It was almost cruel. Did he never care about her? That was impossible—they were so deeply in love.
Once.
A lifetime ago.
Well, only three years ago. But she had been a totally different person back then.
She turned around and went back to making the drinks.
Her hand clutched the neck of one of her beloved bottles of tequila—it resembled a Day of the Dead Catrina.
A sharp pain radiated through her arm. Again. She slapped her brother’s hand away. “Dammit, Carlos! Stop pinching me.”
His voice lowered. “Alma—turn around.”
She slowly pivoted on her foot.
Standing in front of the bar, his shiny black bangs skimming his eyebrows, with a big smile flashing his dimples, was Jaime Montez.
Fuck.
And why was he hotter than hell?
His boyish frame had filled out and his ripped body was visible through his V-neck T-shirt. Those arms were so muscular! Though now they were decorated with tattoos. God, what would it be like to see this man naked, one more time.
Fine, twice. Three times tops.
As she stood there stunned, his eyes raked up and down her body.
“Hey, Alma. Nice to see youagain.”
Chapter Five
Jaime stood in front of Alma, taking in her beauty. Back when he first met her, she had been the most gorgeous girl he’d ever laid eyes on. But now, he was staring at a sexy, confident woman.
He had imagined this moment so many times, all the while assuring himself that it would never, ever happen. They did not need to meet again. They were exes, didn’t share any children, hell, they didn’t even have a pet together. She was in his past. And he had no clue what he even wanted in his future. It certainly wasn’t any type of serious relationship for a long time, if ever.
But standing there so close to his ex made all those feelings that he thought he would never have again rush back.
She didn’t respond to him, just stared with her jaw dropped. Jaime was mesmerized by her lips, which were painted bright red. He put his hand on the bar to get closer to her. The counter between them created some false sense of distance that preventedhim from pulling Alma into his arms for one risky kiss. A kiss he would throw away his life for.
A kiss that would never happen.
Say something, pendejo.
“Nice place you have here.” God, he was such an idiot. He had to at least acknowledge the awkwardness of the moment. But he couldn’t even bring himself to do that. “You look great.”
She sneered at him. Okay, complimenting her was not his best move, especially with a lame line like that. And he usually had all the lines and moves.
Her brother, Carlos, narrowed his gaze at Jaime. They had been close once and used to always play soccer together. Carlos was an amazing athlete, but so was Jaime. Jaime used to feel an ease with Carlos that he never felt with his own brothers. Ramón and Enrique loved him and had his back, but being the spoiled baby brother to his older protective siblings was a hard dynamic to break.
“What’s up, Carlos?” was the best greeting Jaime could come up with. A fist bump or bro hug was way out of the question.
Carlos just shook his head and turned to his sister. “Want me to handle this?”
She mouthedNo. Her long hair cascaded over her breasts. “No. I got it.”
New approach. “I’d like to order your best tequila, on the rocks.”
