Araceli knelt next to her. “Sorry if I made you feel weird. I shouldn’t have said that stuff about your house.”
“It’s fine. I…I just don’t want your family to hate me.”
“Why? Because you’re rich? It’s no big deal. Hell, we’d all live in mansions if we could afford them. That’s why Nena buys lottery tickets every month. But I appreciate that you’re here, helping us out.”
As much as she wanted to avoid the subject of Rafael, Victoria had to know the truth. “I hate to ask, but do you know about…I mean, did Rafael tell you…”
She was making things worse, but Araceli didn’t let her flounder for long.
“Do I know about Baja? Yeah.” When Victoria stared at her in horror, Araceli held up her hand. “Don’t stress. I haven’t told anyone, not even Jaime. He says I have two settings—unfiltered and ‘the vault.’ That stuff about you and Rafa is in the vault.”
Victoria let out a long, shaky exhale. “Thanks. I’m not ashamed. Rafael is an amazing guy, but—”
“I get it. This is a job. In his defense, he told me about your fling right after he got back.” She frowned. “Not gonna lie, but I hated you at the time.”
Victoria swallowed past the painful lump in her throat. “I hated myself, too.”
“Don’t break his heart again. If you do, you won’t just have me to answer to, you’ll have the whole Sanchez family. Trust me when I say you donotwant to get on our bad side.”
Yet another reason why Victoria needed to play it cool with Rafael. “I won’t. We’re keeping things professional.”
For that, she got another snort, but she didn’t ask what it meant. Instead, she followed Araceli back into the main room. Now that she’d tackled the mini M&M’s, her next job was to paste gumdrops on the roof of the house in precise, rainbow-colored order.
While she struggled to align the gumdrops, Luz had already created a gingerbread bride, a groom, a minister, and two flower girls. But after another cup of punch, Victoria found her groove. She listened to the cousins joking, trash-talking, and sharing gossip as the movie played in the background. Despite coordinating multiple Christmas events, tonight was the first time she felt caught up in the holiday spirit.
When had she felt this comfortable around her own family?
Not at the Blackwood mansion. Or even at her cousin Marc’s wedding in July. If she was being honest, the last time she’d truly enjoyed spending time with her extended family was during her childhood at Big Bear, when she and her cousins had run wild for two weeks every summer. Night games, bonfires, ghost stories. Long, embattled games of Monopoly. Lazy mornings of pancakes and waffles, where the Chavez girls dropped in for “second breakfasts.” A time when she’d equated family with fun, not with obligation and pressure.
Araceli peered over at Victoria’s handiwork. “That’s some perfect rainbow symmetry, right there.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and peeked at it. “Rafa’s bringing us leftovers from the restaurant.”
“He’s coming?” Victoria glanced down at her green apron, now flecked with streaks of frosting. She wondered if she should leave before he arrived so things wouldn’t get awkward.
Araceli smirked at her. “Nah, he left the restaurant ten minutes ago. He’s on his way up.”
Too late now.
Chapter 16
Rafael pounded on the door with his elbow, since he had both hands full, carrying an insulated delivery bag from the restaurant. He wasn’t sure who all was at the party—with Araceli it could be three people or thirty—but he’d brought plenty of food. After hustling all day at Tres Hermanos, attending a craft party at his cousin’s apartment wasn’t high on his to-do list. But given how much Araceli had helped him with the wedding, he owed it to her to make an appearance.
She opened the door, greeting him with a sly grin. “Hey, primo. Your girlfriend’s here.”
“My what?” He scanned the room, taking in the usual suspects, until he noticed Victoria seated at the kitchen island next to Luz, her head bent over a gingerbread house. He lowered his voice. “You didn’t say anything, did you?”
“Not a word. But she knows thatIknow. If you know what I mean. But otherwise…” She made a motion of zipping up her lips. “In the vault, baby.”
He let out his breath in relief. But he still wasn’t sure how to act around Victoria. Their last conversation had been the sexy phone call she’d ended abruptly. They’d texted since then, but only in relation to the wedding. Seeing her in person made his pulse quicken, especially since she looked adorably cute in one of Araceli’s goofy holiday aprons.
He set the insulated bag on the kitchen counter. “Hey, Victoria.”
“Hi, Rafael,” she said softly.
When she met his gaze, the longing he felt played havoc with his heart. It didn’t matter that she was a millionaire’s daughter. He still had it bad.
For a moment, he could only stare, mesmerized by her gorgeous blue eyes, until Luz cleared her throat. “Rafael? You gonna join us or stare into space?”
“Sure. I brought leftovers. If you’re in the middle of decorating, they can wait. But there’s food for whenever you need a break.”
