She opened her eyes back up and stared right at him. His deep, dark eyes stared back at her with no deception visible—just adoration.
Maybe her life had changed for the better. A few weeks ago, she had little hope of keeping her restaurant or meeting anyone. And now, she had possibilities for both.
Was she okay with dating her boss? That was a bad decision, for sure. But if it didn’t work out with them, he would probably just work on another deal and they would have little contact. She seriously doubted he planned to spend the rest of his life working in Las Pescas, aka the new Taco King.
“Sure. I’ll have dinner with you. When?”
He reached over and took her hand. “Right now.”
Julieta’s hand began to sweat. She pulled back. “Tonight? I look like a mess. I’ve been working all day. Maybe some other time.”
He touched her chin and pulled it up. “You look beautiful.”
Ramón stood in front of her, sexy, confident, calm—basically, the exact opposite of her. He wanted something, and he went after it. She had never been pursued like this by a man. Especially a catch as great as Ramón. She’d be a fool not to say yes, yes, and oh yes.
“Okay. Where to?”
“Coronado.”
“Well, let’s go.”
She followed him out to his McLaren. As he drove her over the Coronado Bridge to the ocean, Julieta exhaled. The stars shone over the bay and the lights lit up the Hotel Del in the distance. She was in a dream.
And, for the first time since her father had died, she believed that everything in her life would work out.
As great as growing up watching her parents’ relationship was, in a way it had also prevented Julieta from seeking out a boyfriend. She would meet guys and like them, but if she couldn’t see a future with them, she would just relegate them to a “friends with benefits”situation. She would emotionally shut herself off from any possibility of having a relationship.
So why on earth did she think that she could possibly have a relationship with Ramón, who was completely out of her league?
Julieta wanted to know more about Ramón’s family. He had never mentioned his mom. What was her story? “Are you close to your mom?”
Ramón raised his brow. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. You never mention her.”
“No, not at all. She didn’t spend much time with me when I was a kid. I was raised by nannies.”
Poor Ramón. She wanted to hug him. Even though he had all this wealth, he didn’t seem that happy.
“But you’re close to your dad?”
Ramón exhaled. “He was a neglectful parent also when I was growing up. It took me years of therapy to forgive him and my mom. But at least he and I have some things in common—business, surfing, and golf. And now our relationship is rocky at best.”
Julieta was impressed that he admitted to going to therapy. Nothing was sexier than a man who wanted to work on himself.
“Why?”
“It’s complicated. Let’s just say that we have different views about the direction of the company. I’m sorry, but I can’t really talk about it with you.”
Whoa. Julieta didn’t expect that answer. Ramón had been so open with her about, well, everything. Was his conflict with his father about Barrio Logan? She was hopeful that it was. Deep in her heart, she knew Ramón couldn’t possibly want to destroy her community.
But he told her he couldn’t talk about it. She wouldn’t press it, at least not now.
“I understand. That’s impressive that you went to therapy. I need to go.” She wanted to deal with her grief about Papá, create better boundaries with Mamá, and learn how to achieve work-life balance.
“You should. It really helped me and my brothers.”
“Enrique seems wonderful. What about your other brother?”
