Enrique’s jaw dropped. “That’s insane. Sorry, man.”
A twinkle formed in Tiburón’s eye. “Well, if you wanted to help me out, you could go out with Carolina so I could date Blanca.”
Oh hell no. Enrique was not going to be roped into some old-school Shakespearean farce and hurt Carolina’s feelings. “What is this?The Taming of the Shrew? No, man. That’s fucked-up. I like Carolina, but we’re too different.”
Tiburón pleaded. “Think about it. For me.”
“What a fucking mess.” Jaime was right. This tripwasa nightmare. This whole scheme to come up here for the holidays had backfired. Carolina wasn’t remotely interested in partnering with the Montez Group, Tiburón was getting his hopes set on Blanca, but he’d have to jump through some insane misogynistic hoops just to date her, and now Enrique was being asked to fake date Carolina so Tiburón could pursue Blanca. This trip had become much more difficult than Enrique expected. His family should be at one of the hip seafood restaurants in the area, where they could be dining on smoked fish tacos, drinking sangria, and celebrating the holidays the way they always did—with good music and plenty of alcohol.
Ramón patted Enrique on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Julieta is thrilled to go to the procession tonight. She loves these things. So, you got points with her. And thus, with me.”
Jaime nodded. “Rosa thinks it’s pretty cool, too. Let’s just get it over with so we can enjoy our vacation.”
Enrique was grateful that he was still as close as ever to his brothers. He’d worried that once Ramón was engaged to Julieta, he would drift away.
Even so, having Linda as a surrogate mother during the holidays was bittersweet. He missed his mother, even though they had a difficult relationship. And hell, he missed his papá. They’d barely spoken since Ramón had ousted him from the company. It was the right decision, but Enrique still wished he could have a family as close as Julieta’s. Or as close as Carolina’s seemed to be.
“I’ll go see what’s happening.” He walked back over to his pregnant bride, who was sitting in the pew, reading the Bible.
“So, what are the rules?”
Her face wrinkled. “Rules?”
“Yes. The rules. For Las Posadas. I’ve never done this before.”
“No rules, really. We walk next to each other. Everyone behind us will sing songs. It’s fun. Just stay close to me, and I’ll cue you.”
“Okay. I’m looking forward to it.” He exhaled. “You’re lucky, you know that?”
Her head tilted. “Oh really? Why?”
“Because you’re so young and have already achieved your goal of taking over the farm your family worked at. You have a firm purpose.”Something I wish I had.
She stroked her hair. “Oh. The decision to buy the farm was easy for me. It has been our home, and I wanted to make sure the other workers were taken care of. When the old owner decided to sell it, I had to save it. I grew up there.”
Enrique gazed into her eyes. “That’s very honorable.”
“Thanks. I didn’t just do it to be honorable, though. I did it for my family. Everything I do is for them.” She paused and leaned closer to Enrique, frowning. “So much so that I don’t know where they end, and I begin.”
“I hear you. My family is everything to me, too.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand. They may have been vastly different, but Carolina and Enrique had one thing in common—they would both do anything for their families.
An older man in a sweeping brown robe and a white belt sailed into the room, commanding a sense of peace.
He beckoned toward Enrique’s bride. “Carolina, we will begin in a moment.”
“Baby,” Carolina called, and a little girl ran over to her. “Enrique, this is my sister, Sofía, but we call her Baby. She is the angel who will lead the procession.”
She looked so adorable in her white gown with the sparkly halo attached to her head. “Hi, Enrique.” She turned to Carolina. “Blanca’s right! He is cute.”
Enrique laughed.
Carolina rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind her. She’s just excited to be playing the angel.”
Father Juan gathered them together, and the rest of the parishioners soon joined the group, as they would walk behind Carolina and Enrique.
Carolina’s gaze swept outside.
