Carlos fist-bumped him. “Good game, bro.”
“Thanks man. It feels good to play. I haven’t scrimmaged much lately.”
“Well, we play here every day.” Carlos paused. “Join us while you’re in town.” He pursed his lips and looked at a muddy patch in the field. “It would be really nice if we could fix up this field. The drainage is pretty bad.”
Jaime stared at the rough grass. “Well, maybe that is something I can assist with. Turf would be nice here.”
“Really? It would be awesome, but you’re already helping so much. Of course, I wouldn’t say no. So see you next week at the meeting for the festival?”
“Yup. My brothers will get in next weekend.”
“What are you going to do while you’re in town?”
“I’m just going to hang low. I’m going to a charity ball with Santi for his sister. And maybe I’ll head up to Sonoma for a few days.” He paused. “I’ll steer clear of your sister. I’ve caused her enough stress.”
Carlos stood closer to him. “For what it’s worth—she never got over you.”
He paused. “I never got over her either.”
Carlos looked at his sister, then back at Jaime. “She’s going to kill me for this, but do you want to come over to my parents’ house? They are grilling tonight. Don’t worry about Alma—she has to work, so she won’t be there.”
Hope flowed through his body, followed by dread. Her parents would grill him instead of the meat, but he was willing to take the heat. After all, he’d enjoyed their company once—maybe they could have a pleasant time.
“Sure she won’t be there? I don’t want to disrespect her.”
“Positive. She has to open her bar.”
“Okay. Absolutely, I’ll come. Thanks for inviting me.”
Carlos jumped into his car. “I have a few errands to run, but I’ll meet you there. You remember the address?”
“Yup. See you soon.”
Carlos took off, his Honda clunking down the street.
Damn, Alma would be even more pissed off when she found out he was eating with her family, but he wasn’t going to say no to her brother. And he said she wouldn’t be there. What was Jaime to do? He needed to back off with her. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him. He needed to respect her boundaries.
Santi opened his Porsche’s door. “You ready to go to Carlos’s parents’ house? Or you going to throw a Hail Mary pass to Alma?”
Jaime shook his head. “Why not?” He waved to Alma and yelled a final plea. “Nice to see you, Alma.”
She turned her head. Alright, game over.
“Let’s go.” Jaime opened the passenger door.
“Wait!” Alma’s voice rang out.
Jaime closed the door. Alma was striding toward him carrying Tequila.
“Jaime, before you go, just tell me why you came back?”
Chapter Ten
Jaime’s face contorted. “Why?”
“Yes, why? Why are you in Marin? Why did you show up at my bar?”
Jaime took a deep breath before speaking. If he told her the truth, it could seem callous. Was the possibility of starting a tequila company truly the only reason he had come to Marin? She might not look too kindly on him admitting that he came up here because he was having a quarter-life crisis and wanted to ask her to teach him everything about tequila. And now, after seeing her and witnessing her reaction to him, he believed that it was an asinine idea to expect that after their past together she would be willing to work with him and that he should’ve never entertained the thought. But since he’d been here, he wondered if his subconscious was trying to tell him something. That he had actually come up here to see her.
