Don’t say it.
Please don’t say when we’re over.
“Why don’t you enjoy having me? Sound good?” I interrupt.
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes.
“Good. I’m only doing what you deserve.”
She stares at me for a beat, ignoring her brothers’ looming presence standing a couple feet ahead.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true.”
“Whatever you say, Ramos.”
She tries to leave it there. Hell, I should leave it there. But, as I close the car door, and bend my elbow for her to hold onto, I take it a step further. “Mrs. Ramos, must you be so casual when you dodge all my kind gestures and compliments.”
That earns me a giggle that she’s trying hard to suppress.
“You like how that sounds, don’t you?”
I shrug. “I like how it sounds when it’s referring to you.”
She bites her lip. “Remember, only we know that. It’s our secret.”
“My lips are sealed,” I manage through the mild disappointment our reality makes me feel.
She grabs my hand, leading the way to the ranch entrance. “Don’t seal them for too long, I like when you move them on me.”
Me too.
CHAPTER 24
SARINA
My brothers and Tomás hit it off immediately. I had a feeling they would like him. I mean, what’s not to like? He’s personable, intelligent, down-to-earth. All traits anyone would want in a partner for their sibling. EverythingIwould want in a partner, if I wanted to be in a relationship. Just him being here, is doing more than any boyfriend I’ve had in the past.
The longer I stare at Tomás talking to my brothers, the guiltier I feel. I still can’t believe I let him do that… for me. And that I agreed, so willingly. Knowing full well that after our plan is complete and we go our separate ways, whatever win I’ll have against my dad will fade. With the divorce will come a string of‘I told-you-so’s’.
Just the thought of that inevitable reality makes the air in my lungs feel trapped, bringing with it a heaviness that I can’t seem to shake.
“And down that way is where we package and distribute,” my brother, Noah says, pulling me from my internal spiraling. “We can show you, if Sarina doesn’t mind.”
Tomás breaks away from my brothers for a second, first examining my eyes, which I’m sure are glassy from holdingback tears. His hand finds mine, and just like it always seems to happen when our fingers interlace with one another’s, all the noise that no one hears but me quiets. “Is that okay?” He nudges his head in the direction Noah pointed —a long hall with industrial-style doors leading to their distribution room.
“Yeah, sure, go ahead, knock yourself out. I’m sure nothing has changed since the last time I went in there, so I’ll stay back.” As casual as my reply is, the words scratch in my throat for reasons not even I can fully comprehend.
This is what we wanted.
To come here.
Together.
To feed into the illusion that we’re a couple so we both can get what we need. But it’s this mundane moment, of him simply checking in with me, to see if it’s okay if he does something, that is throwing me off. For two people who are slowly getting to know what the other is willing to share, we work well together. Less like strangers and more like a well-oiled machine.
It’s bittersweet. Though I suppose I should cling onto the sweet part while I have it. Still, it doesn’t make the bitterness that is promised to follow sting any less.
