The Love of a Latino (10 page)

“That is a very nice story,
but I fail to see what any of that has to do with me.”

“On the contrary, my dear, it
has a lot to do with you and your current, um…predicament. You see, when Rafe
was a boy, I used to tell him stories about his father and I, how our love kept
us together. He used to love those stories. He grew up believing that one day
he would find a woman that he could share a love with, a love as great as my
husband and I have.”

“Sarafina…”

“No. Believe me, Sarafina
loves only Sarafina, but she and Rafe grew up together. Her father and my husband
do business together; have for almost thirty years, so I think everyone just
assumed that with our family being so close, marriage between our children was
inevitable. I have been pressing my son for a grandchild for a while. I believe
he asked Sarafina to marry him out of loyalty to me and his father.”

“Don’t any of your other
children have kids?”Dahlia queried.

“Unfortunately, Rafe is an
only child,” Lauralyn replied to her question.

There was so much she didn’t
know about him.  At least she had Natasha. “Please, go on,” Dahlia prompted.
She wanted to know more about the man who has stolen her heart and given her a
baby.

“When Rafe came here, he led
us all to believe he was on a business trip. Turned out he wanted time to
himself before the wedding, but then he met you and everything changed. The
first thing he did when he came home was call off the wedding.”

“He’s not married?”

“No, Dahlia, he isn’t. He
couldn’t
go through with it. That’s why I came here. When you two were together…that
last time, he had already decided to call off the wedding. He had every
intention of telling you about Sarafina. Then he was going to fly home, but
then you answered his phone….” Her voice trailed away, leaving Dahlia to
complete the rest of the sentence.

“It was Sarafina. I was so
upset when she said Raphael was her fiancé.” Dahlia’s guts twisted. Why was she
telling her all this now? What good could possibly come from this now?

“My son loves you, Dahlia.
I’m not sure if he even knows it but he does.”

“How could he love me? He
doesn’t even know me.”

Lauralyn’s face softened and
she came to stand next to the bed. “I fell in love with Rafe’s father before I
even knew his name. Tell me something, Dahlia. Do
you
love my son?”

She wanted to say no, but
she’d be lying. Loving Raphael came as easy as breathing and to deny that would
be denying her heart. Her baby gave a swift kick and her hand went back to her
stomach. Looking the older woman in the eye, she answered. “Yes.”

“So if you could love him
even though you hardly know him, why is it not possible that he may love you?”

Lauralyn was right. Aside
from his name and that he spoke Spanish, she didn’t know Raphael, but that did
not stop her from falling in love with him. Is it possible that he could really
love her?

“If he loves me why didn’t he
come back?”

“From what little he told me,
he tried to explain but you wouldn’t listen.  He believes that you hate him and
never want to see him again. Do you know that he still has your number on his
phone? That is how I found you.”

“But I don’t have that phone number
anymore. That was my work phone.”

“So how are you sure he has
not tried calling you?”
Oh God,
this was all too much to take in. A dull
throb was beginning at the back of her eye. Dahlia wasn’t sure if Raphael had
indeed tried to contact her.

“Do you plan on telling him
about the baby?

“I didn’t because I didn’t
know where he was. I thought he would probably be married by now. But now…Oh I
don’t know. I need to think.” She groaned squeezing her eyes with the heel of
her hand, hoping the dull ache would go away.

“Don’t you think he has a
right to know that he’s going to be a father?” Rafe
did
deserve to know.
The dull throb had now developed into a full blown headache.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,
but I was hoping you would go back to New York with me. All I ask is that you
talk to him. Please, hear what he has to say—then you can make a decision.”

“I can’t go to New York with
you!” Dahlia protested.

Natasha didn’t comment
throughout the entire conversation between the two, instead, silently observing
the emotions that flickered across their faces, but now she spoke.

“She’s right you know. Before
you didn’t know where he was, now you do. He deserves to know that he’s going
to be a father. Go with her…”

“But…”

“No, Dahlia. I know you’re
still angry, but it’s no longer about the two of you. You have a baby to think
about now.”

Why did Natasha always have
to be right? Dahlia didn’t know if she could face him. If she had only listened
to him that night so much hurt could have been avoided.

“I’m staying at the
Hyatt
Hotel.
I’ll be here for another three days. Whatever you decide please let
me know. One thing you must know though, if you don’t tell Rafe about his
child, I will. My son deserves that much.”

****

One thing you must know though,
if you don’t tell Rafe about his child, I will. My son deserves that much.
Lauralyn’s words echoed in her head. Dahlia was so
confused. Staring out at the wide, open blue sea, Dahlia wondered how things
could have gotten so complicated. This was the only place where she could
think. This is where she had met him for the first time. Well, at least where
he met her, since she had passed out at his feet.

She thought she had her life
all figured out. She was supposed to spend another year just enjoying Trinidad.
After that, both she and Natasha were going to start their own little catering
business. Marriage and children were in her plans, but not now. She wasn’t
kidding herself, she didn’t believe in happily ever after, but she did believe
in love. However, her idea of love was nothing like this. Here she was five
months pregnant, the father of her child on a whole different continent.

But what if he loved her? She
couldn’t leave home again. This is where she wanted to be, where she longed to
be. Circumstances had deprived her of a childhood she yearned, she was not
about to take that from her child.
What about you, Dahlia? What about your
happiness?
A silent voice whispered.
Maybe your baby could be just as
happy somewhere else. At least he or she would have you and Raphael.
That
same voice whispered.

