Dancing in a Hurricane (40 page)

She stood and wrapped her towel around her waist. "No, Mark, you're wrong. I barely deserve a man as amazing as him." She pointed a finger at the lifeguard. "You're a racist."

"I'm a realist." He squared his shoulders. "Those people are lazy and—"

"Uh uh. I don't want to hear that bullshit." She put her hands on her hips. "When you call a group of people 'they,' you're not seeing them as individuals. That's intolerant."

"You're new here. I have experience to back up my opinions."

"I may be new to Miami, but I've seen the family values, the proud heritage, and the conviction of principle that Cubans have." She shrugged. "There are always a few bad people in every group, but don't discount the whole populace because of the few."

He looked behind her then looked down. "It's not that simple, Bree. There are gangs, and business that will only deal with other Cubans."

She shook her head. "There are gangs in every culture, even yours. And how many of your anti-Cuban friends refuse to do business with Cubans? In the face of that kind of boycott, do you blame them for supporting each other to survive?"

"I don't think this is helping either of us." He turned to leave.

She stepped toward him. "Mark, that night on your friend's boat, we talked about our plans for the future. You're looking for the right person to settle down with."

He glanced at her and nodded.

"How will you ever find someone if you refuse to talk to more than half of Miami?" She gestured behind her toward the city and her hand smacked into flesh. She looked back to see Sixto standing with his arms crossed. He was letting her deal with Mark instead of rushing in and trying to handle it himself. She smiled at him, silently thanking him for his self-control.

Mark walked away

She watched him go, and said to Sixto, "That was a waste of time."

"No." He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "You were amazing." He nodded in Mark's direction. "I don't know if you got through to him, but the way you stood up for me, the things you said about my family."

He took a breath and his eyes changed, became intense. "
Cariña
." He touched the fingers of his right hand to the middle of his chest. "Something's happened."

Oh, no. Was it his heart? "What is it?"

He smiled slightly but it disappeared. "I love you, Bree."

She gasped, her mouth open, her eyes wide. "You…"

"I love you." His eyes searched hers, his breathing became shallow.

"Sixto." She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them, they filled with tears. "I've fallen in love with you, too."

He pulled her to him. "
Por Dio.
" He kissed her, an intense sharing of souls. When he stepped back, he put his hands on her cheeks. Moving his face closer, he studied her eyes again. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." She blinked and tears traced down her cheeks.

He wiped them away with his thumbs. "How do you know?"

"Oh, Sixto." She put her hands over his and turned her face to kiss his palm. "You're the best person I've ever known. You're intelligent, even tempered, you have an amazing sense of humor. It hurts to even think about being away from you."

He wrapped his arms around her, she rested her head on his chest. "
Cariña
." He kissed her head. "Say it again."

"I love you," she sighed, and the words brought a giddy feeling. "Now you say it again." She looked up at him, wanting to memorize his face as he spoke the words.

"I love you." His eyes were soft brown, and she drifted deep into his soul.

"Why?" she asked.

One corner of his mouth curved up. His gaze took in every inch of her face. "I started loving the little things that I don't like about you."

Her eyes narrowed. "I…have to think about that for a minute."

He smiled and gestured to the blanket. "Come on." They lay facing each other, heads propped up on bent arms. "The women I dated? Some of them had promise. After about a month, they changed, acted differently. I started to see their real character, they did things that annoyed me. And it was over."

He took her hand. "But with you, all those little things that should drive me crazy are insanely attractive."

She definitely had bad habits, living alone cultivated them. "Such as?"

He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. "You leave your dirty dishes everywhere. You won't make love to me. You harass me about my career. You have that little snort in your laugh."

She snorted and laughed. "That's an embarrassing list."

"No." He leaned forward and kissed her. "Don't ever change. Except for the second one."

She smiled and lay on her back, looking up at the clouds. "I knew it. This is all a plot to get me to sleep with you."

He put his hand on her stomach. "Bree. We'll take our time and get to know each other."

The warmth of his palm on her flesh stirred lovely desires in her. "Thank you for being patient, Sixto." She put her hand on his and he linked their fingers together. "I want to know everything there is to know about you."

He smiled. "Let's have a party."

"A party?"

"
Cumbacha
. I'll invite my friends and they'll tell you all the humiliating stories about me."

"Can I invite some people I've met?" The list of the people she knew was very short.

"Of course. And the neighbors, too."

"You'll cook?"

"We'll have it catered. Rico's restaurant delivers."

Rico and Marisa in the same house? "Are you going to invite your family?"

He shook his head. "With Rico there? I couldn't invite everyone in the family, except Riss." He looked concerned.

She hadn't heard from Marisa since Rico dumped her. "I'm going to call her when we get home."

Sixto sighed. "Yeah. She hasn't returned my calls. Something's up with her."

Chapter Thirty

Saturday night, Rico drifted around Sixto and Bree's party. Quite a turnout. There had to be fifty people here. Bree called a few days ago and ordered enough food for a hundred and it was almost gone. He looked out the patio doors at the light rain. Sixto put umbrellas over the hot tub and a few brave—or drunk—people partied out there.

Bree stood in the kitchen with a couple girls he didn't recognize. He walked up to them, hearing one of them talking about the off-season hurricane headed their way.

Bree smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Hi Rico. These are my friends Cara and Adriana. This is our friend Rico."

