He has a record a mile long and is well known to local police.
And he’s still legally married to the woman I want with every fiber of my being.
My stomach tightens to the point of nausea at the thought of her or Mateo being in danger from a man who should’ve been the one to protect them.
They have me now, and I’d die before I’d let anything happen to either of them.
Abuela’s annual Christmas Eve celebration rages all around me, with family, friends, food, music, booze and presents. Santa is due to arrive any minute, and the local Cuban band that plays every year is better than ever.
I can’t bring myself to care about any of it. My entire focus is on Sofia and Mateo.
Watching them playing in Abuela’s heated pool with my sister Maria and her fiancé’s daughter, Everly, I can’t help but smile at Mateo’s pleasure at being in the water. The poor little guy has been through a rough ordeal since Carmen’s now-husband Jason discovered the tumor and removed it in an emergency surgery. The cancer is gone, but the child is still fighting his way back to full health after months of rigorous physical and occupational therapy.
In time, he’s expected to make a complete recovery, but he may always have deficiencies to overcome. We don’t know yet what the future holds for him, and we won’t know for a while yet, but I want to be there for them both.
That’s a first for me.
I’ve never felt that way about anyone else, but for some reason, the minute I met Sofia, I wanted her in a way I’ve never wanted anyone else.
My sisters and cousin have told her to stay away from me. They say I’m “toxic” with women, and sure, that’s probably been true in the past. But everything about her is different, and I’m determined to be different, too. I understand the stakes. She’s a single mom of a child with special needs and is in the middle of a contentious divorce from a potentially dangerous man.
The last thing she needs is bullshit of any kind, which is why I’m determined to be a much better version of myself with her.
If only I can convince her to give me a chance to prove that to her.
So far, we’ve been all about the flirtation, but nothing has come of it.
Yet.
My cousin Domenic, home from New York for the holidays, brings me another beer.
I take the icy bottle from him. “Thanks.”
“What’s up with you, hombre? You’re wound tighter than a drum today.”
“Nothing. Just busy at work. I probably ought to be there, but I didn’t want to miss Nochebuena.”
“Try telling that to someone who doesn’t know you better than just about anyone. Work doesn’t stress you out like this.”
“It’s my first Christmas as the owner. It is stressing me out. Every car is booked through New Year’s.”
“That’s great, primo. Congratulations.”
I shrug. If you want to know how far gone I am over Sofia, the fact that I don't care that my new business is killing it is a pretty good indication.
Dom sits on the barstool next to mine. “What’s going on, Nico? And tell me the truth this time.”
“Sofia.”
“Sofia-from-the-restaurant Sofia?”
“Yeah.”
“What about her?”
I hesitate to say words that can never be taken back, even to my cousin and close friend. However, I’m clearly doing a piss-poor job of hiding my torment if Dom picked up on it. “Everything about her.”
He goes still, his expression completely blank. “Seriously?”