“Because. I carried resentment in my heart.”
“For Linda? That was forty years ago.”
“Yes. And the pain only grew.” He took a sip of his drink. “I never got over her betraying me with another man. I wanted to hurt her like she hurt me.”
Enrique was astounded. He had no idea that his father had been so wounded by Julieta’s mother.
Would Enrique feel the same way about Carolina years from now? Would he want to hurt Carolina as she had hurt him this week?
No. He wasn’t like that. Carolina was overwhelmed. It was clear to his heart. Their timing was off.
Enrique sat back on the soft brown leather sofa under the window and gazed into the fire in the massive marble fireplace. Christmas stockings hung from the mantel. It was the picture-perfect Christmas scene—the only thing missing was a family to share it with. “You should go talk to Linda. At least see what she has to say. It may heal you.”
His father shook his head. “No. It is in the past. I had kept it in the past until I saw her again. And then, it all rushed back.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, mijo. I’m sorry. I don’t even care about the deal anymore. I miss my family.”
“We miss you, too.”
“I may never earn everyone’s forgiveness. But will you forgive me?”
“I’ll try.”
Enrique could even forgive his father for his years of neglect, but he couldn’t forget. He tried to heal from his childhood, but here hewas, a grown-ass man, and he felt more alone than ever. He shouldn’t need a girlfriend to fulfill his life, but he had really fallen for Carolina. It wasn’t just her beauty, or that he had been her first lover—it was that he truly felt inspired by her. He loved the way she was so caring about her family. And she made him laugh and challenged him.
And just because they had broken up—that didn’t mean that he had to say goodbye to all the good things she’d made him want to do.
It was time for Enrique to be a man. To build his own family. And that responsibility extended to the workplace.
He didn’t need Ramón’s permission. He was determined to implement changes in the farms that partnered with his company, starting with the Montez Group farm in Encinitas.
And to thank that wonderful woman for inspiring him, he needed to do something for her. He wouldn’t contact her again. He wouldn’t beg her to reconsider.
He needed to set Carolina free so she could grow and decide if she truly wanted him.
Even if he never saw her again, she had changed his life.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Carolina woke early. Her stomach was upset, and she had no appetite. She’d spent the night tossing and turning. How could she have done this to Enrique? He was so great. He must completely hate her.
And she didn’t blame him.
Maybe someday he would forgive her. Maybe someday she would forgive herself.
But sometimes people fall in love at the wrong time. Right now, she needed to focus on herself. Take some time alone. Figure out what she wanted.
For once in her life, she had to give herself permission to be selfish.
She called her aunt and told her she needed a place to stay for a few days until she decided what she was going to do. Tía Luísa invited her over without hesitation.
Carolina took an Uber to Tía Luísa’s house. Though she hadn’t had any contact with Enrique, he had sent her a text that he had packedup her things and dropped them by Tía Luísa’s house, but she didn’t see him.
The Uber drove down the freeway. A little girl with her parents walked through Chicano Park. Carolina idly wondered if Baby loved the doll she had bought for her. It had already been wrapped and under the tree when she’d left. What had her parents done with the presents for Carolina?
Tears came as she imagined everyone pretending that she had never existed.
