Esmeralda shoved her mass of curls back from her eyes and glared around the picnic tables. “Are you sure it was him?” she asked the Sánchezes.
Camila nodded. “You said he was tall and had brown skin and a shorn head. And he had a ring with three black gems on his pinky finger.”
“Did you also say he was a real-life heartthrob? Because he is that,” Pilar added.
Esmeralda growled.
Camila smacked her sister on the arm. “You aren’t helping.” She gave a cheeky smile. “But you’re not wrong. He’s easy on the eyes.” The sisters giggled.
Bitter jealousy nipped at the edges of Esmeralda’s heart.Stop that, she hissed to herself.You have nothing to be jealous about because you do not care about Ignacio Olivera.But she had to admit, Ignacio was devastatingly beautiful. If a person was into perfectly honeyed eyes, and perfectly soft lips, and perfectlyperfect everything.Ugh.She could scream. She hated him so very much. She hated him for making her love him, for making her trust him enough to give herself to him completely, and for then leaving her in the dust.
Finally, she spotted him at the opposite end of the tent.
Her nose scrunched tight as if she were smelling a wet dog. Her fingers clenched around the fork she had dropped onto her tray. She should stake him through the heart.No.He doesn’t have one.
He was the worst sort of boy. One who lured a girl in with his tenderness only to then watch her crack when he was finished with her. Esmeralda wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he hurt her. She would be indifferent. She would pretend he was nothing and no one to her.
Leaving the fork where it lay, she pushed back her shoulders and brushed away the wrinkles on her loose skirts. With the wretchedness of losing half her savings, she hadn’t even thought to ready herself for the parade.
She wore no face paint and hadn’t properly brushed her hair, which was unfortunate. Dolling herself up had always felt like putting on armor. But she’d pretend she felt powerful all the same. Plus, her blouse was draped low over one shoulder. Ignacio had been a sucker for the curves her body held. Since he’d abandoned her, her figure had become a thing of wonder. She wasn’t above using it to snap the boy’s resolve.
“If you’ll excuse me, ladies,” she said to the Sánchezes. “I’m going to go kill this man…” The sisters gasped. “With kindness,” Esmeralda added.
She sauntered forward, trying her best to hold on to her nonchalance as the sisters’ giggles traveled after her. Her gaze met Ignacio’s. Crackling energy buzzed between them. He gulped, looking absolutely horrified.
As he should.
Someone spoke to him from a nearby table. He tore his eyes away from Esmeralda and turned to the right. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. His profile was worthy of a museum.
Stop that.
The rodeo girls tittered and winked at him. They asked him his name. He offered them a tight smile. Told them he was called Ignacio in a silky tone.
He was flirting. Right in front of her. Typical cake-eater. Well, she could return the favor. Let him see how it felt.
“Gabriel,” she said breathily the second she was close enough. She draped her arms around her friend’s shoulders and squeezed perhaps too aggressively. She kissed him on both cheeks. When she stepped back, she batted her lashes slowly and seductively. “There you are.”
Gabriel had the nerve to seem thoroughly repulsed. She kept her doe-eyed smile.
“I missed you this morning in my room,” she said, tapping the bill of his cap.
“Were we supposed to meet there?” Gabriel asked. “I thought you didn’t need me until after the parade.”
She bit down on her lip as coquettishly as she could. “You know I always need you.”
“If you say so.” Gabriel took off his hat and scratched at his greased-back curls. “Esmeralda, this is…” He huffed. “I’m sorry, I still don’t know your name.”
Ignacio started to speak, but she cut him off. “This is Ignacio,” she said.
Gabriel’s brows shot up. “TheIgnacio?”
A sly grin tugged at Ignacio’s lips. “You’ve been talking about me,” he said in such a smug manner that the tips of her ears went hot.
Dammit, Gabriel.
“Not flatteringly,” she quipped. She held her composure and toyed with her hair. “Besides, I could hardly pass up the opportunity to tell my dear friend—I’m sorry, I meant lover—Gabriel about the time I pummeled a boy with a golden egg.”
Ignacio’s eyes flared. “You could have killed me.”