Oh, she was so confused.
“Mama, I wish you were here.” She sighed, her words floating with the wind,
rising beyond the gray mass of clouds and she could swear she heard her
mother’s voice whisper in her ear.

“Follow your heart, Dahlia.”

And there was her answer. She
had to follow her heart. A tiny ripple moved across her stomach as her baby offered
its own opinion as well.

Blowing a kiss to heaven she
whispered, “Thank you, Mama.”

****.

His mother had been gone
almost a week. She was supposed to be somewhere in Milan, doing some charity
work or something. It wasn’t like Lauralyn to disappear for so long without
calling him.

You would be lucky if she
even bothered to try. You have been behaving like a complete ass these past
months, ignoring her calls and turning down her dinner invitations.
Rafe’s inner voice said. But surely she would
understand. He was a man in love with a broken heart. He had never experienced
this depth of love for any other person. When that man had answer’s Dahlia
phone, it had almost driven him crazy. He had lost himself in the bottom of
vodka bottles hoping to numb the feelings but it hadn’t worked. He became a
bastard to be around, people shrinking away from his presence, waiting for him
to explode. He became almost a stranger to the one person that was closest to
him in the world—
Mamá,
but she hadn’t given up, calling every day,
inviting him to have lunch or dinner.

But he was going to put an
end to that. He was a Cavos, he dealt with thousands of staff on a daily basis;
travelled the world. He was a smooth talker and always got his way. What was
stopping him from going to Dahlia? Not a damn thing. He didn’t care if Dahlia
had a lover or if she didn’t want to see him, he would make damn sure he saw
her. He certainly wasn’t going to get her out of his system anytime soon, so he
might as well do something about it. This time he would make sure she listened.

He was about to buzz Luann in
to have her book him the first flight to Trinidad, when his mobile rang. Glimpsing
the display, he smiled when he realized who the caller was.

“Mamá,
you’re back.”

“Hola, Hijo,
and yes I am. I would like it if you could join me for
dinner later.”

“Mamá,
I would love to, but I’m afraid I may have plans…”

“Nonsense, I want you to come
to dinner tonight and I will not take no for an answer. I will see you at
eight.”

And just like that she was
gone. He stared at the phone in his hand, not believing she just hung up on
him. He had a good mind to call her back and…and what? You haven’t seen your
mother in weeks and it was time you put an end to this ridiculous feud with
your father. This would be the perfect opportunity to do just that.

As desperate as you may be to
see Dahlia again, you have to set things right here first. Besides, you don’t
want to bring her home to meet your parents with all this tension in the air. For
the first time in months he truly smiled. Things were looking up. Tonight he
would solve the issues with his father; tomorrow he would go after his heart.

****

Rafe killed the engine of the
Bugatti and stepped out of the car. It had certainly done the job it was
intended to. The sleek race car ate up the distance in half the time. He was
early but that was a good thing. It would give him some time to talk to his mom
first—tell her about his plans.

Luann was able to get him a
flight the following afternoon, so he had plenty of time to pack. His heart
kicked up a notch at the thought of seeing Dahlia again.  Just a few more hours
Rafe, a few more hours, but let’s get tonight over with first.

Taking the steps two at a
time, his fist rapped on the large antique door. When no one answered, he
jammed his finger on the bell. Shifting the bottle of wine to the other hand he
pounded on the door, now louder. Casting a glance at his watch, he grimaced. He
was almost an hour early. His mother hated surprises and that is exactly what
she got when the huge door swung open.

For a moment she looked at
him as if he was a stranger. Casting what seemed like a nervous glance over her
shoulder she said in unusually loud tone.
“Rafe
, you’re early.”

Strolling into the room he
pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, handing her the wine and answered. “It’s
good to see you too.” His voice was laced with sarcasm.

 Lady Cavos darted another
look around the room as if she was looking for something or someone.

“Mamá,
is everything alright?”

“Of course, why would you ask
such a silly question?” Hooking an arm in his, she led him to the sitting room.
She all but pushed him into a seat and with a brief, “I’ll be right back,” she
disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

Above the sound of the
crackling in the fire place Rafe could hear whispers. One he was sure was his mother’s;
the other barely audible was another female. Rafe swore under his breath. That
was the reason she was so insistent he come to dinner, why she had been acting
so strange from the moment he entered the door. She was trying to set him up
with one of her friend’s daughter.
God, would she never stop?

He was halfway toward the
door when he came face to face with his father. Both men stood still, staring
at the other, neither of them knowing what to say.

After a long moment of
awkward silence Alejandro spoke, breaking through the tension. “Rafe, how are
you?”

“I am fine,
Papá.
How
are you?” They sounded like two strangers instead of father and son.

“Look, I know I was out of
line in demanding that you marry, but I only had your best interest at heart.
You are my son and it is expected that you marry and produce an heir.”

“I know that, Dad. But I also
know I cannot settle for anything less than what you and Mamá have. I did not
have that with Sarafina.”

His father crossed his wrists
behind his back and strolled to stand at the fire place. He was silent for a
moment, his brows knotted; he stared into the flames as if in deep thought. “And
do you think you have it with this girl, this Dahlia?” The older man asked, now
looking at his son.

Rafe returned to his seat but
kept standing. Considering his father’s question—carefully he offered the only
answer he had. “I know that I love her. How she feels about me, I do not know,
but I plan to find out. I have a flight booked for tomorrow.”