I blew out a breath and cleaned up my plate before sitting at the table to encompass myself in my work and forget about what was going on in my personal life.
Chapter Nineteen
VERA
I was absolutely not backing off. I mean, I was, I didn’t want to be a creep, but I wasn’t. I knew she was attracted to me. She didn’t think I noticed how she was looking at me when I knocked on her door? Of course I noticed. I noticed everything about her.
I especially noticed how she twitched under my touch, and how her breath hitched when I rubbed her lower back. I wasn’t going to go into her bikini bottoms, though.
I had pulled back on the flirting, except when around her friends, and my touch never got too inappropriate, despite how much I really wanted it to.
That party. I thought about it every chance I got. I thought about how delicious she looked. How I wanted to take her into an empty room and show her just how much i’d missed touching her. I was desperate to kiss her again, and if we had another second together, I would’ve, but the interruption made me realize it was good that I didn’t.
As much as I wanted it, she had made it clear, no matter what she physically felt, we weren’t going to work, and that was okay. I respected the hell out of her, and as much as I disagreed with that, I had to create distance between my feelings and what we were doing. I was the one blurring the lines.
It was a struggle not to flirt with her, or “accidentally” brush my hand against her skin. When I was in her house, that’s all I wanted to do. Especially when she had on that killer skirt that was so tight I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her ass. She had to have worn that on purpose, knowing how I felt about her.
But I told her I’d back off, so that’s what I was going to do. I could be platonic while also pretending to date her in front of her friends but wanting more behind the scenes. That didn’t sound complicated at all.
The wedding was coming up soon, then it would all be over and we’d go back to being just friends, or we’d both move on and never see each other again. I wasn’t very fond of either idea.
And sitting in the car with Cara, driving to my abuela's house, while she had on that baby blue dress was proving to be impossible to stay away. I was gripping the steering wheel so tight, my hands were turning white. I refused to place them anywhere near her bare leg.
“Is this dress too much? I feel like it’s too much. I don’t want your grandmother to think I’m a whore.”
My laugh was so loud. “It’s perfect. You look very proper and very very attractive. I’m struggling to keep my distance.”
She rolled her eyes but I caught the smile she was trying to hide before she turned her head. We rode the rest of the way in silence, but I could see by the way she was fidgeting, she was nervous. Wasn’t that just the cutest thing?
“Nervous, princesa?” I asked. I didn’t like the thought of her being nervous, but another part of me reveled in the idea. That meant she cared, on some level, about me.
She shrugged, acting nonchalant. “A little. I just want her to like me.”
“Yeah? She will, especially since you love her cooking. Any particular reason you want her to like you? “ I smirked when she scowled at me. I knew exactly why, but I wanted her to say it.
“I’m a people pleaser. What can I say?”
I decided to drop it. I didn’t want to push her right before meeting my abuela, but I knew that wasn’t the whole truth.
We pulled up to my abuela’s house and I got out of the truck, rounding to the passenger side to open Cara’s door. She smiled as I held out my hand to help her out.
“You look beautiful in that dress, Princesa. Don’t be nervous, my abuela is going to love you. There’s no reason for her not to.”
Her blush made me internally pat myself on the back. While my statement was true all around, it was an extra bonus to get a reaction from her.
Before we could knock, the door swung open and I smiled at what greeted us. My beautiful abuela was wearing the apron she wore every time she cooked. It was red and white and splattered with various spices.
“Mija! I’m glad you could make it. Oh, my, this must be Cara! It’s so nice to meet you, mija. Veronica, you weren’t lying to your abuela. You are gorgeous, my dear. Please, come in. The food’s almost ready. I hope you like tamales, Cara. They are Veronica’s favorite.”
I groaned at my grandmother’s embarrassing word vomit. I looked toward Cara with an apologetic expression, but she was too busy hugging my abuela. Her smile was bright and genuine.
“Hi, Ms. Rojas. It’s so nice to meet you. That’s very kind of you to say, thank you. I’ll have to remember to get the recipe from you. They smell delicious.”
My grandmother finally let us in and I put my hand on Cara’s lower back to guide her inside. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the delicious aroma of tamales.
“I’m sorry about her. She’s old and doesn’t have a filter.” I whispered just so she could hear me.
“I heard that Veronica Elena! Don’t make me bend you over my knee in front of company. You know I will do it! Cara, please call me Sofia.”
