Page 9 of His Secret Wish

He slipped his hand into hers, and the zing of electricity that zipped up her arm made her suck in a quick breath. His gaze met hers, and for an instant, his walls were down. The combination of vulnerability, hurt, anger, love, confusion, and lust in his gaze made her chest ache. It was everything she felt about him reflected back at her.

She took a step toward him. “Owen, I—“

“There you are.”

She spun at the sound of her mother’s voice. Mami stood in the archway leading to the living room. Her gaze darted from Isabella to Owen, and then to their joined hands. Of course, she knew they were separated. Isabella’s immediate family lived in Redding, and Isabella still worked at the family diner downtown. She wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret, even if she’d wanted to.

Which she didn’t. She wasn’t ashamed of taking control of her life, and making the best decision for her future. Even if sometimes, when she was alone at night, she wondered if she’d made a huge mistake. And if she had, how she’d let so much time pass without trying to fix it.

The only reason for the current subterfuge was because of Yaya, and not wanting to disappoint an old woman before she died. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Owen.” Mami’s voice had icicles dangling from it. She crossed her arms and gave her son-in-law a once over.

“Mrs. Garcia.” He gave a single nod, his voice even. “It’s nice to see you again.” He didn’t let go of Isabella’s hand, though.

Isabella wanted to sigh, roll her eyes. But she didn’t, because she didn’t want a lecture in front of everyone. “Mami, please be nice this weekend. For Yaya’s sake.”

Mami sighed, her shoulders visibly relaxing. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She looked at Owen. “Thank you for your help this weekend. My abuela has certain ideas...”

“Not a problem.” His voice was still that deep, smooth rumble that slid across her skin like a caress. Not that she was thinking of stuff like that with her mother less than five feet away. “I’m more than happy to help.”

“Okay, then.” Mami came over and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. “Don’t dally too long. Everyone’s excited to see you.” She turned and disappeared into the living room.

Isabella turned back to Owen. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” He squeezed her fingers.

Her insides did a little mambo, jostling around, making her feel queasy. She took another deep breath and gave a little squeeze back. This was it. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

She led him through the archway and into the rest of the house. The living room was packed with people, all talking and laughing. There were kids running around in what looked like a game of tag. There were card tables set up, laden with food, and the drinks were flowing freely. It truly was a party, and would likely remain that way until the long weekend was over. One thing could always be said about her family, they knew how to celebrate.

Owen stiffened beside her, and she could practically hear the crunch of his teeth snapping together. This was definitely not his scene, never had been. Although he’d come from a big-ish family of his own—he was one of five brothers—their get togethers were nothing compared to this. And even then, stuff like this, where there were people he may, or may not, know, but had to socialize with anyway, made his skin crawl. He’d always much preferred the outdoors, where he could be free. And didn’t have to be social.

The fact he knew what this weekend was going to be like—they’d been together long enough for him to know how her family came together—and still agreed to come with her, made her appreciate him even more. She gave his hand another squeeze.

Her cousin, Celia, spotted her, and the squeal she let out was the kind that dogs probably heard all the way over in Reno. Isabella winced, and then was practically tackled in a bear hug. She squeezed Celia back, excited to see her cousin. It had been a couple of years.

“I’m so happy you made it.” Celia was bouncing on the balls of her feet. “It’s been too long since we had the chance to hang out.”

“It has,” Isabella said, raising her voice a little to be heard over the hum of the crowd. “And I hear congratulations are in order.”

Celia raised her left hand and waved it in front of Isabella’s face. The diamond engagement ring was a pretty solitaire that looked to be about half a carat. “His name is Kevin, and I can’t wait for you to meet him.” She grabbed Isabella’s free and dragged her into the crowd.

Owen didn’t let go of her hand until the last possible second.