“Yeah, man. I do. She’s beautiful.”
“I’ve known you for a while now, Tib. I’ve never seen you so into a girl.”
“Well, I haven’t been. I want to start fresh, you know? I’m notashamed of my past, but I want to get away from it. And I love it up here,” he said, gesturing to the sandy dunes stretching out before them, ghostly white in the moonlight. “I’m not saying I’d marry Blanca tomorrow—but I really like this place. I could see myself moving nearby and settling down. I just want a nice life. I don’t need a lot of money like you all have. I just want a house, and a sweet wife, and a dozen children.”
Enrique laughed. “Just a dozen, eh?”
“I love kids. Girls down in San Diego, they don’t want the simple life. I had a lot of time to sit with myself and think about what it is I want, and I could see myself here.”
“How do you know Blanca does?”
“Because she told me so. Tonight. And if we got to know each other a little better, and she is half the woman I believe she is... Bro, I would spoil the shit out of her if she would give me a chance.”
Wow. Tiburón had it all figured out. And he wasn’t afraid of commitment. “It’s cool that you know what you want. I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.” He paused. Now was as good a time as any to ask the one question that was still burning on his mind. “Hey, so... what were you in prison for?”
Tiburón exhaled. “Stupid shit. I was a dumb kid. Totally lost. I got into a gang. Was trying to be cool, but I was just a punk. I got caught breaking into a building. I stayed in good graces with the gang to get through prison but vowed that if I got out, I’d be a changed man. And I’ve been honest ever since.”
That was awesome, how he’d turned his life around. Enrique hated to admit it, but just a few years ago, he would’ve judged Tiburón for his past and probably not even given him a chance. And now, Enrique considered Tiburón to be one of his closest friends. “I admire you, man. And honestly, Blanca would be lucky to have you.”
“Thanks, bro. That means a lot to me.” He gave a wry smile and tipped the neck of his bottle of beer toward Enrique. “You know, I didn’t like you at first, but we’re cool. I thought you were a douche.”
He smiled. “I didn’t like you, either. I thought you were a thug.” While Enrique and Carolina’s fauxmance was going to end no matter what, Tiburón might actually have a chance with Blanca. Why shouldn’t Enrique help his buddy get his girl? And if Tiburón was by his side, maybe it would prevent Enrique from kissing Carolina again. “Hey, do you want to go with me to dinner at Carolina’s house—if he’s out of the hospital soon?”
“Thought you’d never ask. But bro, I like Blanca. I want to get to know her. If you’re just messing around with Carolina, you should be direct with her. Like now. You don’t want to dishonor her or her family.”
Enrique winced. “I’m not going to dishonor her. We aren’t living in the nineteenth century.”
Tiburón popped his knuckles and shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? Her parents are old-school. Blanca told me she wasn’t allowed to date until Carolina did.”
“Well, that’s no longer a problem now.”
“With that crazy-ass rule, I can guarantee you that her father will expect a traditional courtship. You may be allowed in the home with family present, but you won’t be able to be alone with her. I once dated this chick, and her dad came at me with a shotgun because he caught us alone in her bedroom. I’m not fooling around with you, dog. This is how it’s done.”
Enrique didn’t want to believe Tiburón, but based on the way Señor Flores had behaved tonight, he did.
But it didn’t matter anyway.
He told himself he wasn’t going to get involved, and he wasn’t going to go any further with Carolina.
He was playing with fire. This had just been a work thing, but the way he’d felt when they’d kissed... well, that had been something.
He hadn’t given her false hope that they could be more, because they couldn’t. His life was in San Diego, and her life was here.
Plus, he would never agree to play by her father’s misogynistic rules. They were harmful to women, and Enrique would have no part in them.
The problem was, he had already agreed to pretend to date her. He had no idea what her father expected of him at the dinner he had to attend once Señor Flores was released from the hospital.
But Enrique was certain he wouldn’t be able to abide by her father’s rules or keep his mouth shut the next time he saw Carolina’s father treat her like a possession.
Chapter Twelve
Carolina sat in a chair in her parents’ bedroom as her mother brushed her long black hair. She almost never had any reason to style it, but when Mamá grabbed the curling iron, Carolina knew she meant business.
Getting dolled up was so foreign to Carolina—she was so used to having her hair pulled tightly off her face in a bun so she could work in the fields, that she had no idea what her mamá had in store for her.
It had been three days since her father was discharged from the hospital. Luckily, the doctors had caught the blood clot in time, and he didn’t need surgery.
Carolina regretted lying to her father, but she hadn’t regretted the kiss. And Enrique might not have kissed her if it wasn’t for those stupid, careless words. So, her lie had been worth it.
