Page 27 of No Darker Temptation

Never mind that’s not a request it’s an order

this place is driving me crazy?!?!

Don’t stop believin’ is playing for the eighth time tonight I think I’m going to lose my mind

they haven’t played gasolina, aguanile, or vivir mi vida ONCE. WHAT KIND OF A HALF PUERTO RICAN WEDDING IS THIS?

Pppllleeeaaassseee save me

I curse aloud. “This is so fucking stupid…”

I dial his number and lift my phone to my ear. It rings and rings and rings until the voicemail picks up and I grind my teeth hard enough to crack a molar. Okay, maybe he is asleep because there’s no way I sent that many messages in a row and called and he still chose not to answer. I decide to leave a voicemail because contrary to my messages, I probably will be asleep by the time he calls back. I’m exhausted but I don’t want to go to bed without him knowing how I feel.

“It’s me,” I say. “Look, I know you said after Karina’s wedding and I’m sure you didn’t mean literally after her wedding but…I just couldn’t wait another minute and technically, the wedding was supposed to be over at one but everyone’s still drinking and partying and I don’t think they plan on stopping anytime soon. So I’m just going to come out and say it. I don’t want to be here anymore.

“And yes, a big part of it is because Karina just got married and I don’t want to be alone now that the most important person in my life is about to build a new life that doesn’t include me. But that’s just the thing, I want to build my own life too. Being alone in the world is a bleak thought but I’ve been on my own ever since my parents mentally checked out on me so I know how to survive. The difference now is I want more than just survival. I want⁠—”

The line goes dead and I’m not sure how much of my voicemail got cut off so I call again, prepared to make an idiot out of myself with the bigger picture in mind.

Voicemail picks up.

“I was rambling. I’m sorry. I’m calling again.” I rub my forehead, cheeks burning up with embarrassment. “You’re probably going to think I’m crazy when you see this in the morning. Well, I don’t care. I want to be with you. That was kind of the point of my whole speech, though admittedly, once I started talking and going off the deep end, I lost my train of thought. This was supposed to be far more eloquent and now I’m humiliating myself.

“I have hated every second of the last three months without you. I don’t care how we started or what happened this summer. I don’t even care about your…um, job.” I stumble over what to say, unsure if I should leave such an incriminating voicemail. I have a lot to learn. “I hate being here—I hate any place on earth that doesn’t have you. So please, please come get me⁠—”

Once more, the call ends. Frustrated, I dial his number a third time and press the phone against my ear.

As the line on the other end rings, I feel someone come up from behind me.

“Am I interrupting something?”

I spin around.

“I wasn’t sure what the dress code was,” Alejandro says and smooths a hand down the front of his double-breasted jacket. “Figured a suit was safe. Didn’t want to upstage the groom by wearing a tuxedo.”

A ripple of shock moves through me. I lose the ability to move or speak and the air in my lungs stills completely. My phone is still pressed against my ear as every thought in my mind comes to a grinding halt.

Eyes raking over his figure, I take in his appearance for the first time in three months. Streaks of golden-brown run through his dark hair, natural highlights from hours under the Mediterranean sun. His eyes appear more hazel-gray than hazel-gold in the silver winter light, so at odds with the yellow hues of summer. Dressed in a forest green suit, he blends in with the Christmas wreaths and evergreen trees lining the halls, perfectly on par with Karina’s winter wonderland theme. In fact, with me on his arm, he could pass for one of the groomsmen.

“I know I’m breaking the rules by coming here first,” he pulls his hand from his pocket, gesturing vaguely, “I thought…”

My prolonged silence sets him on edge. His smile fades as his gaze drops to the shiny tops of his leather shoes.

“Or I’ve unintentionally overstepped. I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have shown up here⁠—”

“What? No!” I grab him by the lapel of his waistcoat as if that might keep him from disappearing into the foggy night. “I just⁠—”

Without meaning to, I laugh. A crease forms between his brows and before he can say anything, I hold up my phone, showing him the call in-progress. By now, the voicemail box has probably picked up.

It takes him a second to understand and he jolts, surprise coloring his handsome features. He quickly pats down his pockets but his movements slow after a moment of searching. He says, with a hint of humor in his voice, “I left it charging in the car.”

Alejandro takes the phone and hangs up before reaching for my purse and shoving it inside. I wish I knew the right thing to say but all I can come up with in the moment is, “You came.”

He gives a light shrug. “You called.”

Neither of us speaks. I half expect the moment to descend into an awkwardness we can’t recover from but when he reaches out to touch me, all doubt melts away.

He runs his hand up the length of my arm and over my shoulder before he cups the back of my neck, brushing away a lock of hair from the curve of my jaw. A tedious twelve-hour day has left my hair in a precarious state, long red waves falling away from the heavily pinned updo at the crown of my head.