“That you love her? Absolutely. But not when she’s driving.”
Rafael ground his teeth in irritation, even though he knew Araceli was right. He flinched when the door opened again. It would be just like his whole family to join him out here and dispense advice. But only Martin and Tony emerged.
“What happened?” Martin asked.
“He just missed her,” Araceli said.
Martin pointed to the door. “Then you can come back inside. We have a shit-ton of work to do if we’re going to be ready by Saturday.”
“I can’t leave things with Victoria this way,” Rafael said. “I really hurt her.”
Tony let out a long breath. “I know. But you have to focus on the wedding.”
“Do you have any idea how lucky we are things worked out?” Martin said. “If you want to prove you can handle it, then you need to get back to work.”
His brothers were right. He’d already caused enough problems when he got fired the first time. As much as he wanted to win Victoria back, he needed to do his job.
“If it’s any consolation, she doesn’t need any distractions either,” Araceli added. “She still has to deal with the rehearsal and the dinner tonight.”
True, but he didn’t want her feeling miserable. He stood rooted in place until Araceli placed her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t stress, primo. I might have a solution.”
“What is it?”
She gave him a smug smile. “Trust me on this. I’ve got to grab some food and head back to the office. But I’ll text you later. I promise.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He hated leaving things so unsettled, but Araceli was good at this stuff. No one in the family had watched as many rom-coms as she had. If she put her mind to it, she could help him figure out a way to make it up to Victoria.
He just hoped he wasn’t too late.
Chapter 30
Whoever claimed grand gestures worked was a fool. Or someone who had watched too many romantic comedies.
For the record, grand gestures were terrifying, humiliating, and stressful as hell.
Tears welled up in Victoria’s eyes, and she swiped them away with her free hand. Driving while sobbing wasn’t the safest course of action. She sniffed and took a deep breath.
You brought this on yourself.
What had she expected?Right from the start, she’d never treated Rafael with the respect he deserved. She lied to him in Baja, ghosted him after she left, and made him feel like he hadn’t mattered. She hadn’t come to his defense when Ben fired him. Instead, she acted like Rafael was nothing more than an employee.
No wonder he couldn’t trust her.
If the tables were turned, she wouldn’t trust herself either.
She set her satellite radio to a station playing holiday carols, hoping the music would put her in a cheerier frame of mind. But the first song that came on was “Blue Christmas.” Not exactly the upbeat tune she was hoping for. When her phone pinged with a text, she gave it a cursory glance, hoping Rafael was reaching out to her. But June’s name showed up on the screen.
Damn. With all she’d been through, she’d forgotten to update June.
When a lane closure slowed traffic to a crawl, she connected her phone to the car’s Bluetooth and called June.
The older woman answered right away. “Victoria.Thank God. I hate to ask, but did you have any luck?”
“Sorry. I should have called sooner, but I had to talk to Missy and Rafael.”
“And?” June’s voice took on a breathless quality. “Did you succeed?Pleasetell me you pulled it off. I tried a few more places but came up with a big, fat goose egg.”
“It’s all good.” Except the part where her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. But June didn’t need to know about that. “Missy’s back on board with Tres Hermanos. The wedding’s saved.”
