And everyone repeated after him.
To a happy life.
7
ROSA
Back at the Lake House, Rosa allowed Dominic to help her out of her coat and watched as he hung it in the hall closet. The young people had stayed behind to have a few more drinks at the lodge. She had no idea where either of Lisa’s parents had gone, but she had a feeling it was nowhere together. Ria had opted to stay behind as well. Trey and Nico had promised to get her back safely.
The house was quiet without the bustle of the young people.An empty house and just the two of us. She shivered from anticipation and nervousness. Alone in a house with a man. It was as if she’d been transported to another time and phase of her life. She floated out of her body and dangled near the ceiling, watching Dominic shrug out of his suit jacket. She saw herself standing under the light with her hands clasped and ankles crossed. Once upon a time she’d stood that way in the high school gymnasium, wishing for Javier to come to her, to ask her to dance. What a little fool she’d been.
Once, she’d been young and fanciful, even romantic. The first time Javier kissed her, she’d thought she might faint fromhappiness. She could remember practically dancing as she got out of his car and ran into her mama’s house.
He had not walked her to the door. Back then, she’d been too young to know this was an important clue to his character. She’d had no father. No one to demonstrate to her how a woman should be treated. Her son, though. He knew. Thanks be to God, he somehow knew.
“Rosa, can I get you anything?” Dominic asked.
She glanced up at the overhead light to get her bearings. “I’m fine, thank you. Something about this moment has me remembering another time.”
“A good time?” he asked softly, his brown eyes warm but watchful.
“No, not really. Being with you makes me remember what a fool I used to be.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “I’m not sure how to take that.”
“You should take it as a compliment,” she said. “You have nice manners.”
He arched one thick eyebrow. “All right, then. I suppose that’ll do for now.” He undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie. “It’s cold in here. Shall I build you a fire?”
Build you a fire? Warmth made just for her?
“That sounds nice.” She followed Dominic into the living room.
“Did you enjoy yourself, Rosa?” Dominic asked as he crumpled newspaper and placed it in the fireplace.
“Oh yes. It was a special night.” She hugged herself as she wandered over to the couch and kicked off her shoes. If only she could take off her dress and put on her pajamas. However, given how much this dress had cost, she needed to wear it for at least another hour. She sat on the couch with her legs together. This skirt only came to her knees. She didn’t want to flashDominic. A glimpse of her granny underwear would surely be a deterrent to any romantic thoughts he might have about her.
Romance? Was that what she wanted? To distract herself from this line of thought, she asked him a question. “What about you? Did you have a good time?”
Before answering, he stacked small pieces of wood like a teepee around the crumpled newspaper and lit them with a lighter from the mantel. On his haunches, he remained by the fire as the flames grew large, illuminating the sharp angle of his cheekbones. “I can’t remember having a better evening in a very long time.” His knee joints clicked as he uncurled to set the lighter back on the mantel. “You, Rosa Soto, are delightful company. Once your son stopped giving me death glares, the entire evening was quite uplifting.” Dipping down to the box of logs, he picked one, then another up with his large hands and set them on the burning kindling. He blew into the flames, causing the muscles of his back to expand under his smooth shirt.
“My son’s protective. He’s not accustomed to me being anything but his mama.”
“Understandable.” He nudged the logs with a poker, arranging them until they caught fire, casting a soft glow about the room. “Those kids and their friends obviously love one another. It’s enough to give you hope in humanity.”
“My son and his friends are exceptional young people.”
“You have every reason to be proud.”
“I spent my life making sure he grew up right.” She smiled, playing with the tennis bracelet Rafael and Lisa had given her. “My work’s done. It’s been done for a while now. When he was away at war, I worried every minute of the day. When he came home and decided to join the police force, I worried some more. Now, finally, I don’t have to be so diligent in my worrying. I can relax and enjoy watching him and Lisamake a family.”
He turned to look at her before sitting next to her on the couch. “What about now, Rosa? What’s your next chapter?”
She met his gaze for a split second before nerves overtook her and she focused on the flames. Outside, a sheet of snow fell from the roof.
“The temperature’s rising,” he said. “Cloud cover means more snow.”
Temperature’s rising. Seasons change. New chapters.
