilities were endless.
•••
Julieta proudly waved to her last guest of the evening. “Adios, Señora Garcia. See you next week.” Because therewouldbe a next week.Until the sign on the door changed from Las Pescas to Taco King, her regulars wouldn’t know any different.
She locked the front door. Ramón stood up from his table, where he had been working, and walked over toward her.
He leaned in close to Julieta and spoke in almost a whisper. “Let’s have some fun. Go on a date with me.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
Julieta pulled a lock of her hair. “I don’t know.”
“I do, though. If you say no, I won’t mention it again. I don’t want you to feel pressured to date me.” He licked his lower lip. “But please, say yes.”
Heat flooded Julieta. Why was he so intrigued by her? There were literally thousands of girls available just by the swipe of his phone who would be thrilled to hook up with him. Why her? Was it some game?
Julieta had two options. She could stop this flirtation before it ever got started. A few stolen kisses could easily be written off. That was what she would normally do—retreat from love before ever giving it a chance. It was safer that way. She would never get hurt.
Or, she could give in to her desires. Like she had tried to do on Day of the Dead.
But back then, it had just been about lust and forgetting her life. Now, she liked the guy and could see a future with him. And she was almost thirty, dammit. She desperately wanted children. Preferably ones with Ramón’s dimples and her sass. Beautiful brown babies.
Ugh, she was so pathetic. Fantasizing about having a family with this millionaire playboy. He probably was a confirmed bachelor who didn’t even want to have children.
“Why me? Why do you like me?”
Ramón gave her a sincere smile. “What do you mean? Why not you? You’re gorgeous. Incredibly talented. Unique.”
His words warmed her heart, but unfortunately, they weren’t enough to put out the flame of doubt flickering inside of her. “Right. I am all of those things.” She paused. “And many more. But that’s not what I’m asking. Why are you interested in me, Ramón? You don’t strike me as the type of man who wants to date a girl like me. I’m from the Barrio; you’re from La Jolla. We can’t possibly have anything in common.”
“That’s not true—we have plenty in common. We are both workaholics. We love the same type of music. Hell, our parents hooked up, which makes me supremely uncomfortable, but still. Clearly, there is a pull between us, don’t you think?”
A pull wasn’t enough for Julieta. She didn’t want to be used and discarded by Ramón once he got his fix of slumming it with her.
It wasn’t like he was proposing—just asking for a date. A date. No one had ever taken Julieta out on a date. Sure, there had been hookups galore, especially during her time as a chef in San Francisco. Then there had been meaningless after-hours sex on the bar counter, trysts in the pantry, a one-night stand in a walk-in refrigerator, but she’d never had time for proper dates.
None of those other men had made her feel like Ramón did right now. Her heart raced in his presence, but she didn’t trust his intentions toward her at all. They could never have a future together. Though they were both Mexican, they came from two different worlds. And she liked hers—it was warm and full of love. It had heart. She had no desire to ever live in his life full of McLarens and maids.
There she went again, allowing her anxiety to make her decisions for her.
She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer.
