“You’re flushed,” Marina said pleasantly enough. “You’ll want to be careful in this heat. And the”—a small gesture at Selena’s loose hair, her bare feet in the grass, her whole joyful disarray—“well. People are watching, mija.”
She turned the pleasantness on me.
“Chase, so wonderful to see you again.”
“Mrs. Torres.” I didn’t let go of Selena’s hand. She tried to slipit free, and I held on easily, like I hadn’t noticed. “I hope you’re enjoying your evening.”
“I am.” The warmth stayed on her face, but I heard the ice in her next words. “You know, I waited at The Salty Siren the other night. I’d cleared my whole evening to talk about your waves, and you just ran off on me.” A light, wounded laugh, for the audience. “I sat there like a fool.”
“Something came up.”
“Mmm. Well.” She recovered the smile. “You’re here now. Walk with me—five minutes. There’s a great deal I can do for a man in your position, and the ocean is rather particular about who it favors. We should talk before the broadcast.”
She extended a hand toward the quieter end of the patio.
She was so certain I would take it.
“I’m good, thanks.”
The certainty flickered.
“It’s only five minutes?—”
“I’m currently occupied.” I nodded toward the dance floor behind us. “But I appreciate the offer.”
“Chase.” Selena’s voice was low. She’d tensed beside me, already managing her disappointment. “It’s fine. Go talk to her. It’s just business, I don’t?—”
“It’s not, though.” I kept my eyes on Marina. “Fine, I mean. I came to this party for exactly one reason, and it wasn’t to take a meeting.”
Marina’s mouth flattened.
And then I saw it—the warm voice going to work, the charm wrapped around someone who always got her way.
“I see. Well, I’d hoped you were more serious than that. A man with genuine prospects rarely spends his weekend at a little backyard party, dancing with”—a fond, devastating glance at her own daughter—“well. It’s sweet. But summers don’t last do they? Selena clearly understands that.”
“Funny.”
Selena went still as stone next to me.
“I’ve been to a lot of big events. Sponsor galas, awardshows, you know, stuff like that.” I glanced around the yard—the grill smoke, the laughter, Lupe smiling and still dancing. “Not one of them was worth a dance with your daughter. So I think I’ll be getting back to that, if it’s all the same to you.”
The pleasant mask held, but the depths behind it churned.
The predator in me recognized another.
I ignored it completely.
“How charming,” Marina remarked.
“I have my moments.” I lifted Selena’s hand, the one I was still holding, as the music sped back up. “Excuse us.”
I led her back to the middle of the makeshift dance floor, away from her mother, and felt her come back to herself one beat at a time.
“You didn’t have to say that,” she said under the music.
“It was all true.”
She bit her lip.
