On my way home, I couldn’t help but think about Cara. I was nervous to invite her to my abuelas for dinner. What would she say? Would she think it’s too serious? Would she say no? Or worse, would she say yes and I’d have to sit through a dinner of my abuela embarrassing me and showing her my naked baby pictures. Hopefully, everything worked out and nothing bad happened.
Chapter Seventeen
CARA
“¡Mierda! This is where Drea lives? I should’ve quoted her a hell of a lot more for Kaia’s office than I did!”
We had just pulled into Drea’s driveway and I was driving as slow as humanly possible without being too suspicious.
I was not looking forward to this, at all. Of course, I loved all of my friends, and was happy to spend time with them, but I could’ve done without the whole practically naked pool party part.
It was the closest I’d get to seeing Vera naked again and I didnotneed that distraction. I knew we had to play a part in front of my friends, but I didn’t want to blur the lines. I didn’t want to fantasize about her anymore than I already had.
I could admit that since Fairview, I’d had more than enough material to handle things on my own, a lot more. I had eyes, after all, and a memory. Every time I saw her, talked to her, or thought about her, my mind instantly went back to that night, and I couldn’t help myself.
I gave her a look. “You wouldn’t have done that, would you? And, mierda? What does that mean?”
She looked at me and her eyes softened slightly. “Of course not, Cara. And it means, shit.”
I choked out a laugh. “Yeah, it’s something.”
“Something? This house is bigger than the city my parents grew up in.”
I turned off the engine and she was on my side before I could even take off my seatbelt. She opened my door and reached over me to unbuckle it. I froze.
Her hand was very close to my skin, and I could feel the slightest brush of her fingers across it. “Vera,” I whispered, unable to speak any louder than that. “What are you doing?”
She grinned and extended her hand to help me out of the car. “Just being helpful. Someone’s got to take care of you.” She winked and I had to be strong not to react, which I failed at, miserable.
“Jesus.” The word slipped out, but she noticed, giving me that megawatt smile that got me into trouble the first time I saw it.
“You can call me whatever you want, princesa. Shall we?”
I steadied myself and let her help me out of the car, knowing damn well she could’ve picked me up and carried me to the party. After that thought was produced, I was very tempted to test the theory.
We were greeted by Drea’s housekeeper who pointed us to the party out back. We smiled and thanked her and made our way to the pool.
The entire house was quiet, and I could hear faint music that I knew was coming from the back yard.
Vera stopped me with an arm on my wrist. “Wait, princesa.”
I turned to meet her eyes, not thinking about the feeling of her hand on me, and how warm it made my skin feel. “What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip and good fucking God I wasn’t going to survive this day. She was already killing me in a white tank top. I could see her bikini top underneath and my mouth was watering just thinking about it.
“This is our first wedding event as a ‘couple’.” She put air quotes around the word to emphasize the ruse. “What are your rules for this? The same as the pickleball game?”
Damn, she was right. The pickleball game was one thing, with just Drea and Blair, but this was another entirely. The whole wedding party and their significant others would be at this party, and they all needed to think this was real.
If one person was skeptical, it could get back to Drea or Blair, and I’d be humiliated that I was so desperate I asked someone to agree to pretend to be my girlfriend and my date for this wedding.
I shook my head. “No, you’re right. This is different. We need to step up our game a little. There will be children here, so appropriate PDA is acceptable. No ass or boob grabbing. Hand holding and waist grabbing is fine.” More than fine, I wanted to say.
She smiled. “Are these rules for me, or for you, darling? I don’t know if I can stare at your ass in a bikini all day and not reach out for it,” she said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the images my brain decided I needed to have in my head of my legs wrapping around her, and letting her feel my ass. “They are for both of us.” I admitted.
“Hmm, and what about kissing. Is a peck on the cheek allowed?”
