I move into his space, placing a hand over his racing heart. “Stop pacing, Ares.”
He won’t look at me, his eyes cast down to the floor. “You should leave,tesoro. I don’t like you seeing me unable to control my temper like this.”
I’m not afraid of him. I don’t fear for my safety. He’s not lashing out or destroying the Tiffany lamp on the bedside cabinet. He’s mad. And it’s comforting.
I skim my fingers over the ink on his chest, then the lion curled around his bicep. His shoulders sag as he hisses out a slow breath between his teeth. “You’re playing with fire, Eloise.”
“Then I’ll get burned. Talk to me. Tell me what’s really got you so twisted up like this.” It’s a guess. Maybe he is this bent out of shape because his father asked a question about my face, but if that’s the case, he’s in for a rude awakening.
Before I changed my hair, people pointed and stared all the time. Kids would come right out and ask what was wrong with my face. Sometimes they’d cry when they saw me in the mall. I never got used to it, so I changed my appearance to reduce the number of small children I made cry while out shopping.
“I think he’s having an affair. Had an affair. Maybe having.” He blows out air and slips his fingers into his hair, tugging it at the roots. “I don’t fucking know.”
I don’t know what about his father being a butt to me has triggered this line of thinking. It’s fractured and disjointed, but I don’t want to press him. I want to hold him.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He shakes his head. “Not here, not now. But… Agh.” He swings his arms down by his sides and starts up his pacing again. “Family first. Family always.” He’s muttering under his breath, switching between Spanish and English, and I only catch every other word.
An affair is an awful thing, but I don’t get why it’s made him retreat upstairs, strip off his shirt, and wear out the carpet as he walks back and forth over the same six feet.
“I think I have a half-brother. He came to see me on campus.”
My stomach free falls. Oh, wow. This is clearly more than a sordid one-night thing with his secretary. I don’t know what to say. My mouth has gone dry.
“I needed to get away from him before I confronted him. I was suffocating in his ego and lies at the table.” He turns to me, anguish paling his face. “Family first, my fucking ass. I called the kid a liar and sent him away,tesoro. I saw the family resemblance, I denied it, and I rejected him.”
The pain painted across his face fractures my heart. “It’s okay, Ares.” I reach for him, but he puts both hands up and steps back.
“It’s not unusual, you know. Rich Dominican men taking a mistress.” His tone turns bitter. “Having a secret child with their bit on the side.” He scrapes his hand over his face before interlinking his fingers against the back of his neck and walking a few more steps. “This kid… he wasn’t a kid, Eloise. He was our age, or close to it. How—?” His voice breaks.
He clears his throat and tries again. “How long has he been cheating on Mamá? Are there more? Affairsandkids? Do we have a full family that we know nothing about? More than one? The kid was so desperate, Eloise. He wanted my time, and I sent him away.”
His jaw trembles. I’m not sure I can keep it together if he loses it.
I rush forward to him, but he doesn’t let me wrap him in my arms. “It’s okay, you had a shock. It’s all well and good having the benefit of hindsight but you were caught off guard, Ares. It’s a natural response.”
“It’s not okay.” His voice gets louder. He holds up a palm, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to yell at you. This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry for making my problems your problems.”
“I’m your girlfriend, Ares. Your problemsaremy problems.”
Tears glisten in his eyes. Seeing him so vulnerable and cut up like this makes me warm inside. Gone is the hotshot, the playboy, the stripper, the brash trouble maker making headline news, and in front of me is a passionate, beautiful man with a big heart and a raging river of emotions. And he’s showing me. Only me.
I fight the urge to rub at my chest. “It’s going to be okay, Ares. We can find him again.”
He sniffs and faces the window. “That’s just it, I don’t want to.” He laughs, but it’s hollow. “I have the means and the money to pay someone to do it. But then, I’d have to face the fact it’s all true. That my father is no better than any of the other men he does business with. That he’s not above reproach. That he’s maybe been an asshole to Mamá.” His fists flex at his sides.
The deep wine-colored drapes are still open. The sunset out the window is one of the prettiest I’ve seen, and at some point, I want to take a stroll in the beautiful gardens below. But for now, I need to find a way to reach Ares, to comfort him.
I step up to him and curl my arms around his middle. I turn my face so my cheek rests against his muscular back. His chest heaves with the effort of sucking in and pushing out every shaky, ragged breath.
After a long beat, I tighten my grip, refusing to give up. I need to try to help soothe him when he’s in this much pain. I can’t take it away. I can’t make his father not be a cheating butthead. But I can hold him. I brush my nose against his back, dotting kisses on his skin. I don’t know why he’s naked to his waist, but it doesn’t matter. I’m glad for the opportunity to have my skin touch his.
“Eloise.” My name is a pained plea. His body is tense, unyielding against mine, and I’m not sure what to do other than be here and keep kissing his skin.
I’m too little to reach the tops of his shoulders with my lips, but no matter how many kisses I sweep across his back, he’s not relaxing, and his chest just keeps heaving. He’s so mad, so hurt, so full of guilt.
“I’m so sorry he made you feel uncomfortable,tesoro. I should have warned them. I should have—”