He liked the way Bree said "our," now that she and Sixto were a couple. He grinned at the girls. "Good to meet you."

"Are you the Rico that made all this great food?" Adriana asked. She bit into a spicy shrimp.

"I am."

Her full lips pouted as she ate slowly. She was beautiful, dark hair, dark eyes, possibly a
Cubana
. But she reminded him of Marisa. He looked at Cara, she was as blonde and pale as Bree, but shorter, with straight hair and brown eyes.

"How about you, Cara," he asked. "Do you like my cooking?"

Cara smiled and blushed. "I just got here and haven't eaten yet."

"C'mon." He gestured to the dining room table. "Let's get a plate and you can taste my sauce."

Cara laughed and looked at Bree. "Um—"

Bree interrupted. "Rico, could you help me bring some beer in from the garage?" Her voice sounded tense and her face was dead serious.

"Sure."

She excused them and went out the garage door. He followed and she stopped next to her car, turned to face him, and crossed her arms. "Listen, Rico, I'd appreciate your staying away from my friends."

Bitchy. "Any particular reason?" He leaned on her car.

"This mess with Marisa is—"

"Don't blame me for that. She got herself into it."

Bree sighed. "It's difficult for me to see you and not think of the pain she's going through. Alone."

He swallowed hard. He was trying to forget. "She had a choice and she made it. It's best for her and the baby to go back to him."

Her voice grew loud. "Go back to him?" She looked toward the ceiling and took a deep breath. "Rico, there are things you don't know. Things that Sixto and I promised Marisa we wouldn't tell anyone."

"Her secrets don't involve me."

"You idiot!" She picked up a twelve-pack of Bud Light bottles and swung it.

He grabbed the box as it closed in on his groin. "Shit, girl. You're loco."

"Yes and you're blind. Can't you see that you're the man she wants, Rico?" She picked up another case of beer and stormed into the house.

Setting the box on the hood of Bree's car, Rico opened it and twisted the top off a warm beer. Drinking it reminded him of sneaking beer from his dad when he was a teenager. Him and Sixto and Élian would share a bottle in the park near their houses and a third of a beer would give them each a nice buzz.

He looked at the bottle. Why couldn't he have that same easy buzz, the same, simple lifestyle of high school? The years when he had Marisa up on a pedestal and she could do nothing wrong.

He finished the beer.

Now, she got knocked up, wrote mysterious articles, and told Bree and Sixto things that she wouldn't tell him. Hell, life was too fucking complex.

Mimicking Bree, he said, "You're the man she wants, Rico." She may want him, but she'd do what was best for the baby. And for herself.

He'd have to apologize to Bree for hitting up her girlfriend. He set the bottle in Bree's cup holder. She'd get a laugh out of it tomorrow. Maybe shake her out of the bitchy mood she'd sunk into.

Hefting the case of beer, he went into the house.

Bree stood surrounded by a half dozen of Sixto's friends from Little Havana. She laughed as they told her a story about Sixto and one of the women he dated.

Sixto was always with a different woman in junior high and high school. He never stuck with one girl for long—that was his thing. A month or two then a breakup then in a few weeks a new
chica
.

Bree shook her head at something one of the guys said.

Could she and Sixto make it last? She'd be good for his friend, even if she kept poking her nose into him and Marisa's business.

He put the beer in the kitchen and wandered around, talking with friends, looking at uninteresting pictures of their kids, and politely listening to stories about their smart daughter, or their son the fourth-grade baseball star. He gazed off at the rain sliding down the window.

A vacant stare, a vacant life. What happened to the big plans he'd made for him and Marisa? Things never turned out good for him.

After a half hour, he went looking for Sixto and found him with his arm around Bree, talking with a group of guys from the bar. He said hi to James and asked Sixto, "Can you help me with something in the garage?" He winked at Bree and she smiled at him.

Sixto looked at her, she nodded, and he followed Rico outside. They stood under the roof overhang on the driveway and Rico pulled a couple cigars from his pocket. "Smoke,
socio
?"

"Sure, thanks."

They lit up and stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the rain.

"Bree's been talking to Marisa," Rico said.

"Yeah." He looked at him. "Shitty timing for the two of you."

He clamped the cigar between his teeth and shoved his hands in his front pockets. "I waited fifteen years and when I go for it, she's already taken."

"It's more complicated than that, Rico."

"Bree said that, too. There's something up, no one will tell me, but I'm supposed to sit and wait for Marisa to make up her mind."

Sixto puffed on the cigar. "You should talk to Riss again,
socio
. She should be the one to tell you what's going on."

His jaw clamped down on the cigar. "What the hell does that mean?"

Sixto didn't move, but he snapped, "Don't fucking go off on me, Rico. She's my sister. I should be kicking shit out of you for touching her."

"Do it." He threw his cigar out onto the wet driveway and followed it and stood facing Sixto with his arms out to his sides. "Go ahead and hit me. It'd be the first time I felt anything since she ripped my guts out."

"Man, you got it bad for her."

He dropped his arms. "I gotta get over her, Sixto. She's got a rich man's baby in her belly and there's no fucking way she'd choose a greasy hash slinger over a bigshot lawyer." The rain trickled down his face. He was a man who didn't cry, but this was one of those moments when his heart stuck in his throat.

Sixto puffed his cigar. "Talk to her, man." He flicked the butt of his cigar out into the rain and went back inside.

"Why?" Rico asked himself. "So she can destroy me again?"