скачать книгу бесплатно
Miguel stared into her eyes for a second. She had a feeling he was debating whether or not to accept the change in topic.
“She is. Mariposa is very spoiled, as you’ve already seen.”
He held out his hand and she put her fingers on his palm. Together they stood.
He was taller than she’d first realized, with broad shoulders and a trim physique. She would guess he was only a few years older than herself. There was something about him, she thought absently. Almost a memory. As if they’d met previously.
Before she could ask about that, she heard a familiar laugh and turned to find little Jack running toward her. His arms were outstretched as he barreled into her. She caught him and pulled him up in the air.
“There you are,” she said happily. “I’ve been waiting to see you.”
Jen and Kirk followed. She greeted her daughter and son-in-law, then turned to find Miguel had gone into the backyard. Pam looked back at Jen and noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
“How are you feeling?” Pam asked.
Jen shrugged. “I’m okay. I haven’t been sleeping well.”
Pam pressed her lips together to keep from saying something she would probably regret. While she appreciated that Jen was an attentive parent, her daughter was making herself sick with worry about things that were never going to happen. Or at least were unlikely to. She was in a constant state of alert about Kirk getting injured on the job. While being a police officer was certainly dangerous, Kirk was now a detective. He had experience and a partner. As for something being wrong with Jack...
Pam told herself not to go there. She didn’t want to fight with her daughter, but she couldn’t help worrying about her. Jen was making things harder than they had to be. Pam had a feeling that whatever Jen had shared, there was so much more she wasn’t saying. Jack’s first few years were supposed to be wonderful, not terrifying.
They all went out to the backyard. Zoe had set up tables in the shade. There was a play area for the kids and a drinks station.
Zoe came over to greet them. She tickled little Jack and thanked them all for coming.
“Have I met your father before?” Pam asked her. “He looks familiar.”
Zoe grinned. “He was the face of Saldivar tequila for years. You’ve seen him in magazine ads and on TV.”
“Of course. I should have remembered.”
Jen took Jack and set him on the ground. He ran toward two other children and Jen followed. Kirk went with her. Zoe leaned close to Pam.
“My father is very charming. He can’t help it. Just so you’re warned.”
“Don’t worry. I promise not to be swept off my feet by him.” She appreciated the information—not that she was interested or anything, but the man was very appealing. She linked arms with Zoe. “All right. Introduce me to your friends. I want to find out what the current slang words are. I’m sure mine are all outdated.”
The afternoon was sunny and warm. Pam enjoyed chatting with everyone. She took charge of Jack during dinner so Jen and Kirk could hang out together. Sometime after, she found herself sitting in a beach chair on the lawn next to Miguel.
He eyed her glass of iced tea. “You don’t like margaritas?” he asked. “I made them myself.”
“I like them just fine and I had one earlier. But I have to drive home.”
“A cautious woman. Interesting. Tell me, Pamela, what do you do?”
She thought about correcting him—she always went by Pam. But there was something about the way the more formal version rolled off his tongue. It was nice, she told herself. Fun.
“I volunteer with an organization called Moving Women Forward. They support women entrepreneurs. I’m a mentor. I also take care of my grandson and spend time with my friends. I travel a few times a year, that sort of thing.”
It wasn’t a life that would change the world, but it was a very good one and she knew she’d been blessed.
“What about you?” she asked. “Zoe mentioned you’d worked in the family business. As the spokesman.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Did she? I’m retired now. My nephew is younger, which has an appeal, I suppose. But he’s hardly more handsome.”
Pam laughed. “I’m sure that’s true.”
Miguel winked at her. “You’re going to hear stories about me.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. That I’m charming and fickle when it comes to women.”
“You’re saying neither is true?”
He touched his hand to his chest. “You wound me. Of course I’m charming. As for the women, perhaps years ago. After my divorce. I had a modest amount of fame and I might have used it to my advantage.”
She would guess that was quite the understatement. “And now?”
“I have learned to appreciate different things. Maturity and wisdom bring their own kind of beauty.”
Pam did her best not to snort. Talk about a line. Sure, it was a good one, but still. “Miguel, I promise I will only believe the good things about you.”
“I appreciate that.” He glanced around the backyard. “This reminds me of when I was in Rio many years ago. One of our distributors invited me to his home for a birthday party for his youngest daughter. She was turning seven and the whole family was there. So many generations celebrating together. I fear we are losing that.”
“I know what you mean. I appreciate getting to hang out with at least two of my children, but not enough people do.”
“How many children do you have?”
“Three.” She pointed to Jen and Steven. “Brandon is in San Francisco.” She smiled. “If I say he’s a doctor, will you accuse me of bragging?”
“I promise I will not.”
“Then he’s a doctor. Brandon was one of those kids who makes you want to bang your head against the wall. If there was an easy way and a hard way, he would find the impossible way. But he’s doing great now.”
Miguel studied her. “You were a good mother.”
“I like to think so but you can’t possibly know one way or the other.”
“I have a sense about these things. There is a determination about you. Whatever the problem, you would have seen it through to the end.”
A lucky guess, she told herself, slightly surprised he would have figured that out about her.
“You are out of iced tea.” Miguel rose and reached for her glass. “I’ll be right back.”
Pam watched him go, appreciating the view. Yes, he was a very interesting man. Charming and—
Steven dropped into the empty seat. He angled toward her. “Mom, you have to be careful. With Miguel. You’ve been talking to him for a while. Zoe’s told me all about him. He’s a player. I know he’s charming and all that, but it’s superficial.”
“Oh, dear God.” Pam stared at him. “First Zoe and now you? How incompetent do you think I am?”
