He studied the expression on her face and put his arm around her. “Don’t be nervous. Everyone is super chill.”
Ha. Chill. Her family was the exact opposite of chill. But she didn’t want to rewrite them in her memories as villains. Her home had a lot of love and warmth. She loved singing songs by the fire and making up silly dances with her sisters. And her parents weren’t awful, despite their recent actions. Her father loved to make funny accents when he read stories to her younger sisters, and her mother was never too busy to soothe a boo-boo or give a hug.
The cold hard truth was that she loved her parents.
She could never replace them.
Carolina wore a brand-new red dress that she had just purchased for herself. It was modest and long and suitable for a holiday dinner, but still formfitting. For the first time, she wanted to be seen as sexy. Enrique had again offered to buy her clothes, but she didn’t need his money. She didn’t need him, either—she just wanted him.
She had briefly been introduced to his family at Las Posadas but had been so flustered about her father’s health that they didn’t have time to get to know one another. And she had met Tiburón at her house but had spent most of her time outside with Enrique.
Tiburón opened the door. A momentary flash of shame flew over her. Had he heard the horrible things her parents said about her? He was properly courting her sister—what must he think of her spending the night with Enrique?
He smiled and gave her a big hug. “Hola, Carolina.”
His warmth put her at ease. She didn’t sense a hint of judgment from him about her fight with her family.
She hugged him back. “Hola, Tiburón.”
He grinned. “I figure we will be celebrating many holidays together.”
She pursed her lips and tried to interrupt his words. Was he thinking he would be with Blanca, so she would see him because she was her sister? But that didn’t mean anything, because she could be forbidden to see Blanca. Would Blanca stop communicating with her? Would they buy burner phones to maintain their relationship like the Hernandez sisters did when their father kicked Juana out when he found out she was pregnant? God, all this drama in her traditional community sounded like a telenovela.
Or did Tiburón mean that Carolina would be with Enrique, so she would see him because they were soon to be related by marriage?
The only thing that was clear was that she was overthinking.
“That would be nice. How’s Blanca?” She shuddered. She was asking a man who she barely knew how her own sister was. Tiburón had spent more time with her family in the past few days than she had.
“She’s wonderful. I dig her.” He took a step back, gestured down the hall, and motioned for her to come in.
Carolina’s eyes zoomed in on the view, which was by itself enoughfor this place to be breathtaking. The interior was painted in light blue and white tones with natural wood accents. And it was decorated in a pretty coastal style—there was a rope-encased mirror, seashell accents, and wicker baskets galore. It wasn’t as big as she had imagined, but it was still glorious. The deck looked out over the ocean, and there was a firepit and Adirondack chairs beckoning her.
The scent of cinnamon and cloves lightly spiced the air. Though this house smelled similar to hers, everything else was different. There were no young children running around, no dogs barking, no noises from the farm.
This was a house—hers was a home.
But it wasn’t hers anymore.
Maybe it was time Carolina bought a home of her own—a cozy coastal casa.
An older woman with her hair in a tight bun embraced her. “Carolina, nice to meet you. I’m Linda, Julieta’s mamá. And this is my niece, Rosa.” She pointed to a gorgeous young girl who had to be her sister Blanca’s age. Rosa waved, then turned her attention back to Jaime, who was playing a video game on a white fabric sofa. This definitely wasn’t a home lived in year-round—Carolina couldn’t imagine keeping that couch clean.
“Mucho gusto. Thank you for inviting me to join you to celebrate.”
“Of course, mija. Don’t mention it. We’re honored for the company.”
Once Linda was out of earshot, Carolina whispered to Enrique, “Is Jaime dating Rosa?”
Enrique laughed. “No. Definitely not. My younger brother has always been a player.”
Carolina nodded but paused on the wordplayer. Wasn’t Enrique a player also? What made her think that despite his actions and words this wasn’t just a game for him? She knew he could get practically any girl he wanted. What was he doing with her?
She looked up at him and his smile calmed her anxiety. It was just so hard to trust that his intentions were good. Carolina was, however, grateful that Blanca was interested in Tiburón and not Jaime. Even though Blanca was a bit boy-crazy, her sister was a good woman who wanted to be in a serious relationship. From what Enrique had told her about Tiburón, he seemed to fit the boyfriend bill.
Julieta walked over to them. “Hey, Carolina. Nice to see you again. So glad you can join us. I made tamales and buñuelos.” She pointed to a table with a white Christmas-themed runner with appliquéd poinsettias adorning it. Carolina could see serving ware filled with rice and beans. “Would you like something to drink? Ponche?”
“I’d love some, thank you.”
