“You left that night.”
“Well, I was a bit jet-lagged and honestly, a little nervous and unsure what to do with myself. I haven’t had a date in over a decade, and that wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
I try not to think about her with anyone else, but I know I don’t have that right at all, but pridefully, I’m glad that she wasn’t satisfied with the loser. “I’m sorry about that, and selfishly not sorry at the same time.”
“Such a caveman. Do you have any kids?” she asks the reasonable question.
“None. Although I always wished I did. I have the guys that served under me, but none of my own.”
“I had Emiliano when I was sixteen.” My eyes fly open, but I don’t judge her on what happened. I was a teen once too. “Now that I look back on it, I’m so repulsed that I can’t even believe how naïve I was.”
I grab her hand and then cup her chin and raise her eyes to look up at me. “Look—whatever happened, it’s the past, baby. I don’t even give a fuck if you’d been a prostitute. We can’t change who we were. We can only be who we are. I want to be with you, Esperanza.” She gasps and her eyes widen with a hint of a smile.
She chuckles softly, but then her face falls. “You’re right, but no, I wasn’t a prostitute. My mother and father had died in an accident just after we immigrated from Spain, leaving me to fend for myself. I was afraid of what would happen, so I hitchhiked all the way to Las Vegas, hoping to find somewhere to make quick money without selling my body, but it wasn’t that easy.”
She takes a deep breath, playing with the edge of my suit jacket. “It took a few days, but I got into a club and the manager thought I was cute. We lied on my application, and two hours later I became a Las Vegas showgirl. It was grueling, but the money was coming in. Then I caught the eye of the club owner. I thought he was my friend and really looking out for me, but he wanted more. I had no idea what I was getting into at the time, but after a few drinks, I wound up in his bed. I can’t say if he drugged me since I’d never consumed alcohol before and it had gone to my head, but I wasn’t completely out of it. Still, I was ashamed of myself.”
He clasps my hands, and I look up at him as he swipes away a tear I hadn’t realized I shed. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You were a young girl who was taken advantage of by an older man. Did he know you were a minor?”
She shakes her head. “When he learned of my real age, he kept us a secret. Of course, I had everything I needed, and doctor visits were paid for.”
“He wanted to be with me, even giving me an expensive diamond ring. I was a teenager, and I guess he didn’t really care that I wasn’t legal because everything he did was illegal. We were to be married when I could finally travel again. Then, I learned that he was murdered by his ex-lover’s brother. She’d killed herself because he’d planned on marrying me and raising Emiliano as his heir, instead of her son. He died the day Emiliano was born.”
“Wow. Shit. Okay. I don’t even know how to process that. So are there any other demons I need to purge from your memory?”
“Thankfully, no. After that, I had to find a way to support and care for my son, and nothing and no one else mattered. Because we’d been a secret from most, everything had gone to his family and nothing had been left to us. So I sold the ring he gave me, and that kept us clothed and fed for a couple of years, but then I had to work and I returned to dancing because I was good at it. It was the only thing I knew I could do.”
“I’m a fucking pig because I’d love to see you dance for me.”
“You’re not. I’ve imagined dancing for you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on stage, but I still have it in me.”
“Save it.” I stop her from standing.
She tilts her head and stares with curiosity. “Save it?”
“Yes. We’re going downstairs to the party. We’re going to wine and dine. I’m going to twirl you around the dance floor and then I’m going to come up here and make slow, sweet love to you if we have any strength left.”
“I like that idea.” A smile spreads over her heart-shaped face, and I can’t resist stealing another taste of those lips.