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He lets out an audible exhale. “I plan to only be away for a week.” One week? It’s like a lifetime. “I need to understand how much this last bit of news will cost me. That said, we made a corporate decision to move forward with the New York office regardless of the blows from Derek’s indiscretions.”
Derek, you’re fucking it up for a lot of people… including me. “I understand.”
“I’ve already made arrangements with Todd. On my way to the airport, I’ll drop by his office. To be on the safe side, I’ll book you for the next ten days. That’s plenty of time for me to get back to Manhattan.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Your tormented face is now a long face.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek.
He drops a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it. And when I come back, it’ll be for good.”
God, is there any way for you to speed up time?
Chapter 21
Sofia
Bryce and I speak and text every day while he’s out West. It doesn’t make up for his absence, but it’s not like when I was in South America and couldn’t hear his voice.
On the day of his return, I get up early to prepare a sexy reunion at my place.
My cooking skills aren’t as sophisticated as Ciara’s. Okay, I can only manage the basics. In my defense, this is New York. You can’t walk twenty steps without passing in front of a restaurant, even though these days I stick to rice, beans, pasta, and tuna… unless I’m with Bryce. And, it’s not as if outstanding cooking skills were passed on from one generation to another in my family.
With a lot of mouths to feed, both my grandmothers cooked by necessity. It was never about passion. Mom only had two kids, but since she worked retail all her life as a seamstress for big retail shop. When she cooked, it was always a rápido, rápido, and always basic Colombian dishes. Mom outlawed Dad from stepping into the kitchen unless it was to prepare anything that didn’t require heat, do the dishes, or clean. Bless my father for trying, but he’d manage to burn everything.
After a trip to Barcelona, my baby sister discovered her love for cooking. That’s when things changed for the Herrera family.
Ciara pushed us out of our predictable culinary humdrum, forcing us to explore the full gamut of the rich dishes from Mom’s culture. Unwilling to allow our father to feel left out, she made it her mission to master Dominican dishes. From there, the world became her oyster.
One thing about Ciara is she has a hard time saying no to cooking, which is why I was able to enlist her to help me prepare a superb meal for Bryce’s return.
It was a fun Saturday morning, hanging out, and cooking with my sister.
She had a million questions.
I wanted to tell her the truth about Bryce, but I chickened out, afraid of her reaction. Panicked at the thought she’ll think less of me. Worse, she’ll hate me for soiling our family name by becoming a prostitute. So, I kept it simple. “He’s an incredible guy I’m seeing.”
Crisis averted for another day.
For tonight’s meal, Bryce will feast on piri-piri chicken with all the trimmings––a staple in Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine. My sister masters the recipe.
After helping me clean up the kitchen, Ciara was off to her best friend Harley’s place.
As I finish last-minute preparations before Bryce shows up at my door, my phone rings.
I check the clock on the wall.
Two o’clock.
I wipe my hands on the towel and rush to the table. Snatching my phone off it, I accept the call.
“Did you already land? You left earlier! OhmyGod! I can’t wait to see you!”
His audible exhale comes as a precursor. “I’m stuck in California. I can’t come back to New York. Not yet.”
“Why?”
