The kisses weren’t a mistake, but a gift—one he hoped to repeat.
He would talk to her later and make sure they both wanted the same thing before it went any further. He refused to hurt her again.
Jaime arrived at Santi’s house. He walked in the front door.
The full clan was there. Ramón, his fiancée, Julieta, Enrique, his girlfriend, Carolina, and her sister Blanca, Julieta’s mom, Linda, and Julieta’s cousins, Tiburón and Rosa were all there waiting for him.
Thank God Santi had a huge house. At least Jaime’s mother wasn’t here. That would be a supreme nightmare. He was dreading Ramón and Julieta’s wedding. Not the actual ceremony and the reception of course. Julieta was in full-on bridezilla mode, and it would be a blast. But the guest list gave him major anxiety. Their dad and mom who barely communicated without a lawyer present, their mom’s pretentious friends who would no doubt try to marry off Jaime and Enrique, despite the fact Enrique had a girlfriend, Julieta’s mom and eccentric tías—there was no telling what kind of crazy town would ensue. Take that back—it actually should be a blast.
Jaime smiled. “You guys made it.”
Ramón walked over to Jaime and gave him a strong hug. “We took an earlier flight so have been here for a while.” His voice lowered and he whispered in Jaime’s ear, “What the fuck are you doing here, man?”
Jaime stammered, “I don’t know. It’s a long story.”
Ramón shook his head. Gone were his days of buttoned-up suits and shiny shoes. Ramón’s attire now consisted of polo shirts and long shorts. He had completely changed since being with Julieta. In a good way. Jaime was still anxious around his big brother and always wanted to please Ramón, but Julieta had definitely chilled him out.
Enrique was sitting on Santi’s bright-orange modern velvet sofa. “Sit down, bro. Tell us what’s going on. I’ll make some tea.”
Tea? Jaime needed tea-quila. Lots of it.
But there was no escaping this family talk.
Ramón sat next to Julieta. “Jaime, tell us everything.”
Julieta placed her hand on Ramón’s thigh. “Jaime, what he means is, are you back with Alma? We didn’t mean to bombard you. I consider you a brother already, and I just wanted to be there for you. Ramón told me that this Alma woman is the only girl you’ve ever loved. And she’s so badass. I can’t wait to meet her.”
Great—next thing Jaime knew Julieta would be partnering with Alma for some tequila–taco bar collaboration.
“She’s pretty busy. She wasn’t too excited to see me, so I don’t know if she’ll want to hang out with my future sister-in-law’s family.”
Rosa let out a cackle. “Then I’ve got to meet this poor chingona. Two years ago, I would’ve been jealous. But now I’m just glad I’m not her.”
Fucking Rosa. Their friendship had started out flirty until Ramón had forbidden any hookups. Rightfully so, because they were soon to be family and that would be messy. Rosa was gorgeous like her cousin, though they had very different styles. Rosa dressed like a chola with her tight sleeveless sweaters and loose Dickies pants that cinched at her waist. But Rosa and Jaime learned early on that they were too similar. Both wild and carefree. Watching both of Ramón and Enrique’s relationships with their women, Jaime realized that it was better to have some sort of balance in place between partners.
“If you all really must know, I was asked to be a brand ambassador for Somos Tequilas. Tom Bluey’s latest endeavor.”
Julieta scowled. “That jackass has a tequila line? Who doesn’t have a tequila line these days?”
“I don’t. We don’t. We are Mexican. We have more rights than he does to profit off tequila. So, I came up with the idea to start one.”
Enrique shook his head. “You have a point, but I don’t like where this is going, bro. Alma has a tequila bar, so you came up here to ask her to help you?”
Carolina playfully smacked him. “Like you didn’t do the same thing with my farm.”
Enrique threw both his hands up. “You’re right, I did. But you weren’t my ex. You were just some beautiful girl I admired. Jaime and Alma have a lot of history together.”
Tiburón exhaled. “Do all you damn Montez brothers only meet women that can help you with your careers? It’s fucked-up, man.” He turned to Blanca. “I don’t want nothing from Blanca but to spoil her and have her carry my babies.” Blanca kissed Tiburón.
Jesus. “I hope this love thing isn’t contagious. You’re all nauseating.”
Santi laughed. “Agreed. I may rescind my offer for you all to stay. This is a bona fide bachelor’s pad.”
Linda stood up. “I’m still single. Happily. And I’m going to make dinner.” She walked toward the kitchen, with Santi trailing behind her.
“No, you don’t have to. I can order food,” Santi pleaded as Linda ignored him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s Sunday. And on Sunday we feast as a family.”
