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Luisa laughed. “No. Definitely not my mom. My friend Jada’s mother taught her and me to cook.”
“Mrs. Yáñez?”
“Yes. She’s a fantastic cook. As is Mrs. Avila. You know they’re twins, right? Well, of course you do. Brix Avila is one of your best friends, isn’t he?”
“Yes, one of my very best. Do you know Brix well?” I asked between bites of the luscious food she’d prepared.
“Not at all. He’s quite a bit older than Jada and me.”
I nearly cringed, but stopped myself. Quite a bit older and the same age as me.
“Oh, our show starts in ten minutes. Do you mind if we watch it while we have our third course?”
“I wouldn’t mind at all.” I’d recorded it so we didn’t have to. However, Luisa was more animated tonight than I’d seen her. I would do nothing to put a damper on how much she was enjoying herself.
“I’ll meet you in the living room,” she said, taking our dishes into the kitchen.
I’d queued the program and taken a seat when my phone vibrated. I glanced at it, hoping it was something I could either ignore entirely or respond to later, when I saw I’d received a message from my brother.
Look who’s in town,read the text. I cringed when I saw the accompanying photo of my brother and the woman who’d been his on-and-off girlfriend for years despite the fact she lived in Australia—Daphne Cullen. Something told me her presence was not going to go over well with Luisa.
I’d just turnedoff the television and was about to dish bowls of ice cream for Luisa and me when Beau came inside.
“You’re up. Wonderful. There’s someone I want you to meet,” he said to Luisa.
“Hello, Press,” said Daphne, kissing my cheek.
Beau grabbed her hand and pulled her away from me. “Luisa, this is Daphne. Daph, Luisa.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Daphne, taking Luisa’s hand in hers. “Beau has told me so much about you.”
Luisa’s eyes darted between Beau’s, mine, and the woman’s who still held her hand. “He hasn’t told me a thing about you,” she mumbled, biting her damn lip. God, I wanted to throttle my brother.
Daphne laughed and punched Beau’s arm. “Not a thing, you say? Not a single word about the love of your life?” While she was joking, what she’d said wasn’t that far off the mark, and it was evident Luisa picked up on it.
“Um, if you’ll excuse me, I’m pretty tired. Good night.”
I could see her tears as she hurried to the bedroom she shared with Seraphina, wishing I could follow without making more of a scene.
“Did I say something wrong?” Daphne asked.
“Of course you didn’t,” said Beau, leading her in the opposite direction to where his room was. “Let’s get you settled.”
“You’re a bloody idiot,” I seethed under my breath as he walked by. The look he gave me confirmed my words were right on the mark. My brother had absolutely no idea of the ramifications of what he’d done.
Rather than go to Luisa’s room, I knocked on her mother’s door.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, opening it a crack.
“Luisa may need you.”
Thankfully, she didn’t ask why before hurrying across the hall and into her daughter’s bedroom.
The following morning,despite my wishing it were otherwise, Luisa and her mother left Seahorse and went to stay thirty miles inland at the home of Laird and Sorcha Butler.
7
PRESS