“Not incompetent,” Steven said hastily. “Just, you know, inexperienced. You were married to Dad for a long time and you’re not used to...” He seemed to be searching for the right word.
“The ways of the world?” she offered dryly.
“Uh, sure.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Mom, I love you and I don’t want you to get hurt. You know, thinking that Miguel is really—”
She stared at him. “Go on.”
“Um, nothing.”
“You don’t want me thinking that Miguel could possibly be interested in me? Is that it? Because I’d like to point out he’s several years older than me, so it couldn’t possibly be an age thing. Are you saying I’m not attractive enough? You think your mother is ugly?” She supposed it was wrong to torture him like this, but seriously, he’d started it.
Steven nearly whimpered. “Mom, I’m just—”
“Oh, I know what you are and what you’re thinking. That I’m so pathetic I would think that Miguel was actually interested in me. That I’m so unsophisticated and backward that I would be swooning over the first man to bat his eyelashes at me. Let me tell you something, Steven Eiland. You and your generation didn’t invent sex. I was doing it years before you were born. And while I might have been happily married for thirty years, I’m not an idiot. I understand exactly who and what Miguel is. Now, unless you want me to start talking about all the things I know that you don’t—when it comes to what goes on between a man and a woman—I suggest you hightail it back to the other side of the party.”
Steven swallowed and stood. “Yes, ma’am.”
He disappeared at a pace just fast enough to let Pam know the message had been received. Honestly, what was with young people today?
Miguel returned with a full glass of iced tea. He put it down on the small table next to her. “Everything all right?”
She smiled at him. “Things are pretty great right now.”
Chapter Six (#uc3d276f1-09e1-5fb7-98c5-992e2160db4a)
The party started to wind down some time around seven. By seven-thirty, nearly everyone had left. Pam carried serving dishes into the kitchen and set them on the counter.
“That was a lot of fun,” she said cheerfully. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“My pleasure.” Zoe looked at the last of her guests, still talking in her backyard. “I should do this more often. I had such a good time.”
Pam leaned against the counter. “Did you talk to Jen at all?”
“A little. Why?”
“I don’t know. I worry about her. She’s so caught up with Jack. It’s one thing to be a good mother, but another to stop having a life outside of your child.”
Zoe didn’t want to step on any toes, but Pam had started the conversation. “She’s different,” she admitted. “Since having Jack. I love her and would do anything for her, but I sometimes wonder how interested she is in our friendship.”
“That makes me sad.” Pam pressed her lips together. “If she was happy spending every second with her baby, I would be fine with it. But she’s so stressed, all the time. I just...” She looked at Zoe. “Maybe we should talk to her. The two of us. Tell her that we’re worried.”
Zoe took a step back. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Jen isn’t going to take it well. She’s going to assume we’re ganging up on her.”
“Not if we start by telling her we love her. She needs to hear the truth from people who care about her. I’ll text you some dates and times. We’ll figure out when we’re both available and Jen is home. While Jack is napping would probably be best. I don’t want her distracted.”
Pam hugged her, then waved as she left the kitchen. “I’ll be in touch. Bye.”
Zoe held in a groan. She had a bad feeling about confronting Jen. Interventions went well when they were in a movie or on TV but she doubted real life was that tidy. She was running low on friends—she didn’t want to lose one of the few she had left. But she also didn’t want to offend Pam.
“You’re looking serious about something,” Steven said as he came into the kitchen and set a pitcher of iced tea on the counter. “Everything okay?”
“Just deep thoughts.” No way she was going to drag him into this, she thought. Getting caught between his sister and his mother was the definition of a rock and a hard place.
“That’s the last of the drinks from outside,” he told her. “What else can I do to help?”
“You’ve done enough.”
Not only had he been attentive to her friends, he’d kept serving bowls filled and drinks topped up.
She smiled. “You’re an excellent kind of guest to have.”
“My mom taught me to be handy.” He started to say something, then seemed to change his mind. “Mason survive Mariposa?”
“He actually likes her. He always has, which is good. I would hate for my dad’s dog to see my cat as a living chew toy.”
“I’m pretty sure Mason could take care of himself. He’s a smart guy.” He picked up a half-full bottle of chardonnay. “One more glass?”
“Sure.”
She pulled two glasses out of the cupboard and he poured, then they both went into the living room and sat on her sofa. There was a single lamp on in the corner, but otherwise the room was dim. Zoe briefly thought about turning on more lights, but decided against it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in the semidark with a handsome, charming man. Chad didn’t count because he’d turned out to be a total mistake. Which meant it had been years and years. She was due for some handsome-man-in-the-dark time.
“Your dad’s nice,” Steven said.
His tone was completely neutral, but she had a feeling he wasn’t as calm as he acted. She decided to test the waters.
“He spent a lot of time with your mom today.”
“I noticed. I hope she didn’t...” He set his glass on the coffee table. “I tried to talk to her about him.”
Zoe felt her eyes widen. “Wow. How did that go?”
“Not well. She told me—” He cleared his throat. “That doesn’t matter. I hope he doesn’t hurt her.”
“Wouldn’t they have to get involved for that to happen?” she asked gently. “Steven, you’re sweet to worry, but there are a million steps between tonight and that. Yes, my dad was a bit of a player when he was younger. But less so now. And he’s not a bad guy. When my parents got divorced, it was the most civil, friendly marriage dissolution ever. He and my mom stayed friends. The three of us were together when she died and he was as sad as I was.”
Вы ознакомились с фрагментом книги.
Для бесплатного чтения открыта только часть текста.
Приобретайте полный текст книги у нашего партнера:
