And he was grinning at her.
“Mucho gusto, Señorita Flores. I’m Enrique Montez, and these are my brothers, Ramón and Jaime. And that is my soon-to-be cousin-in-law, Tiburón. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.”
Chapter Three
Enrique stood at the bottom of the porch, clutching the huge bouquet of sunflowers he had picked up for Carolina at the local stand.
Her headshot on the website didn’t do her justice. Her hair was in a loose braid, and she didn’t wear a hint of makeup. She had beautiful copper-brown eyes and full lips, even if they were pursed in an angry scowl. Her tight white T-shirt and close-fitting black pants showed off her curves. It made him want to grab her hips and pull her close.
But the last thing Enrique should be thinking about was hitting on this accomplished woman. No. He needed to learn more about her farm, not sow his oats.
Carolina didn’t say anything. She sneered at her sister and then gritted her teeth.
Why did Carolina look so shocked?
Uh-oh, had she not been expecting him? Was he early? No, he was sure he’d had the time right.
She grabbed a sweatshirt from her sister and quickly covered herself.
Strange. She looked fine now—as she had before—though he had been a bit shocked that she was wearing work clothes for their business meeting. But maybe since she was a hands-on farm owner, she wanted to show him the day-to-day operations.
“Speak, bro.” Tiburón nudged his shoulder.
Enrique took a cautious step toward Carolina and reached out his arm to hand her the flowers. “Miss Flores. I’m sorry if I caught you by surprise. Did I get the time wrong?”
Her little sister grinned and took a step closer to Jaime. She examined him head to toe but surprised Enrique by turning her attentions to Tiburón. “Nope! Right on time. I’m Blanca, by the way. Her super charming and very single sister.”
Carolina slapped Blanca’s arm. Blanca laughed and twirled her hair.
Enrique’s gaze returned to Carolina. “Like I said in the email, I was hoping I could talk to you about a possible collaboration with our restaurant group. Should we reschedule?”
Carolina cleared her throat and waved her index finger at the flowers as if she was offended by them.
Hmm. Maybe Enrique shouldn’t have brought the flowers. That was sexist—he wouldn’t have brought a man flowers. He should’ve brought a bottle of wine.
Blanca reached over and grabbed them. “I’ll just take these. I love flowers. And so does Carolina, but you can call her Cari. Sunflowers are her favorite. Personally, I prefer poppies.” She smiled and turned to Tiburón. “Why don’t you all sit on the porch? I’ll get some drinks for us, and we can get to know one another.”
Tiburón didn’t waste any time. His eyes not so subtly grazed over her body as he walked toward a porch swing. “Don’t mind if I do.”
At least Jaime was behaving himself for once. He didn’t so much as check out either Carolina or Blanca.
Carolina pulled her sister’s arm. “That won’t be necessary, and despite what my sister said, you can call me Ms. Flores.” She turned to face Enrique. “I’m sorry for any miscommunication, Mr. Montez. I had no idea you were coming—my sister replied to your email impersonating me. She doesn’t have the authority to set up meetings for me, and I will deal with her after you leave.”
What? Carolina hadn’t written the email?
“That is unfortunate, and we don’t mean to intrude. But since we drove all the way from San Diego, I would appreciate if you would give me a few minutes of your time.”
Carolina shook her head, and her braid flung around her shoulders like a whip. “We’re not interested. We’re doing quite well at the farm and are not looking for any new restaurants to distribute to—especially yours.”
Enrique balked. Nottheirs? “Why on earth not?”
“We don’t work with chains. We mostly work with local farm-to-table restaurants and provide them with high-quality produce. We are a small farm and not able to serve the needs of a fast-food conglomerate.” Carolina folded her arms, her body language clear. “If you would like further information on our farm, or would like to visit, we have tours on Mondays and Thursdays. You can sign up online.”
Enrique took a step back. His mouth dropped open. Tours? Like he was some sort of common tourist? Enrique wasn’t used to being shut down so thoroughly. His name normally opened doors to opportunity, not slammed them shut in his face. He had to try another approach. “I’m sorry for the confusion, Ms. Flores, I had no idea you didn’t agree to this meeting. I really think we can offer something fantastic for both your farm and our restaurant group. Please hear me out.”
Carolina zipped up her large sweatshirt and put her hand up like a stop sign. “I’m sorry as well. But we’re not interested. To be clear, I am not interested. Please leave.”
Ramón placed his hand on Enrique’s shoulder. “See? I told you so. Let’s just go. We’ve wasted enough time up here.”
